Internet Exercises

Using Chat Rooms for GSS

Group support systems can be as simple as using e-mail to facilitate information exchange between group members or more complex when using specialized group meeting software programs. An important characteristic of effective GSS is anonymity. Group members can feel free to share ideas without fear of reprisal or ridicule if their statements are anonymous. Unfortunately, many e-mail systems make anonymity difficult, and specialized meeting software can be expensive.

One alternative for using GSS is to create a chat room and have group members "log on" using anonymous nicknames. Chat rooms are special websites that allow any number of users to interact in real time (synchronous communication). Thousands of chat rooms already exist on the Internet. Many online services allow users to create free private chatrooms that could be used for private discussions among friends or for anonymous group discussions. Here are directions for creating a free GSS resource for your group:

1. Got to www.lycos.com and click on the "clubs" tool at the left. This will display general categories of clubs available on Lycos.

2. Click the "register" button on the left. You should register using anonymous information. Remember to write down your anonymous user identification and password so you can access the club in the future.

3. One group member (or your teacher) can create a new club. As you will discover, clubs provide more resources than chat rooms. You should create a public club so that other group members can easily find it. Let other group members know the name of the club and what category (for example, Education--Resources) you placed the club in.

4. Each group member should log in using anonymous nicknames and then navigate to the newly created club. Members can chat, create discussion boards (discussion boards are saved whereas chats are not), and even take part in polls created by group members.

Using resources like the Lycos clubs is an easy way to create functional GSS for your group. Using Internet chat rooms (or Lycos clubs) is easy once you are familiar with their many features. Group members should familiarize themselves with the chat room or club interface before the group uses this technology to facilitate a group discussion.