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(using discussion software
— email, bulletin boards, newsgroups)
Dr Rob Phillips,
Teaching and Learning Centre, Murdoch University, Western AUSTRALIA
Context
This document is based
on the premises that:
- The internet is a
communication tool
- It is best suited
to student-centred activities, supported by learning resources
- One should design
activities which encourage students to discuss, critique, summarise and
reflect
- The lecturer's role
becomes that of a guide
Practical Aspects
There are a number
of practical aspects which can help your students engage with online discussion
activities, and which can minimise the amount of work you and your students
need to do.
Choose the right group
size
- Enough to have a critical mass
- Small enough to limit workload
Integrate discussion
use into the course
- Allocate specific and meaningful activities for students to do which
require discussion
- Discussion should not be an optional extra
- Allocate marks as an incentive for use
Break the Ice
Give students the opportunity to get to know each other -
- introductory messages
- student home pages
- chat sessions
Set the Environment
- Have a firm expectation about what your students will achieve, and communicate
this to your students. If you are half-hearted, then they will be too
- Send out a joke every week to encourage students to access the discussion
Use a Student-centred
Approach
- Help the students to do it themselves
- Make it very clear that discussion is for the students
- Encourage students to ask questions of other students, not of you
Maintain a student-centred
approach
- Don't become the focus for discussion
- Do not respond immediately to student questions
- wait a day to see who else
responds
- Identify issues and put these as questions for students to discuss
- Encourage reflection on the processes students are using
Promote Moderation
Skills
- Betty Collis - Telelearning in a Digital World (p 324)
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