Students in a classroom typically indicate readiness to contribute ideas to an ongoing discussion by raising their hands. The instructor then allows students to have their say, usually in the order in which the students raised their hands. When they have the floor, students can say what they wish to say, even if it is not pertinent to, or only tangential to, the discussion topic. While the instructor has control over who goes next, he or she does not have any way to ensure that what students say is relevant to the discussion topic. In an ICCS environment, the instructor previews what students write, and makes decisions regarding the relevance of the comments to the discussion that is taking place.
Instructional time is quite valuable.
Chat sessions typically have instructional objectives. These objectives can be better accomplished if the instructor has more control over the flow of comments that are made, rather than just the order in which students are allowed to make comments. When an instructor makes a decision not to include a comment made by a student in the ongoing discussion, it is possible that the student could become discouraged. At the same time, if the instructor explains to the student why his or her comments were not included in the ongoing discussion, this could motivate the student to pay closer attention to the discussion topic, and to submit more relevant comments. During chat sessions, students sometimes send personal comments to the whole group instead of sending them directly as a personal message to the person to whom the comment was directed.