Getting an online class going off to a good start is important because it is more likely to keep going at that pace. Bender, in Chapter 5, talked about how it is easier to keep going at a good pace than try to pick up a class that starts off slow. There are several ways to set up a strong beginning, and it is necessary to think about this, especially in planning the EdWeb project that will have discussions and social aspects.
Eileen pointed out the example of “thawing the online ice crystals,” which is a great image to keep in mind when trying to get students involved at the beginning. We had some discussion on how to get people to speak up at the start, mostly revolving around introductions, games, and starter sentences. Sherri said, “In the context of an online course, such as an interactive edweb, or our class here starting off with an activity that addresses each individual is a good idea.” I have to agree with this and spent some time thinking about how to apply it to my EdWeb. I added a post about this towards the end of the week. Since my students are already required to be a part of my geography class, and since they know each other, it would be inappropriate to start off the EdWeb discussion with introductions. But I still want the students to feel comfortable getting involved in the discussion online, so I need to come up with a good icebreaker to get them warmed up. Something like fun facts or a game or scavenger hunt would work in this case. It should be something fun in any case, to ensure that the students feel positive about getting online for the unit.
However, I do not want it to take up valuable time since we will only have a limited amount to complete the project. So I am thinking back to posting a “norms of discussion” for the students to browse over quickly and then just a quick little discussion or activity that would be engaging. I think a lot of people liked the activities we had last semester at the beginning of IT5660, like the Picasso drawing, the Fly Guy activity, and making up a caption about a picture. I would like to find something simple and fun like this but related to the topic the students will be studying so it ties in well. So I must go spend some time working on this, checking out different ideas, and getting it all ready!
March 31, 2008
March 21, 2008
Instructional Approaches
In week 10 of ILT 5670 we had a discussion on Bender’s Chapter 3 about rethinking learning theory and how to apply this as we approach the EdWeb project. There are definitely benefits in having discussions for online learning because the responses are often more thought out, participants can review the discussion more than once and pull out new ideas, and because there is still the social aspect that is important for learning.
It seems to be a recurring topic, but we again came to discussing the lack of participation in the Web Conference and ways to try to solve that. After the first run, we made changes and thought and talked about what worked and did not work to get participants involved. But this run had much less participation. Armi and Kerry had some great ideas on this such as laying out discussion expectations better and giving examples of what an engaging discussion might look like. I also liked Armi’s thoughts on using a case study but making sure it was relevant so that the connections would occur faster. This should make for better discussion too since it will be relevant to the jobs of the participants.
Could the lack of participation be because there was not motivation in the form of a grade or job requirement? I included a quote from the reading in our discussion that I think is an important part of teaching: “"Learning, Fardouly states, is an emotional process, but the right balance must be struck. Some excitement, encouragement, and challenge can be motivating, whereas too much anxiety over a course can severely limit the potential for learning.” (Bender, 22). I wonder if some of the participants felt anxiety over this new type of conference and jumping into discussions for the first time. I thought the encouragement was there, but maybe there was not enough excitement to overcome the anxiety. I hope to get my students excited about going online for the EdWeb but also put enough support in there to keep them from being too anxious or overwhelmed. It will be something different for them as far as learning in school goes, but this could be a motivating factor because of their involvement with technology in other facets of their lives. After getting started on my formative evaluation, I have some ideas on reorganizing the navigation to guide them through the project a little better and some ideas on how to get them motivated and interested. Now it is just a matter of putting those thoughts into action.
It seems to be a recurring topic, but we again came to discussing the lack of participation in the Web Conference and ways to try to solve that. After the first run, we made changes and thought and talked about what worked and did not work to get participants involved. But this run had much less participation. Armi and Kerry had some great ideas on this such as laying out discussion expectations better and giving examples of what an engaging discussion might look like. I also liked Armi’s thoughts on using a case study but making sure it was relevant so that the connections would occur faster. This should make for better discussion too since it will be relevant to the jobs of the participants.
Could the lack of participation be because there was not motivation in the form of a grade or job requirement? I included a quote from the reading in our discussion that I think is an important part of teaching: “"Learning, Fardouly states, is an emotional process, but the right balance must be struck. Some excitement, encouragement, and challenge can be motivating, whereas too much anxiety over a course can severely limit the potential for learning.” (Bender, 22). I wonder if some of the participants felt anxiety over this new type of conference and jumping into discussions for the first time. I thought the encouragement was there, but maybe there was not enough excitement to overcome the anxiety. I hope to get my students excited about going online for the EdWeb but also put enough support in there to keep them from being too anxious or overwhelmed. It will be something different for them as far as learning in school goes, but this could be a motivating factor because of their involvement with technology in other facets of their lives. After getting started on my formative evaluation, I have some ideas on reorganizing the navigation to guide them through the project a little better and some ideas on how to get them motivated and interested. Now it is just a matter of putting those thoughts into action.
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