I wondered how much they can comprehend and think about what is being said, so I spoke with my friend Mijon who is a professional transcriber, and she said that it requires a total focus for her to be accurate with her notes. She cannot really think much about the meaning in them or she loses her task, and she said she definitely could not have a conversation while she takes those notes.

But that is just her…

Notes are a ‘monologue’ that reinforces the presenter’s delivered content between myself and myself. A backchannel is a conversation between many that may or may not directly reinforce a presenter’s content. Also, I found it interesting to learn that even though notes are written and we see them, they use our brain’s auditory channel and visual channel simultaneously.

There is also difference between a public speaker who is saying ‘Here is some stuff I am into right now that may or may be useful for you’ than a teacher delivering information for a student’s upcoming test. Miss some light content from a speaker at a conference and you won’t necessarily be held accountable; miss your teacher’s test content and your grade will suffer (unless you have reliable post-class peer conversation). I do think that backchannels can be successfully used in specific academic settings, but not all of them.

It has been an amusing experience to read the backlash over my blog post by a couple people in the pro-backchannel community (which I count myself in) over my suggestion that backchannels do not always support the outcomes of a particular dynamic’s learning. But there are standards and assessments that not all learners always get to choose, and the differences in group dynamics from schools to businesses, teachers to students, and facilitation to presentation are vast and require different means to support the outcomes. I think that there is sometimes denial that something we enjoy could simultaneously be hurting us. (Carrots are good for me, but if I eat 5 pounds of them a day I will be in trouble.)

I am in favor of having backchannels as an option in many scenarios and using them with informed knowledge about how mental processing, retention, and understanding and occurs.

I do agree with you that with the advent of the backchannel some audience members will get so involved with the backchannel that they’ll miss much of the presentation.

Each audience member is responsible for their own experience and I think over time, we’ll each work out what level of interacting with the backchannel versus attentively listening to the presenter works best for us.

Here are some other thoughts I have percolating about the whole “paying attention” thing. It’s generally accepted that taking notes while someone is speaking is an effective way of learning and processing. I can write a note about something I’ve just heard and still, somehow, listen to what the speaker is saying next. Also I’m thinking about my mother who is a simultaneous conference interpreter. She listens to the speaker in one language and speaks what they’ve just said in another language while listening to what they’re saying next so that she can interpret that!

Olivia

I agree that backchannels allow people to engage in the content of the presentation, but they also can force disengagement from the nuance of the presentation itself.

I have experiences of talking with another audience member after a presentation by a person and finding that this is quite true. People who spend more time typing and reading are spending less time listening.

My point is that while collaborative learning is valuable and should be utilized in planned and informed ways, language is a single channel in our brain that cannot comprehend more than one point source at a time.

I had a read of your post. I agree with you that the backchannel can distract from the presenter, but I think there are also a lot of benefits to it – both for the audience and the presenter. Have you had a look at my ebook:

http://www.speakingaboutpresenting.com/twitter/present-twitter-backchannel-ebook/

Olivia

I just wrote my current thoughts about this vital topic of multiple conversations at the same time here:

http://arrowoodcurve.blogspot.com/2009/11/backchannels-to-twitter-during.html

As the conference proceeded, information overload gave way to information empowerment.

How? Instead of indulging our inner ADD, participants stayed focused. At the same time we typed, we listened. At the same time we listened, we read. Multitasking was not optional.

Yes, of course, such juggling can be dizzying. It’s not for everyone, and it’s not for philosophy seminars. But social media isn’t philosophy, especially for those of us who do it for a living. And when we attend a conference on a subject with which we’re already familiar, we learn not only from the speakers but also from our peers.