Prepare for the discussion by reading Chapter 9, “Design for the Virtual Classroom” (pp. 463–471) then answer the following questions.
- What can you as an instructor do when creating an online discussion environment?
- How would you prepare the learners for the discussion activty?
- What is the role of the moderator in an online discussion forum?
- What are some challenges as a moderator?
By Wednesday
Post your thoughts on this week’s discussion topic. Be sure to cite your sources to support your ideas.
By Sunday
Read a selection of your colleagues’ postings. As you read their responses, note those to which you would like to respond with advice, questions, comments, and/or encouragement.
Respond to two or more of your colleagues’ postings in any of the following ways:
- Build on something your colleague said.
- Explain why and how you see things differently.
- Ask a probing or clarifying question.
- Share an insight from having read your colleague's posting.
- Offer and support an opinion.
- Validate an idea with your own experience.
- Expand on your colleague's posting.
- Ask for evidence that supports the posting.
Return to the discussion in a few days to read the responses to your initial posting. Reflect on what you learned in this activity and/or insights you gained this week.
Click here to view the Discussion RubricResources
Horton, W. (2006). E-learning by design. San Francisco, CA: Pfeiffer.
What can you as an instructor do to create and facilitate meaningful discussion activities when creating an online discussion environment?
ReplyDeleteHorton (2006) suggests keeping instructions simple. Introduce the topic with a contextual introduction that relates the current activity to the course learning objectives. Follow with an invitation to contribute to the discussion. Clearly state expectations, including a clear explanation of how the discussion will be graded. Horton also suggests including instructions about how students may request help if they do not understand the instructions.
How would you prepare the learners for the discussion activity?
Horton (2006) says students should never encounter an empty forum page. He suggests several specific links, including a link to an introduction page, an administrative support page for non-technical questions not related to course content, a technical support page for questions related to the mechanics of using the forum. He also suggests a general comments page to provide students with an outlet for questions and comments not related to a specific discussion, and a student lounge page for discussions about any topic, including topics not related to the course at all.
New students may need additional help getting started with online discussion. The instructor may provide an initial example post. It is especially important for new students to receive feedback from their posts to build their confidence so they feel they know what they are doing. Later, however, instructors need to give students some “space” without commenting on every post, so students have room to struggle and learn on their own. (Oosterhof, Conrad, & Ely, 2008)
Horton (2006) also speaks about encouraging students to edit their posts when they discover minor mistakes in punctuation, spelling, or grammar, so that posts are understandable. However, students should not make substantial changes to initial posts, especially when those changes may affect the context of reply posts by other students. Substantial revisions should be noted in the post.
What is the role of the moderator in an online discussion forum?
The role of the moderator changes as the course progresses. Initially the moderator encourages students and prompts responses from each student. Later, the moderator takes a less aggressive roll, only commenting when encouragement is needed or the topic is getting off-track. The moderator also keeps discussion interesting, positive, and polite (Horton, 2006).
What are some challenges as a moderator?
Challenges faced by moderators include preventing misconceptions from being repeated and reinforced without discouraging participants, keeping participants involved and interested, and encouraging participants to “go deep” in their thinking by asking probing questions that provoke application of learning, problem-solving, and consequently, deeper learning.
References:
Horton, W. (2006). E-learning by design. In Designiing for the virtual classroom (pp. 463-471). New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Retrieved from http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/courses/63694/CRS-CW-5364572/Documents/Horton_Ch9_DesignVirtual_.pdf
Oosterhof, A., Conrad, R.M., & Ely, D.P. (2008). Assessing Learners Online. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.
This is a link to my comments:
ReplyDeletehttps://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B7pM9PGzaXuuYjVkNmY1NTctNGQ2NS00ZmFkLWFjNTYtZTlhMGE2ZTExZmVm&hl=en_US
Yolanda,
ReplyDeleteWhat can you as an instructor do when creating an online discussion environment?
Be present, be sure to reply to all introduction posts, so nobody feels left out, make you expectations clear, and monitor discussion to get them going and keep them lively.
How would you prepare the learners for the discussion activty?
Build a strong online community....encourage engagement
What is the role of the moderator in an online discussion forum?
The role of moderator is to moderate...be present, handle inappropriate post, ask thought provoking questions to keep the communication going, encourage non participators to participate
What are some challenges as a moderator?
Not being able to reach the non participators, dealing with the inappropriate posts, time to monitor posts.
D
Danielle,
ReplyDeleteNicely done. Your simple and direct answers covered the questions well, and did not exceed the unwritten word-limit that blogger apparently imposes. I also appreciated your comment about dealing with inappropriate posts. That issue certainly does present a challenge to moderators.
I especially liked your answer about preparing learners for discussion. I wrote three paragraphs and never mentioned building a strong online community. The principle was in my mind while writing, but somehow I was so focused on details that I left out the context.
Nice job.
When creating online discussion is it important for the instructor to make sure the participants are invited (Horton, 2006). They also need to make sure they set the parameters for the discussion and give some examples. This leads into how to prepare the learners for the discussion. The instructor needs to have clear and concise expectations as well as explaining the grading criteria. Once the student knows what to expect and how they will be graded then they can begin to actively participate in the discussion.
ReplyDeleteThe role of the moderator is to “watch over the exchange of messages” (Horton, 2006, p. 467). The moderator has to make sure they understand the content as well as have good communication skills. This can pose as a challenge for the moderator. They have to be react tactfully and express ideas so that the learner can be challenged but also not feel defeated. The moderator also needs to make sure they intervene only when necessary and then allow the discussion to continue with the learners.
Resources
Horton, W. (2006). E-learning by design. San Francisco, CA: Pfeiffer
I am happy at how the discussion turned out. The discussion was lively and I was glad that the participants were exchanging their thoughts with each other. I was given a great group of people that were able to carry on a converation without my interavention. I think that my assignment prompted some converation because I asked a good amount of questions that were related to the readings. I think if I had to do it differently, I would have like to have had more time to develop my posts and questions. I felt like it was a bit rushed because of the fact that I had another assignment do at the same time. But for the most part I think that this was a good learning experience and a I am happy with the turnout. Thank you to Danielle , Amy, and David for participating.
ReplyDelete