Transcript Document

“A tidal wave of discussion”
How active discussion produced outstanding
results
David Callaghan
July 2014
edgehill.ac.uk/ls
Headlines / context
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May 2013
UG Dissertation cohort – 47* submissions
57% of students obtained a First
Discussion boards
– 2,573 posts
– over half the cohort posting
Web conferencing
– To the ‘converted’ – sustain the community
Tracking
– Mass emails in early days of course.
Rhetoric vs reality vs faith?
Feeding forward?
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Aims of this session
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Present some techniques used with a successful online cohort;
Present the tutors experience (mine);
Discuss these techniques;
Get you to try them in some of your courses;
Discuss how you might get support / help with using these techniques.
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Why did I take the cohort?
My drivers:
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To give a good student experience
To experience using these technologies myself
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Why listen to me?
I got results …
… outstanding results:
(but it was a strong cohort)
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So, how did I do this?
Student engagement…
… generating a ‘community’:
Three main tools:
• Video - incl. conferencing
• Tracking
• Discussion
Welcome video:
http://youtu.be/EJ7M2cSwcB8
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Embedded Video
Uses:
Introduction
Content
Feedback
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Video – web conferencing
and
recording
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Tracking: Retention Centre
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‘New’ in SP12
– (was the Early Warning System)
Help identify students ‘at risk’
– Missed deadlines
– Grades
– Activity
– Access
Tutors create ‘rules’
System can email en-mass
Use to send ‘well done’ and ‘what
next’ messages
http://ondemand.blackboard.com/r91/movies/bb91_evaluation_retention_center.htm
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If they still didn’t engage:
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I found their personal email address and emailed them …
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If they STILL didn’t engage!?
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I found their home phone numbers and called them …
I found their mobile numbers and then …
I kept calling until I got to talk to them …
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There was no escape!
(I’m not aware of any complaints)
(… and I went to their graduation …)
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One story …
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‘ … quaking in my boots …’
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Discussion
subscription
Notify by email when others post
• Increases engagement
• Speeds up discussion
• Reduces frustration
Forward student to personal email:
http://www.eshare.edgehill.ac.uk/943/
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Discussion to:
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Ask a question
Share ideas
Post thoughts about what they were working on
Post draughts of chapters
Look at peers work
Get feedback from the tutor (me) on their work
Look at other peers feedback from me
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Links with the literature …
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Salmon – 5 stage model (2004);
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“Others’ have developed this with the analogy of a ‘ghost in the wings’
(Mazzolini and Maddison, 2007) …”
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“ … need to have a presence (Garrison, et al., 2000) – checking the forums
frequently and replying promptly to posts (Hodges & Cowan, 2012)”
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“ … Pelz’s notion that ‘… online students bond earlier and ‘better’ than
students sitting in the same classroom’ (2004:41).
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… the pressure to produce polished responses that were instantly displayed
to the whole cohort (Bair & Bair, 2011).”
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Discussion led to …
… peer feedback …
• That moved from simple mechanical comments
– Well done!?
– Spelling
– Referencing
• To insightful critical comments
– … that significantly improved others work
– … that significantly improved MANY others work!
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Subsequently …
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Intercalating students …
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Summarising the major tools:
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Video
Tracking
Discussion
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Other tools:
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Announcements and Timed announcements
Performance Dashboard
– drilling down to see student performance
Originality check
– Turnitin
Test student account
– what the student ‘sees’
Formatting items
Mobile
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Grade centre
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Announcements
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Announcements – incl links
to resources:
This example shows:
• YouTube for verbal feedback
• Notes from a tutorial
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Timed announcements
Tidy up your act
• Set a date restriction
• Automatically remove out-of-date
announcements
• Stops students re-reading old
messages
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Performance
Dashboard
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Track student progress
Pick out students that:
– Haven’t logged on
Drill down …
– Discussion contributions
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Turnitin
Use for formative assessment
Originality report
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Test Student
To get a ‘students eye’ view
• Test student activity
– Submissions
– Assignments / Tests
– Availability (content, results)
– Retention rules
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Grade Centre
Formative:
• Tracking progressions
Summative:
• Results and feedback
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Mobile
Enhanced student engagement
Full guide for staff:
http://www.eshare.edgehill.ac.uk/1372/
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Take away messages
• What will you be using with your students this / next year?
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My next steps?
“ … explore their posts … our journey …
… how I may have …
• … facilitated my social presence in online forums (Savvidou, 2013) …
• … Sociability (Smith & Sivo, 2013) …
• … and the learners ‘Sense of Presence’ (Sung & Mayer, 2013).”
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Evaluation
Later today please take a couple of minutes to reflect on:
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What you liked about this session
What you think could have been done to improve it
... and email me your thoughts: [email protected]
Many thanks,
David
edgehill.ac.uk/ls
References
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Bair, D. E., and Bair, M. A. (2011). Paradoxes of online teaching. International Journal for the Scholarship
of Teaching and Learning, 5(2), 1–15
Garrison, D. R., Anderson, T., & Archer, W. (2000). Critical inquiry in a text-based environment: Computer
conferencing in higher education. The Internet and Higher Education, 2, pp87–105.
Hodges, C. B. and Cowan, S. F. Preservice Teachers’ Views of Instructor Presence in Online Courses.
(2012) Journal of Digital Learning in Teacher Education 28(4) pp139-145.
Mazzolini, M. and Maddison, S. (2007) When to jump in: The role of the instructor in online discussion
forums. Computers & Education, 49 (2) 193-213.
Pelz, B. (2004) Three principles of effective online pedagogy. Journal of the Asynchronous Learning
Network, 8(3), pp33–46.
Salmon, G. (2004) E-moderating: The key to teaching and learning online. London: Routledge.
Savvidou, C. “‘Thanks for sharing your story’: the role of the teacher in facilitating social presence in
online discussion.” Technology, Pedagogy and Education ahead-of-print (2013): 1-19.
Smith, J.A. and Sivo, S.A. (2012) “Predicting continued use of online teacher professional development
and the influence of social presence and sociability.” British Journal of Educational Technology 43(6)
pp871-882.
Wakefield, J. (2012) Granny army helps India’s school children via the
cloud. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-17114718 [accessed 11/04/2013].
And: Blog post - A Tidal Wave of Discussion:
– http://blogs.edgehill.ac.uk/learningedge/2013/11/01/a-tidal-wave-of-discussion/
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