Instant messaging

I think instant mesaging can be really distracting when I am working. I enjoy the feature from my laptop when I am doing non-work things. But sometimes, it's just best to ignore the IM-addicted. I have watched my kids IMing with severalpeople at once. Feels to me that you could easily say the wrong thing to the wrong person and mess up a good friendship. I'm not convinced that this feature has a place in the classroom. But I like the idea of students sharing their thoughts about a learning topi through IM, but after class hours only.