Course Summary
This CALMet Online session ended on 28 May. What follows is a quick summary of the key activities of the session.
Introductions
The course used a tool called VoiceThread (www.voicethread.com) to allow people to include personal video, audio, and text introductions. While only two of us used this tool, reports from online instructors, including Joni Dunlap, are that this can add a nice variation to the ways online students interact.
How effective have Discussion Forums been for you in the past?
11 participants responded, and 7 of these reported that their past experiences were “Just Ok” or “Ineffective”. I believe this means the session was important to hold. Because one person each selected“Moderately Effective” and “Very Effective,” we should have hope therein the right conditions, discussion forums can really work.
Past Experiences with Discussion Forums
This was one of the more active forums, with 17 postings. Several kinds of experience and thoughts about them were raised.
- Forums on “General Topics” were generally unsuccessful. Apparently,participants don’t want to classify their comments and questions as“General.” More focused discussions connected to other learning activities seem to do better.
- There seems to be a large difference between the effectiveness of discussion forums in short courses versus longer, university courses. Longer courses can make better use of forums, perhaps because there is time to develop confidence and trust.
- Voluntary forums (like this one) may not attract a sufficient degree of commitment, and may be seen more as distractions than as useful tools for learning. It can be difficult to get more than a few students to participate involuntary forum. Stimulating discussion is a challenge,and might require a variety of tactics, including
- creating a staged debate as “entertainment” and incitement to participate
- keeping silent for interesting postings so students have an important role.
- Forming smaller groups with obligations to complete specific tasks
- Email notification was seen as critical to encourage involvement, but potentially annoying as well.
- Because of their written format, it can be difficult to make them feel like “discussions.”
- Establishing good decorum and setting good examples early, along with having engaging discussion activities, can set the tone for sustained forum involvement.
- Forums have a lot in common with online user groups and news groups, although these are ongoing and informal. But when interested and vocal people find them, they can sustain a lot of idea exchange.
- When participation in forums is expected and part of the course grade,and/or blended in with face to face meetings, they are more likely to be used effectively.
Why discussion forums may never work as well as we would like…
In this forum, with 8 postings, people were encouraged to look for fundamental difficulties with discussion forums. They found them. These are what we need to overcome in our use of discussion forums.
- Discussions can take a lot of time due to their asynchronous nature. It might take days to sort out a misconception for all.
- Many people may not like to be so public with their comments, preferring to reflect to themselves.
- People may not feel they really know one another enough to share.
- There might be a lack of trust, lack of reward, and lack of fun of social interaction. But there also might be same old fear of showing you are not very knowledgeable or smart by making a bad posting (like raising your hand and speaking in class).
- Protocols for responding and posting are not well established for many participants.
Discussion forums might provide valuable learning opportunities because…
This forum took some time to become active, but eventually hosted 13 postings.
- Discussion forums are a democratic equalizer because we can take our time to think and post when we are ready. No one can dominate or interrupt.
- Forums are preserved, unlike spoken discussions.But this preservation can be a concern as well if you later aren’t happy with what you said.
- Forums are a great tool for sharing expertise and experiences, and for getting ideas out.
- Forums can help generate new knowledge. Rather than one way training with fixed goals, discussion forums allow for coming up with new solutions to the challenges we face.
Wiki comparing discussion forums and other online communications
This wiki is still in its early stages, but some interesting comparisons have already been made. We should all try to go back and add more content to it, because it seems like a valuable venture.
Exploring strategies for relevant, engaging, online instruction
In week two, Joni Dunlap offered a well attended live session on principles for online discussions derived from her research and experiences. 18-20 participants listened in, and more have viewed the captured session available on the course website.
Reading resources and forums
In addition to the live session, 3 readings were made available forparticipants in week 2, including “Down-and-Dirty Guidelines for Effective Discussions in Online Courses,” “Protocols for Online Discussions,” and “A Quick Theoretical Basis for Conversation in Education & Training.” In weeks 3 & 4, two additional readings were added, including “Don’t Just Summarize: Weave,” and “Roles for Instructors in Online Forums.” Participants noted that the course readings emphasized the importance of setting norms, rules, and expectations for discussions, taking care that opening activities create a welcoming environment, and the power of storytelling as part of course discussions.(10 postings total)Share your ideas for using discussion forums
As the session came to a close, we saw only 9 new postings in this closing forum, but several good ideas (use of forums before the start of a course and outside a course, sharing stories of professional experience) and alternative discussion technologies (VideoAnt, Google Wave) came up.