engaging discussion boards

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TECH TUESDAY Engaging Discussion Boards Presented by: Marcia D. Mallory

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Page 1: Engaging Discussion Boards

TECH TUESDAY

Engaging Discussion Boards

Presented by: Marcia D. Mallory

Page 2: Engaging Discussion Boards

Organizational Tip: Create a “Discussion Board Ideas” folder in My Favorites so online resources can be quickly added and organized for easy reference later.

“How can I create engaging and interactive discussion boards?”

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Important to know…

A synchronous online discussion forum is similar to a face-to-face live seminar in that participants access the online discussion forum at the same time. Such a discussion forum provides instantaneous feedback to one’s contributions and is a good learning experience. However, the disadvantage is that it is difficult to find a time which suits all participants.

AsynchronousDiscussion Forums

The asynchronous online discussion forum enables all participants to contribute to the forum at a time convenient to them.

SynchronousDiscussion Forums

Synchronous

VsAsynchrono

us

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What are the benefits?

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1. Builds class community by promoting discussion on course topics

Sample Activities

· Brainstorming - Students set forth a series of ideas on a given topic without evaluation.

· Problem-Solving - Small groups work out a solution to a problem.

 

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2. Allows time for in-depth reflection. Students have more time to reflect, research, and compose their thoughts before participating in the discussion.

Sample Activity

· Case Analysis - Students work independent on a common case followed by group analysis in the discussion board.

 

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3. Facilitates learning by allowing students to view and respond to the work of others.

Sample Activities

· Writing Groups - Students work together in groups of four or five to share drafts and provide peer-response and peer-editing.

· Collaborative Writing - Workgroups work together to create a single document - proposals and analytical reports work well - which they then post to the larger group for critique.

· Cooperative Debate - Workgroups present perspectives on a particular issue, followed by a whole-group consensus-building discussion.

 

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How can you effectively manage a discussion board?

Organizational Tip: Create a “Discussion Board Ideas” folder in My Favorites so online resources can be quickly added and organized for easy reference later.

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Invest in the introduction in the syllabus.

• Research shows that students are often uncertain about the mechanics of posting on a discussion forum (Mason, 2011).

• There is a need for explicit instructions about how to use discussion boards along with an explanation of the relevance of these discussions to face-to-face classes.

Assessing Participation

This course is a “blended” course. Students in this class are 2Ls and 3Ls. The discussion board participation is 40% of the final grade. ParticipationThe board is graded on a weekly basis, and your overall discussion board grade is an average of the individual grades you receive for the board. Each week’s grade represents activity in the current lesson’s threads only. Each lesson contains two or three prompts that are connected to that lesson’s learning outcomes. In addition to responding to these prompts, you should engage in the board by initiating posts and responding to the posts of others in ways that advance the conversation You might, for instance:

• Post an opinion based on reading/research you do on the topic.• Respond thoughtfully to a topic from your own experience.• Provide links and resources related to the topic that would be of interest

to other participants.• Pose a thought-provoking question related to the topic.• Collect multiple perspectives on a topic or provide an alternate

perspective to the one currently dominating the discussion.• Thoughtfully rebut another participant’s comments.• Synthesize the current class discussion by summing up arguments or

discussion points.

Syllabus Example

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Create an integrated lesson to motivate engagement

• Integrate online and classroom discussions by using forums as a space for further practice of important skills or clarifying key concepts (Dengier 2008).

• Use forums to recommend further resources for extension of learning (Lim & Cheah 2003).

Designing Activities

Course: ContractsUnit: Rental Leases

The Parole Evidence Rule UCC § 2-202 covers parallel and interpretation rule. Read the statute and answer the questions below then respond to two classmates’ post:

1. What is the integration statement?2. Can written agreements be contradicted? Why?3. Can written agreements be supplemented or explained?

Example 1

Example 2

Read the Parole Evidence Rule (UCC § 2-202). What is the meaning of extrinsic evidence and what is its role? In the case of Nelson v. Elway – buy/sell agreements – was it malpractice? Analyze the case. Was extrinsic evidence an issue? Timing? Integrated A? Consistent term? Respond to at least 2 classmates’ post.

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Create a clear and structured environment for students and create tasks/topics which facilitate discussion and collaboration.

• Use workgroups.• Use open-ended questions targeted

toward higher-order thinking skills.• Structure discussion topics by “lesson” or

“module,” and articulate start and end dates for discussions.

• Consider the discussion board a resource.• Allow for some flexibility in student-

generated topics.

Designing Activities

Using workgroups

Divide your students into small groups of 4-6 to make it easy for all to participate. Instruct them to conduct their own in-depth discussion of a part of a class-wide topic or a topic in its entirety, and then post a synthesized response to the discussion board that is open to the whole class.

Example 1

Example 2

Consider the discussion board a resource

Have students draw from the discussion board as a pool of references for an assignment – one that enforces skills for summary, synthesis, and analysis for instance – incorporating (and citing) their peers’ comments as illustrations or examples.

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• Teacher-student interactions have been shown to predict student motivation, academic self-concept, and GPA (Komarraju, Musulkin & Bhattacharya, 2010).

Actively Facilitate

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• Teacher-student interactions have been shown to predict student motivation, academic self-concept, and GPA (Komarraju, Musulkin & Bhattacharya, 2010).

Provide feedback on posts

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ReferencesMastering Online Discussion Board Facilitation Resource Guide https://www.edutopia.org/pdfs/stw/edutopia-onlinelearning-mastering-online-discussion-board-facilitation.pdf

Strategies for engaging students in online discussions (https://sydney.edu.au/education-portfolio/ei/programs/teaching_insights/pdf/insight13-strategies-for-engaging-students-in-online-discussions.pdf )

Using iCollegeDiscussion Board

Further information on iCollege Discussion Overview can be viewed at:

http://technology.gsu.edu/2012/12/14/desire2learn-discussion-overview/

Support Support Documents & Training Videos

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