call on the cheap using services freely available on the internet
TRANSCRIPT
CALL on the cheap
Using services freely
available on the
Internet
Types of service available
WWW
Bulletin boards
E-mail groups
E-mailExchange letters with
individual studentsGood way to submit
assignmentsBecomes unmanageable with
large numbers of students
WWW 1
Post lesson or course outline: students can view before or after lesson.
Extends possible scope of lectures: with student preparation, even difficult lectures may be comprehensible.
WWW 2
Requires technical proficiencyCan be very time-consuming:
may need to keep updating site
StaticNon-interactive
Bulletin Boards
ezBoardPost information about lecturesStudents ask questions or make
commentsOther students can read all postingsTrue interaction: group-based
learning
Bulletin Boards 2
No notification of new messages
Long topics/forums with many topics can be confusing.
E-mail groups/mailing list
Yahoo Groups (was eGroups)Mail automatically delivered to all
members: no need to check for new messages
Owner can choose whether to allow members to send messages
E-mail groups 2
Interface not as attractive as ezBoard
Psychological difference: “receiving” e-mail; and“participating in” a discussion
ezBoard details
http://www.ezBoard.com/
Press CREATE button on homepage and fill in details as prompted.
Board top page for students
Yahoo Group details
http://groups.yahoo.com/
Press CLICK HERE TO REGISTER and follow instructions
Don’t give students the “subscribe” email address because they won’t be able to join from a communal computer;Use web or invitation methods!
Website details
Homepage: introduction to course goals, etc;list of topics
1 page per topic or per lecture:questions;links to more information
Preparation
Give students list of addresses: website, ezBoard, and Yahoo Group
Before each lecture...
Make webpage in advance
Create new forum on ezBoard
Send message using Yahoo Groups:
brief mention of topic;
links to webpage and ezBoard
forum
Ongoing
Visit the board regularly and post replies to maintain student interest.