I was struck this week by the emphasis on building and maintaining a thriving online community in our online classes. In her video, Ralene discussed how important it is for students to have a sense of shared purpose in the online community and how shared purpose holds communities together. She also described how students need to feel welcome and acknowledged in our classes. The video had me asking myself if I’m doing enough in my classes to build community.<\/p>\n
In chapter 7, Ko and Rossen discussed the types of activities online instructors might incorporate that would meet students’ needs for a sense of belonging, being valued and being acknowledged. The authors strongly suggest a number of interactive activities that engage students and that require critical thinking, e.g. reflective activities, debates, role playing, case studies and cross-cultural exchanges. I was pleased to find that I currently employ a few of the critical thinking assignments Ko and Rossen recommend. The authors also provided some great suggestions for discussion whether in blog form, in groups or on the discussion board. For example, I particularly liked the “concept conferences” idea detailed on pages 199-200 whereby students discuss one thing that makes sense, does not make sense, changes what you previously thought, relates to an experience in your own life, etc.<\/p>\n
Ko and Rossen also provided a few suggestions that I am going to use to make some changes in my classes, particularly with regard to having students conduct research using the “treasure hunt” approach (pg. 215). Though I provide parameters for my students when I give them an assignment that requires research, I probably need to give them more concrete instruction about how to find information on a specific topic without spending too much time searching the web. I also need to provide rubrics for each discussion board assignment that I give and not just provide a generic rubric for discussion boards in general. For example, my students last week were supposed to find and summarize a scientific article (parameters were given for what constitutes “scientific”) about climate change and how the information relates to the textbook chapter they were reading. In grading this assignment, I need to design a rubric outlining\u00a0 what was required for this discussion specifically.<\/p>\n
In a previous blog, I wrote about the challenges I have experienced in trying to implement group activities. Though Ko and Rossen along with the education world in general advocate for group activities, I’m still not sure I’m ready to assign one to my online students. I feel that my current discussion board topics and activities are, for the most part, achieving the pedagogical objectives I’ve identified for my classes and that they require my students to engage, reflect and think critically.<\/p>\n
One thing I’m loving about this POT class is that I get to evaluate my teaching, assessing both what I think is good about it and what needs improvement. Hmmm…this question of whether to blog or not to blog. From Lisa’s slide presentation on blogging I can certainly see the value of both requiring students to create their own blogs and to comment on blogs from other students and\/or from the instructor. At present, I still need to develop my own blogging skills before I try to require students to start their own blog sites though blogging may become a part of my classes at some point in the future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I was struck this week by the emphasis on building and maintaining a thriving online community in our online classes. In her video, Ralene discussed how important it is for students to have a sense of shared purpose in the … Continue reading