Maren Bradley Anderson, WOU

1. HOW TO USE BULLETIN BOARDS WITH ONLINE OR ONLINE-HYBRID CLASSES TO BUILD LEARNING COMMUNITIES A WORKSHOP Maren Bradley Anderson, WOU

2. Online teaching is different from classroom teaching • Not in a classroom • Text-only communication • Asynchronous environment • There is a perceived lack of instructor/student and student/student online interaction. • Good course design can help create a sense of community • specifically good discussion group facilitation.

3. Students are ready • 84% of high school students use social media (Noel-Levitz) • “College students (63%) and high school seniors (69%) believe that tablets will effectively replace textbooks as we know them today within the next five years” (Pearson Foundation). • That is, they expect to be reading digital texts.

4. My online class model • I post 6-10 Discussion Questions (DQs) a week on a given topic • Students post eight 100-word posts a week • x 10 weeks = 8,000 words • Participation is mandatory  • 4 posts in direct response to my DQs • 4 posts in reply to other students’ posts • I respond to select posts depending on what is needed

5. Components Of Online Discussion Board Design • Determining the purpose of the discussion • Designing good Discussion Questions • Facilitating techniques • Responding to students

6. Purpose of Discussion in Online Classrooms • Vygotsky said that learning is a result of participation and dialogue in a social world (McLaughlin). • Online discussions develop student dialogue by allowing students to: • explore course concepts in an informal environment with their peers • apply course material to real-life (or hypothetical) situations • dig deeper into the material by asking questions and elaborating on each other’s answers (Arends).

7. Community= higher critical thinking • Building and facilitating discussions online that actually lead to discussion • As opposed to regurgitation or demonstration of knowledge • Inquiry method of teaching • leads to a sense of community among the students • AND, according to some studies, higher critical thinking (Arends).

8. Qualities Of Good Discussion Questions, Leading To Community Of Learners (Arends) • Are open-ended • Might include at least two different and distinct solutions • Ask students to share ideas and experiences on course concepts • Allow multiple viewpoints to be expressed • Are thoughtful and thought-provoking

9. Maren’s Discussion Question Examples • What do we pay attention to when we see a play? What do we pay attention to when we read a play? • What do the ways the characters enter the stage (but before they speak) tell us about the gender roles in the play?

10. Important Facilitation Techniques • Neutral/Impartial Tone (Arends) • Not even disclosing the “right” answers • Just probing for more info/clarification • Infrequent/purposeful response (Arends) • 10-20% of responses

11. Response Strategies (McLaughlin) • Questioning • Requesting reasons for beliefs held • Demonstration of criteria for judgments made • Cooperation in developing and applying problem-solving strategies

12. Maren’s Process for Picking Student Posts for Response • The “Best” answers • Corrections • Questions

14. Works Cited Arend, Bridget. "Encouraging Critical Thinking in Online Threaded Discussions." The Journal of Educators Online 6 (2009): 1-23. ERIC. Web. 8 Mar. 2012. "College Students' Social Networking." EMarketer. EDUCASE, 22 Sept. 2008. Web. 8 Mar. 2012.   McLoughlin, Catherine. "Culturally Responsive Technology Use: Developing an On-line Community of Learners." British Journal of Educational Technology 30.3 (1999): 231-43. Print. Noel-Levitz. "Mobile Social Media Use among College-bound High School Students." College Student Social Media Usage Statistics on Mobile Devices. Noel-Levitz, 12 Jan. 2012. Web. 8 Mar. 2012.   "Pearson Foundation Survey on Students and Tablets." Pearson Foundation Survey on Students and Tablets. Jan. 2012. Web. 19 Mar. 2012.

15. Demos • Screencast tour of Moodle (LMS)