Transcript Document

E - Discussions
Bulletin Boards and Chat
Definitions, applications to teaching and
learning, pros & cons,
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What are…?
• Bulletin Boards:

Also known as discussion boards or forums

Asynchronous

Post message/response- ‘threads’ form
• Chat:

Discussion tool

Synchronous

Feared by the Daily Mail
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What does a discussion board look like?
This is a screen from a previous
staff dev session where
colleagues had a hands on session
after the ‘theory’. As you can see,
it looks who contributed, when
and shows what their contribution
is about.
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What does a discussion board look like?
This is what a typical
discussion board thread
can look like.
The two contributions
you can see here are from
level 2 History students
and they’re responding to
prompt from me which I
typed in class in front of
them and then sent them
away with instructions to
respond for h/w
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What does a chat room look like?
Chat rooms look like
this. You could use it
as has been done here
to give one to one
feedback/ support at a
distance.
There are all sorts of
web protocols and
short hands which you
may want to
familiarise yourself
with ‘lol’ ;-)
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What are the initial considerations?
1. It depends on what you have available
2. See it as a way of enhancing face to face discussions
3. It gives opportunities to students to contribute who may
not otherwise- this can help with assessment too. So, if
your aim is to enable more learners to participate then
this is an effective way.
4. Because it supports different learning styles and
preferences you can set up a discussion that mirrors one
you have had in class- you’ll be surprised by the
differences in contributions
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How could I use them? – Some ideas
1. Schedule a chat as part of a collaborative task
2. Use discussion boards for students to share work and
ideas
3. Follow a thread in class and use it as a prompt for
discussion
4. ESOL/ Basic Skills- have a chat then get students to
correct all or one type of error on the script
5. Tell students you will give a detailed response to all
questions asked outside class time but only on the
discussion board (thereby all students ‘hear’ your
answer)
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E Discussions: Benefits cited by students in feedback-1
• “Although it takes a while to get used to, it’s
worth it for the satisfaction of seeing something
solid in response to your own ideas or
contributions”
• “It’s good to have everything there- you can go
back to it.”
Access to Teaching @ THC online feedback June 2003
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E Discussions: Benefits cited by students in feedback-2
• “We need to feel comfortable with new methods
of learning- for H.E and in our future careers”
• “It’s Great fun”
• “You do not have to feel shy about speaking out
in class and getting it wrong”
Access to Teaching @ THC online feedback June 2003
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Bulletin Boards- pros
• Permanent record- for tutors and students
• Time to think and phrase contributions
• Contributions can contribute to assessment and
are easily moderated
• Breadth and depth of contributions greater
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Chat- pros
• Number and quality of contributions each
student makes is greater- even the quietest ones
• Quiet students contribute (This has been widely
acknowledged elsewhere but the nature of
contributions was impressive)
• Students can be distracted but get back on track
easily (i.e. able to have two conversations at
once)
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Chat- pros (cont’d)
• Although spelling can be awful,vocabulary use is
impressive- one student was talking about
‘prescriptive vs descriptive grammars of English’
which was not covered in class.
• They instigated the discussion themselves on the
basis of my task list
• Some students took on an assertive role- 'hey guys,
we're off track, what should we be talking about?'this is rare in f2f discussions as the teacher's presence
is too apparent
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E Discussions- cons
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Technophobe resistance
Can be tough at first
Typing speed ( a real con?)
Policing inappropriate use
Language quality
Tutor time?
Others…?
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