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Real time communications: Web chat (screen 17 of 20)
Improvements in hardware and software on the Internet have allowed near real time communications to develop to the stage where two-way video, audio and type communications are now possible.
This real time communication started, and continues today, with people typing messages on their keyboard. These messages appear, at the same time as they are typed, on the screens of one or more other computers around the world.
Web chat or Internet Relay Chat (IRC)
This type of keyboard communication, called Web chat or 
Internet Relay Chat(1), is often used for games and chatting. Virtual areas where people Web chat are often called 'chat rooms' and different chat rooms will have different subjects, focuses or titles. You can try participating in a chat room or get a free chat room(2) for your website.
Web chat also develops communities of people who have similar interests or who like each other. Web chat enables people to pretend to be other than they really are and create alternative identities. Although chat can occur amongst a group, conversations can also occur in real time between two people in a virtual 'private room'.
Web chat does have serious applications. It can be useful for some business communications, such as conferencing or brainstorming ideas.
And it is certainly a useful tool for the hearing impaired.
Educational applications for IRC
Web chat also has educational applications. It enables 'real time' tutorials to take place. Students can interact with each other and with their tutor.
This means that an interactive learning experience is no longer bound to a physical campus. Many universities are taking advantage of this type of technology and delivering courses and degrees solely online.
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References
- Internet Relay Chat http://www.irchelp.org/
- Free chat room http://chatroomweb.com
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