Backchanneling

I think backchanneling could be a very helpful resource for teachers in the classroom. It allows students to ask questions and give more insight to others that are hearing the same lecture and combine their ideas. It keeps them actively involved without making them constantly raise their hands and talk in front of the class where they may feel shy and insecure. Everyone is constantly learning. Then the teacher can read over it and see places where there is extra instruction or explanation needed. It also shows which students have a higher grasp of the concepts than others and the teacher can pair them up accordingly. I see it as a good technology tool for teachers to use. Both the students and the teachers can benefit from it. It can become even more beneficial when they students are given a specific topic or discussion question to base the backchannel off of.
However, I can see one drawback to this new teaching method. I am not very good at multi-tasking. In class today, I became very distracted by the backchanneling on my screen and then I missed parts that he talked about. The only reason I know I missed things was by the discussion going on online. It will be important for teachers to consider students that are like me and need to concentrate on one thing at a time to be able to retain the information. It is a good tool, but should not be used all the time.