Transcript Online Discussion Strategies

Blackboard Discussion, Groups,
Grading Tools and More…
Nancy Rubin, Alison Marcoff & Sarah Cline
Instructional Designers
Instructional Technology Support Services
[email protected]
Online Discussion Strategies
Adapted from
http://www.ion.illinois.edu/IONresour
ces/conferencing/index.asp &
http://wwwnew.towson.edu/facultyo
nline/TutorialsandResources/
What is an online discussion
board?
• Allows participants to pose and reply to
topically organized questions and issues
• Can involve a number of participants,
such as a team of students or an entire
class.
• All messages stay posted in the
discussion board for participants to read
at any time.
• A discussion can last for a week or
longer.
Discussion Board Vocabulary
(for Blackboard)
• Forums= high level topics which the
instructor creates (like folders)
• Threads= subjects inside of forums
• Messages= replies to threads
Purpose of online discussions
• Share knowledge
• Reflect on ideas
• Improve critical thinking (compare,
contrast, analyze, synthesize,
evaluate)
What do you want to
accomplish in your online
discussion?
Benefits of online discussion
• Messages are archived and
available for review (separate from
your email)
• Increased student involvement
(give “voice” to shy students)
• More thoughtful, articulate
responses because of increased
time for reflection
• Supports peer learning
General Strategies
Communicate expectations clearly
– Syllabus
– Rubric (grading criteria)
– Minimum # of posts
– Due dates
– When/how often will you respond?
Success depends on participation!
Discussion Board Grading Rubric
Category
1
2
3
Promptness and Initiative
Does not respond to most
postings; rarely
participates freely
Responds to most
postings several
days after initial
discussion; limited
initiative
Delivery of Post
Utilizes poor spelling and
grammar in most
posts; posts appear
“hasty”
Errors in spelling and
grammar evidenced
in several posts
Few grammatical or
spelling errors are
noted in posts
Relevance of Post
Posts topics which do not
relate to the
discussion content;
makes short or
irrelevant remarks
Occasionally posts off
topic; most posts are
short in length and
offer no further
insight into the topic
Frequently posts topics
that are related to
discussion content;
prompts further
discussion of topic
Consistently posts topics
related to discussion
topic; cites
additional
references related to
topic
Expression within the post
Does not express opinions
or ideas clearly; no
connection to topic
Unclear connection to
topic evidenced in
minimal expression
of opinions or ideas
Opinions and ideas are
stately clearly with
occasional lack of
connection to topic
Expresses opinions and
ideas in a clear and
concise manner with
obvious connection
to topic
Contribution to the
Learning
Community
Does not make effort to
participate in
learning community
as it develops;
seems indifferent
Occasionally makes
meaningful reflection
on group’s efforts;
marginal effort to
become involved
with group
Responds to most
postings within a 24
hour period; requires
occasional
prompting to post
Frequently attempts to
direct the discussion
and to present
relevant viewpoints
for consideration by
group; interacts
freely
4
Consistently responds to
postings in less than
24 hours;
demonstrates good
self-initiative
Consistently uses
grammatically
correct posts with
rare misspellings
Aware of needs of
community;
frequently attempts
to motivate the
group discussion;
presents creative
approaches to topic
From California State University at Hayward: Assessing Effectiveness of Student Participation
in Online Discussions (http://learn.sfccnm.edu/training/discussionrubric.htm)
Sample schedule
• Students must submit first post
within two days of start time.
• Students must post two replies
between the second and fourth
days.
General Strategies
• Limit instructor participation (1020% rule)
• Make the tone conversational
• Encourage proper “netiquette”
– http://www.onlinenetiquette.com/
• Ask follow-up questions as needed
• Structure your discussion as a
series of written assignments
Discussion Question
Guidelines
Avoid asking…
• yes/no questions.
• questions that call for purely factual answers.
Ask Questions that…
• call for reflection, interpretation, analysis, and/or
problem solving.
• solicit relevant personal opinion and/or personal
experience.
• encourage students to engage with other
students in the class.
• require students to draw connections between
past and present course material.
• prompt students to generate lists of
information/data as a class.
Tips & Tricks
• Provide “training” (ice-breaker)
• Create a “sample” discussion
• Organize forums around topics,
units, assignments, etc…
• Create a “virtual café” forum
• Create an “FAQ” forum
Ideas…
• How would you use the discussion
board in your class?
Ideas…
•
•
•
•
•
•
Break the ice
Form groups or teams
Case studies
Brainstorming sessions
Presentations or reports
Weekly summaries/critiques (reaction
papers)
• Supplemental readings
• Debates
• Peer reviews
Group Tools in Blackboard
Tips & Tricks from
ITSS
Why Use Groups?
Collaborative learning experiences
engage the learners in an
interactive approach to processing
information. This results in greater
retention of subject matter,
improved motivation, and
enhanced interpersonal
relationships among the group
members.
Let's Start Meeting Like This
Virtual teams supplant face-to-face interaction
..."The researchers found that success depends on which technologies are used. Email, while essential in today's workplace, quickly overwhelms team members, as
multiple chains bounce back and forth. Videoconferencing is not quite ready for
prime time; according to the study, desktop versions have too little bandwidth, and
remote locations require too much travel.
