only connect - progress - student/tutor example chat 1

The following is an example of a chat session between a tutor and a small group of students. It is exploring some of the ideas arrising from a task on facts and opinions.

Amanda: Hi Marshal
Marshal: hi there
Amanda: Hi Jenny
OnlineHost: *** You are in "Marshal17". ***
Jennifer: Hi
Kelly: hollo
Layla: hello
Marshal: hi - give me a mo while I get all the invitations out :)
Layla: so kelly what have u been up 2
Kelly: nothing really
Marshal: how is your arm, Layla?
Layla: ok thanx
Marshal: how doid u break it?
Layla: doing a dum dare
Layla: on a bike
Marshal: you shouldn't take Batman so seriously, it's only a film :)
Layla: i know but never mind
Marshal: OK - let's not hang about for the rest - thanks to all for
coming and we'll be quick
Marshal: question:
Marshal: why does it /feel/ like a fact that G Fawkes was a bad man?
Jennifer: cos he burnt down the houses of parliment
Marshal: well, no, he didn't
Marshal: he just tried to
Jennifer: well he tried to then
Marshal: :)
Marshal: OK - why is it /not / a fact?
Jennifer: cos he might have been a nice person but he did a bad thing
Marshal: OK - what's the key word here - Layla?
Layla: ?
Kelly: minght
Kelly: might
Marshal: G Fawkes was a bad man - what's the word there that tells us
it's an opinion
Layla: was
Kelly: was
Marshal: (Kelly, you have a point there)
Marshal: OK - no - it's 'bad'
Layla: o right
Marshal: bad is a judgment - agreed?
Layla: yep
Marshal: and we all make individual judgments
Kelly: yes
Marshal: so, because GF tried to burn down OUR houses of parliamnet he's
a bad man
Kelly: no
Jennifer: no
Marshal: can you exaplin that no Jenny?
Layla: no he had his reasons 4 doing it
Kelly: he might have been mental
Marshal: ok - do you tghink they seemed right to him?
Marshal: (Kelly :))
Jennifer: cos he had his resons for doing it,
Kelly: no
Marshal: if it didn't seem right, why woudl he do it?
Jennifer: just cos he did a bad thing it doesn't make him a bad person
Marshal: ok - good point Jenny
Kelly: to prove a point
Marshal: Yes, Kelly. Can anyone think of other 'bad' people in history?
Kelly: henry the 8
Layla: Manson
Marshal: yes - Layla - hard to find any good in charly manson
Kelly: hitler
Marshal: does every one agree about henry 8 - Amanda?
Amanda: Yes
Layla: no what was the point in killing his wifes
Marshal: OK
Marshal: yes - he might have been a bad /man/ but a good king?
Marshal: is that possible?
Kelly: what about hitler
Marshal: hitler - yes - anotherone where it seems hard to find the good
Kelly: ok
Marshal: but he did a lot for ordinary germans before the war
Marshal: have you seen those old films of him - with everyone waving?
Kelly: but not for us marshal
Layla: he still killed a lot of children
Marshal: No, exactly
Amanda: Hitler must have thourght what he was doing was right
Kelly: yes with my grandad
Marshal: Layla - yes
Marshal: so, for many germans he was a good man to start with
Marshal: but in the end he was responsible for millions of deaths
Marshal: OK - hard question.....
Kelly: that right 1 point marshal ha ha
Marshal: if hitler had not ever been born, would there still have been a
second world war?
Jennifer: yeah
Kelly: no
Kelly: he is mental
Layla: i think so
Marshal: why Layla?
Layla: cause they will have just found another thing to have a war over
Marshal: yes - i think you may be right
Marshal: OK - Nelson
Marshal: did /he/ win the battle of trafalgar
Kelly: did he lose his eye
Layla: yeah i think he did
Marshal: Yes - it was probably while on a dare on his bike :)
Jennifer: i think so
Marshal: But he died before it was over
Amanda: I know nothing about him
Marshal: OK Amanda - that's fine
Marshal: just watch
Amanda: OK
Marshal: what about all the british sailors
Kelly: was it battle of trafalgar
Marshal: yes-kelly
Marshal: didn't the sailors have a hand in it?
Kelly: was it battle on sea
Marshal: yes - so Nelson didn't do it alone
Marshal: ok.... let's wind up here
Marshal: this has been a very short chat - anyone have any comments about
how it went?
Layla: nope
Marshal: :)
Layla: :0)
Marshal: Oh you all make my job so easy ;-)
Kelly: very good but how many points do i get
Marshal: How many would you like?
Kelly: 100 out of 100
Marshal: OK - you shall have them, and remember, Points Mean Prizes
Kelly: what do i get
Marshal: A gonk
Marshal: :)
Kelly: thanks a lot a tryed
Marshal: If anyone want's to mail me about what they got out of this (if
anything) I'd be really plea
Marshal: how was it different from doing a worksheet etc.
Marshal: Now - run along and play :-)
Kelly: better by miles
Layla: ok bye bye
Kelly: ok
Jennifer: ok see ya
Amanda: Bye
Marshal: bye
Kelly: bye
Marshal: kelly - I'd really like to hear why yo thought it was beeter