Chapter 1. Self-Assessment Activities

Chapter 2. Learning Activities

Chapter 3. Learning Activities
Learning Activity 3-1
Learning Activity 3-2
Learning Activity 3-3
Learning Activity 3-4
Learning Activity 3-5

Common Chat and E-mail  Abbreviations, Emoticons and Emoting

Chapter 4. Learning Activities

Core Reference Sources and Tools

The Virtual Reference Handbook: Interview and Information Delivery Techniques for the Chat and E-Mail Environments

Learning Activity 3-4. Recreational and  Consumer Services Web Chat Practice

This learning activity is a selected collection of links to Recreational or Consumer Services chat sites that the author has personal experience with. These are relatively 'safe' and friendly sites. Choose at least one of each type and connect. Self-reflect. How do you feel chatting for fun? Do you feel comfortable with a particular group? How do you feel as a customer inquiring with a consumer services chat?

• Meta Chats: The Internet Chat Resource Guide - http://www.ibiblio.org/dbarberi/links/chats//
  Collection of Web chats of all sorts.
• Gaia-Online - http://www.gaiaonline.com/
  Free role-playing game and chat intended for children primarily. Recommended  to me by 7, 10, and 12 year old neighbor girls. Chat and user forums are moderated actively.
• Welcome to Whyville! - http://whyville.net/smmk/nice
  Virtual reality for children primarily. Chat and user forums.
• Carnage-Blender - http://www.carnageblender.com.
  This is a free strategy game, with moderated chat. No cursing/swearwords are tolerated. Note that most chat is game related. Warning: may be addictive. Author's husband is an adminstrator and she is a former administrator for this game.
• LandsEndLive - http://www.landsend.com
  Click on "Customer Service" on the main page to connect to LandsEndLive. While shopping on this site you can connect to a customer service representative to ask questions about color, quality, fabrics, sizes, etc. The author has used this for matching on-sale items to get a second opinion on matching/combining colors and styles. This is not meant as a commercial endorsement but only an option for chat practice. You may choose to connect and just tell them you are curious about the chat option and how it works. If you wish to do so, ask the customer service representative whether he or she likes working this way?, are there problems?, etc.
• TurboTax Online Live Chat - http://turbotax.com
  Click on "Support" on the main page. Then look for "Online Live Chat" . While using the TurboTax software you can connect to a tax advisor and get real-person advice. The author has not used this personally but it seems like a potentially good idea. Connect to ask about the software and service for 2006 taxes.    This is not meant as a commercial endorsement but only an option for chat practice. You may choose to connect and just tell them you are curious about the chat option and how it works. If you wish to do so, ask the customer service representative whether he or she likes working this way?, are there problems?, etc.