HOW TO USE BULLETIN BOARDS WITH ONLINE OR ONLINE-HYBRID CLASSES TO BUILD LEARNING COMMUNITIES

A WORKSHOP

Maren Bradley Anderson, WOU

Online teaching is different from classroom teaching Not in a classroom Text-only communication Asynchronous environment There is a perceived lack of

instructor/student and student/student online interaction. Good course design can help create a sense

of community specifically good discussion group

facilitation.

Students are ready

84% of high school students use social media (Noel-Levitz)

“College students (63%) and high school seniors (69%) believe that tablets will effectively replace textbooks as we know them today within the next five years” (Pearson Foundation). That is, they expect to be reading digital

texts.

My online class model

I post 6-10 Discussion Questions (DQs) a week on a given topic

Students post eight 100-word posts a week x 10 weeks = 8,000 words

Participation is mandatory  4 posts in direct response to my DQs 4 posts in reply to other students’ posts I respond to select posts depending on

what is needed

Components Of Online Discussion Board Design Determining the purpose of the

discussion

Designing good Discussion Questions

Facilitating techniques

Responding to students

Purpose of Discussion in Online Classrooms Vygotsky said that learning is a result of

participation and dialogue in a social world (McLaughlin).

Online discussions develop student dialogue by allowing students to: explore course concepts in an informal

environment with their peers

apply course material to real-life (or hypothetical) situations

dig deeper into the material by asking questions and elaborating on each other’s answers (Arends).

Community= higher critical thinking Building and facilitating discussions online

that actually lead to discussion As opposed to regurgitation or demonstration

of knowledge Inquiry method of teaching

leads to a sense of community among the students

AND, according to some studies, higher critical thinking (Arends).

Qualities Of Good Discussion Questions, Leading To Community Of Learners (Arends)

Are open-ended

Might include at least two different and distinct solutions

Ask students to share ideas and experiences on course concepts

Allow multiple viewpoints to be expressed

Are thoughtful and thought-provoking

Maren’s Discussion Question Examples What do we pay attention to when we

see a play? What do we pay attention to when we read a play?

What do the ways the characters enter the stage (but before they speak) tell us about the gender roles in the play?

Important Facilitation Techniques Neutral/Impartial Tone (Arends)

Not even disclosing the “right” answers Just probing for more info/clarification

Infrequent/purposeful response (Arends) 10-20% of responses

Response Strategies (McLaughlin)

Questioning Requesting reasons for beliefs held Demonstration of criteria for judgments

made Cooperation in developing and applying

problem-solving strategies

Maren’s Process for Picking Student Posts for Response The “Best” answers Corrections Questions

Works Cited

Arend, Bridget. "Encouraging Critical Thinking in Online Threaded Discussions." The Journal of Educators Online 6 (2009): 1-23. ERIC. Web. 8 Mar. 2012.

"College Students' Social Networking." EMarketer. EDUCASE, 22 Sept. 2008. Web. 8 Mar. 2012.  

McLoughlin, Catherine. "Culturally Responsive Technology Use: Developing an On-line Community of Learners." British Journal of Educational Technology 30.3 (1999): 231-43. Print.

Noel-Levitz. "Mobile Social Media Use among College-bound High School Students." College Student Social Media Usage Statistics on Mobile Devices. Noel-Levitz, 12 Jan. 2012. Web. 8 Mar. 2012.  

"Pearson Foundation Survey on Students and Tablets." Pearson Foundation Survey on Students and Tablets. Jan. 2012. Web. 19 Mar. 2012.

Demos

Screencast tour of Moodle (LMS)