Chat Live is a relatively new program offered at Capilano University, which offers students a chance to finally speak their minds about topics that interest them.
For the fall semester, the diverse topics to choose from are “ India: A Nation Reborn?” which will revolve around India’s recent dynamic changes, “Better Living Through Chemistry?” which assesses the many issues with chemicals and health benefits, and “Talkin' digital music blues” which addresses how music has evolved within generations.
The groups meet only three to four times throughout the term from 11:30-12:50 pm, all on Thursdays for this semester. Although there is no cost to participate in ChatLive, you do receive a transcript notation of your participation.
Marina Deltechava, a participant in last year’s ChatLive discussion “The Last Film I Saw Rocked (or Sucked)”, said that “ChatLive was a great way to meet people you share interests with, and I really enjoyed the discussions.” She said that she would “definitely do it again.” According to Marina, the credit for these discussions can be viewed as a “resume builder” for your transcript.
It’s also very easy to register for these discussions. Registration for ChatLive discussions is done in exactly the same manner as regular classes. According to Capilano’s webpage, “look for the subject "ChatLive-Student/Faculty Disc." Select the CHAT name for the group that is of interest. The options will be CHAT 016 through CHAT 018, and each has only one section.
Dr. Jared Burrows, who is one of the host professors for the “Talking digital music blues” discussion, mentioned that he is interested in hearing students’ voices. “Chatlive is not meant to be a lecture, but more so a discussion and the general idea is that people discuss things that are of concern to them,” stated Dr. Burrows.
Another interesting thing, according to Dr. Burrows, is that “We are in a university, and one of the main purposes of a university is the discovery of knowledge and exchanging of ideas. That’s how learning happens. To me, ChatLive is just a slightly more organized or formalized approach to what, ideally, should be happening every day at a university. It’s a way to bring these students into that process of dialogue, exchange and discovery.” The essence of a university is being able to exchange ideas in an educational environment. The ChatLive allows for these kinds of discussions to take place.
Fall ChatLive sessions begin in October. For more information check out: http://www.capilanou.ca/programs/university-transfer/chat-live.html.
by Lydia Adeli
Writer
