Teaching with Technology

Thank you for participating in this session of L&S Learning Support Services’ online workshop series, “Teaching With Technology.” In the following short opening, you’ll meet one of your facilitators, Theresa Pesavento, and get acquainted with the outline of the upcoming module on the exciting topic of online discussions.

Before we dive in, take a moment to consider the uniqueness of online learning. For instance, while we believe most of you will be joining us from here in Madison, Wisconsin, we also know that you may be participating from places near and far, using the power of the internet. In this light, we hope that by providing a brief look at our ‘place’ in and around Van Hise Hall, we are offering a useful context for our culture and geography. And we hope to hear from you as we move through the course–about the topic at hand, of course, and also a little bit about your own place on campus or on your side of the world.

Not only a good entry point for someone who would like to try a mini version of a “blended” classroom environment, but they are also a good way to promote student collaboration and knowledge building, to build writing skills, to create a positive classroom environment, and to ask students to engage with various media and instructional materials and resources outside of the dedicated in-class time.

Throughout the workshop, we hope to illustrate the many dynamics at play in an online discussion activity by sharing resources and experiences. Let’s start now by getting to know a bit more about each other. Please complete the poll below to so we have a snapshot of our collective experience with online discussions. After submitting your response, click “See previous responses” to see the results.

To get us all on the same page, below is an article that outlines a framework will use to consider the various aspects of implementing an online discussion in your course. In the article, the author outlines four roles that help categorize most of the work performed by an online instructor: Pedagogical, Social, Managerial & Technical. It’s often the case that instructors implement an online discussion for reasons encompassed by the pedagogical and/or social role. However, it’s important to consider that all four dynamics are at play.

There are a number of ways to address these key considerations. First, you can make efforts to integrate the online discussion and the in-class time as much as possible so that students understand and benefit from both environments. You might also use the discussion board as a source for in-class lecture/discussion topics, and mine the discussion for concepts that aren’t clear and need to be rediscussed in class. Also consider replacing some existing assignments in your syllabus in order to account for the time spent in online discussions. Finally, assessment is one aspect of online discussions that spans the pedagogical and managerial roles. On the front end, developing an assessment strategy forces thorough consideration of pedagogical goals. Then, as implementation begins, assessments rubrics become an important managerial tool for both students and instructors (see managerial role for more details).

How can we address these considerations? First, we can encourage students to reply to each others’ questions, to work in teams, and to report back to class with information from the online discussion. We can also post rules and model behavior for the type of interactions that you expect (how formal, informal, etc.) and what type of etiquette accompanies these. Allow students enough time to digest, reflect, and produce their own analytical responses and thoughts. As mentioned above, grade for participation, and encourage those who don’t talk as much in class to participate more online.