Originally created for the KCPDC Tech Expo 2002 meeting on Saturday, January 26, 2002, by Ben Ward, Educational Technology Center, Johnson County Community College (http://web.jccc.net/edtech). Also published in LENS: Learning Exchange Networks, Module 4.
Distance Education comes in three basic forms: synchronous collaborative learning (real-time), asynchronous collaborative learning, and self-paced learning. All three forms are delivered in a variety of formats from interactive television (ITV), to multimedia packages, Internet-based courses, or online classes offered over the World Wide Web. What all these formats have in common “are learners who want network access to learning and want a richer learning offering than is available by buying a book or video or simply retrieving Web pages. They want an experience enhanced through interaction with peers and experts through collaboration and flexibility of anytime learning” (Black, 1998, p.3).
The bottom line is that if you don’t have some form of peer-to-peer communication then you really aren’t developing anything other than a correspondence course. Learning management systems provide us with a variety of tools to foster building communication. Choice among these is the threaded discussion, which allows for continuous exchange between students, their peers, and the instructor in an ondemand format. The ultimate goal of a well-founded discussion thread is for students to make a connection and, in the process, make meaning.
Do’s
|
Don’ts
|
- Set rules, norms and consequences (netiquette)
- Provide an introduction activity
- Foster a positive, risk free climate in your discussions (pat
then nudge/constructive, positive responses)
- Model your expectations for your students
- Be a presence in the discussion (check the discussions daily)
- Follow up student questions specifically posed to you in the forums
- Respond to student inquiries and problems privately when appropriate
- Clarify issues where the class as a whole is uncertain
- Structure questions and activities so that students may
relate them to personal experiences
- Use open-ended questions to guide discussions
- Use discreet topics for your different forums
- Require a minimum number of posts
- Require students to respond to their peers not just you
- Provide deadlines (with specific dates and times)
- Use groups or partners where appropriate
- Provide opportunity for students to privately evaluate their partners in group work situations
- Encourage collaboration
- Guide discussion threads that stray too far from the topic
- Make your discussion questions and/or activities overtly
meaningful
- Stress using the “Quote” feature when appropriate for your students
- Praise students that share additional outside information
- Create a place for your students to just chat
|
- Fail to follow your own rules
- Let negative attitudes go unchecked
- Ignore what your students are posting
- Forget to make some posts yourself
- Answer every post each student submits
- Play favorites
- Grade based on the number of posts
- Grade based on spelling, punctuation, and grammar
- Require too many constraints for each post (remember – posting should be conversational)
- Fail to require students posting
- Ask closed-ended questions
- Fail to keep activities and/or questions clear and overt
- Publicly comment on a student’s performance
- Use topics or headings that require lengthy explanations
(unless you are willing to provide that explanation repeatedly)
- Forget to give your students time to respond
- Fail to provide some form of anonymous instructional feedback
- Forget to set the pace and tone for your course
- Forget to provide your students with instructions on how to use the discussion board
|
Remember that a lot of what makes online learning a unique opportunity for both students and instructors is the chance to create new learning communities. Success in this endeavor is dependent on several key concepts: honesty, responsiveness, relevance, respect, openness, and empowerment.