But online team rooms, also known as virtual work spaces, received top
marks from successful virtual teams. These networked, file-sharing spaces
provide a place for team members to access the latest versions of files at any
time, carry on asynchronous discussions (without getting sidetracked into multiple
conversations), and keep track of deadlines and time lines. In sum, they collect all
relevant information into one place."
"A second technology given a thumbs-up by successful virtual teams was instant
messaging. The teams found IM's spontaneity useful. Interestingly, the teams
tended to install IM themselves if no enterprisewide version was in use. The
researchers recommend that companies now suppressing IM settle on standards
instead.
It's often pointed out that nonverbal cues are an important dimension of face-toface meetings. For virtual teams, the absence of body language and facial
expressions is actually a boon to productivity, the researchers said. Virtual
meetings are more democratic than face-to-face discussions; participants don't
feel the effect of hierarchy as much. "
July CIO http://www.cio.com/archive/070104/hs_management.html
Guidelines for Effective Group
Activities
•
Make sure group activities
further the course objectives
•
Monitor group processing
and encourage groups to
self-monitor
•
Explain the nature and value
of the activity
•
Encourage positive team
skills
Give clear and explicit
directions
•
Structure activities to
promote interdependence
Keep the group size
manageable (3-5 members)
•
Promote individual
accountability
•
Allow time for team building
•
Establish a clear, noncompetitive grading criteria
•
Use appropriate
assessment techniques to
determine student progress
•
Anticipate problems and be
supportive
•
•
Sample Guidelines from an Undergraduate
Course in Organizational Behavior
• Each team will designate/elect/appoint a team
coordinator/leader
• The leader will remain the same throughout the course
unless replaced by a majority vote of the team or by the
professor
• The team leader may make a decision unless overruled
by a majority
• Any project assigned to the team will receive a grade that
applies to every member of that group
• The team leader will have the final authority to modify any
team member’s grade up or down (except for his/her
own)
• The instructor will have the final say in all cases where
the team cannot reach a decision
Building Learning Communities in Cyberspace
Effective Strategies for the Online Classroom
Rena Palloff and Keith Pratt
Types of Group Activities:
• Group activities can range from informal small
group discussions to a highly structured project.
• Students can collaborate on assignments,
create projects, conduct brainstorming
sessions, discuss readings, work on case
studies, critique each other's work, or just about
any activity which may be enhanced by
exchanging ideas among peers, collaboration
or debate.
• By providing guidelines for evaluating their end
product, you can help students establish a
framework for judging their own work. This will
help your students know how to proceed toward
a successful assignment.
Ideas…
• How would you use groups in your
class?
Group Tools in Blackboard
Groups for a Student Portfolio
Have you heard of Blogs?
Visit http://www.blogger.com/start
What is a Blog (Weblog)?
• A weblog is a web site organized by
time.
• The hype around weblogs makes them
both more and less than they are.
Weblogs do not represent something
brand new in human communication.
Diaries closely resemble weblogs and be
traced back as far as ancient Greece.
http://radio.weblogs.com/0107019/stories/2002/02/12/whatIsAWeblog.html
Format for Blog Projects
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Title: Give a name to what you're doing. That way people can
refer to it.
Summary: Put a 2-3 sentence summary of what this is all
about.
Duration: Is this a 1 week project? 1 month? Or is it an ongoing
environment into which you'll plug shorter term projects?
Goals: What do you hope people will learn or communicate
through the use of your system? To the extent that your goals
are instructional, specify what standards you'll be addressing.
Process: What needs to happen before participants begin to
interact with your system? What will you do first, second, third...
etc. to make it happen.
Resources: What readings, web sites, other sources of
information will you need to line up for this project to work?
Policies: What do you say to your users/learners about
acceptable behavior?
Evaluation: How will you know that this was effective? How will
you evaluate learning and other outcomes?
Adapted from http://classblogging.blogspot.com/
Blogs in Blackboard
• Course Journals
– is a blogging tool available as a course document
within Blackboard. Instructors can use Journal LX to
assign students, either individually or as a group, the
task of keeping a course journal.
• Teams Sites
– permit groups of students to collaborate on problembased learning exercises by building a gradable web
site.
• Backpacks for Students
– is a dynamic personal web site builder and blog tool
that allows students and instructors to create their
own home page, showcase their work, and create an
online journal.
How to Use Teams Sites
• Teams allows both instructors and
students to collaboratively build a
shared knowledge base associated with
a course within Blackboard.
• By authoring content, linking to external
sites and resources, sharing opinions
and analysis, and constantly reworking
and reorganizing existing content,
students and instructors can build a
relevant, up-to-date and living
knowledge resource to accompany their
course.
How To:
Course Blog
Assignment Manager
Tips & Tricks from
ITSS
Creating an Assignment
• Provide clear and concise
descriptions/instructions
– Where to find the link
– What file format
• Choose a file naming convention
and stick with it (no exceptions)
• Set deadlines
Grading Assignments
• Use Word’s Track Changes tool
• Turn off access to the Digital Drop
Box to avoid confusion
• Create assignment folders on your
computer to download to and save
work offline regularly
TurnItIn Integration
– Submitted documents are
automatically checked for
plagiarism by Turnitin, and
instructors can easily
access the customized
Originality Reports for each
submitted paper via either
the Blackboard environment
or the Turnitin website.
How does it work?
• Instructors add a
Turnitin
Assignment from
the Control Panel
in Blackboard
Assignment Details
Student View
Instructor View