Subject: [IFETS-DISCUSSION:1696] RE: success with e
From: Steve Mahaley (Steve.Mahaley@DukeCE.com)
Date: Thu 24 May 2001 - 22:09:51 MEST
From: "Steve Mahaley" <Steve.Mahaley@DukeCE.com> Subject: [IFETS-DISCUSSION:1696] RE: success with e Date: Fri, 25 May 2001 08:09:51 +1200
Hello fellow IFETS readers
The topic of effective use of online discussion in instruction is one I
have had some experience with. While the "students" I work with
currently are not pursuing a "grade", there is a definite need in the
design of the online experience to tie the use of the tool (in this
case, discussion groups) to some deliverable (or product / result) that
is in line with the objectives of the course. Here are some
suggestions, and please forgive me if these are not useful for you!
1 - Introduce the course online. If possible, get the students into the
habit of going online to learn about the course, and have some initial
use of the discussion boards.
2 - Leave your course notes on topic-specific discussion boards. This
pushes the students to use the discussion boards to access material as
well as for continuing the work on line.
3 - Create topic-specific discussion boards, give the
participant/students an objective (+ date for delivery) for the work
that happens therein, and facilitate the process, if you can. One
catch-all discussion board tends to get loose, disorganized, and
abandoned. A very specific topic board, with a learning goal
deliverable attached (by date X you should have the attached exercise
completed).
4 - Entertain the notion of teams. This may or may not be appropriate,
but organizing your students into teams, and then giving each team a
discussion board can help with the sense of community and shared goals.
5 - Educate the students on appropriate use of discussion boards. Many
times it has served us well to do a formal presentation on how to best
utilize the online tools.
6 - Using chat: An effective approach I have seen is to set the date
for the chat,and send out invitations along with an exercise that will
be discussed. As the facilitator / instructor, anticipate the questions
the students will have, and compose responses in a text editor **ahead
of time**. This way, as the barage (potentially) of questions come in,
you can edit, cut and paste your well-formulated responses into the
chat. Keep the chat focused!
7 - Consider the use of a team contract. This is a document that the
students, in teams of 3-5, use to establish their standards for how and
when they will use the online tools. They all sign it! That document
outlines who will lead which discussion, who will be responsible for
writing the "minutes" from chat sessions, etc.
I hope these help - and best regards to the IFETS readership.
Steve
Steve Mahaley
Learning Technology and Development
Duke Corporate Education, Inc.
tel 919 680 5618
fax 919 680 5600
<http://www.dukece.com>
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