On Tuesday, 10/11/16, Judi, Traci, Jane, Alyssa, Anita & I gathered in the eLab to watch a QM sponsored webinar on designing engaging discussion boards. I thought I'd share my notes, which are really just an incomplete list of ideas (I am sort of notorious for forgetting to take notes during meetings). But I think there may be some useful nuggets for our group.
Anyone who attended, please add your thoughts in the comments (and fill in any of my many gaps).
A few points about students and online discussions
- Students can feel very isolated in online environments, and online discussions can help bring students together.
- Students learn from each other.
- Discussion boards are great places for students to practice thinking, writing and connecting.
Ideas to make online discussion engaging
- Have a catchy title (this could go too far in some circumstances, but I thought of one of Anne Lamott's chapters in Bird by Bird-- used by one of our own faculty, and available in our own BTC Library-- "Shitty First Drafts"); ask a provocative question in the title.
- Invite a guest speaker, then facilitate conversation via the discussion board.
- Ask open-ended questions (here are a few OEQs, what do you think of them?).
- Ensure you (the teacher) have a presence on the boards -- chime in, ask guiding questions, suggest areas of inquiry, etc.
- Make sure to align discussion with other course materials and activities; adult students want to see connections between what they are learning and what they are doing (andragogy), they also want to apply their learning to real life.
- Discuss arguable topics - controversy inspires interest; this also presents an opportunity for students to discuss and practice online etiquette and civility (in a format that you the teacher can monitor and influence).
- Students respond to authenticity-- be yourself and consider writing more like how you talk when you set up discussions and when you jump in to coach or validate what students are saying.
- Embed videos (your own, YouTube, etc.) in the discussion board and ask for responses -- this is engaging for several reasons, including that it reduces the clicking around that students have to do in order to access the discussion content and instructions.
- Use scenarios-- present a situation in the discussion, then ask the students to predict what will happen (bantering is good).
- Use audio - talk to them (one of my professors in grad school always posted an audio version of her notes on the upcoming week's objectives and activities along with her written notes. It was a huge relief to be able to absorb information withOUT reading, and also very nice to hear her actual human voice in that challenging online class).
- Be modern (use memes, cartoons).
- Use real graphics & photos, especially of people-- always look for ways to humanize the online environment. (Also, remember to give credit-- we have a built-in awesome Attribution Builder now...)
- Use bullets & organize your instructions with headings (allows them to scan and is accessible).
- Ask yourself, will this discussion connect students to each other?
Have a happy day! Dawn
That was a fantastic webinar, and great notes! One thing that came to mind with some of these suggestions are the accessibility challenges that can occur with certain formats (audio, images without alttext, etc.). I think these are all fantastic ways to connect students, but we have to be mindful of how some of these elements can also create barriers.
ReplyDeleteGreat point, Alyssa. We need to be sure that we are thinking about everybody we want to reach when we set stuff up for them online. Fortunately, I think that most of the tools and materials we'd want to use in online discussions can be made accessible-- alt tags for images are (mostly) automatic in Canvas, it's fairly simple to include a transcript of an audio file, etc.
DeleteOne of the things I like about designing for accessibility (I'm thinking about Universal Design here) is that it usually really does benefit everyone. Captions on videos mean students can review material even when they are in a quiet place; headings allow students to quickly scan material and find out what they're in for so they can plan their time and space accordingly. Also, all of these design strategies make content more accessible for mobile technology users (a huge and growing population.
Alyssa,
DeleteI wonder what you mean by "we have to be mindful of how some of these elements can also create barriers." What elements specifically and how?
Hi Judi!
DeleteI am just now seeing your question. Some examples that specifically came to mind were:
1) Embedding videos--if these videos don't have a transcript or captions, this can create a barrier for those who are Deaf/Hard of hearing or those that learn better by reading.
2) Along those same lines, audio-only feeds that don't have text alternatives.
3) Lots of text blocks without images--this can be challenging for visual learners, those with dyslexia, and those with learning disabilities.
The way I look at it, it's about the pieces of each course having universal design as well as the course overall. If I post a video, can someone who is blind and/or deaf access the material too? If I have a lot of text, can someone with a visual learning style get the concepts clearly?
I thought the webinar was spot on. I felt validated in that I already knew most of these suggestions, but it was nice how she organized the engaging elements. One thing that I didn't think of was the catchy titles. Often, Module topics are so boring. I suppose it would depend on the audience how you would write your module titles. I mean, for a business law class, I'm not sure I'd write "Module 1: How to Avoid Hella Taxes."
ReplyDeleteLol! I would totally open and read Module 1 if that was the title! :)
DeleteHa! You make a great point, Judi. There has to be a balance between being "catchy" and still having students take the course seriously. One of my challenges as a "Millennial" is the overuse of memes--sometimes they are a great way to add to a course, and then other times it can feel as if the instructor is trying too hard to enliven a topic that just isn't that engaging.
DeleteDawn - Thanks for summarizing the webinar. Like Judi, I was glad to see that I had tried a few of the tips. I hope to use "Invite a guest speaker, then facilitate conversation via the discussion board" for one of my spring courses where I do bring in guest speakers.
ReplyDeleteJudi - I think that title you suggested would grab student attention and put a smile on their face. Even if it had "Hella" removed it would be a good title since everyone wants to avoid taxes legally.
You're welcome! I hope you'll let us know how facilitating a discussion that way goes. If you record/capture the guest speaker, you could even embed the recording in the discussion content area.
Delete