Posts Tagged ‘online discussions’
March 7 - Three Ways to Change up Your Online Discussion Board Prompts
By: Rob Kelly in Asynchronous Learning and Trends, Online Education
Are you having trouble getting students to participate in online discussions? Consider using other types of prompts in addition to the typical open-ended question. Maria Ammar, assistant English professor at Frederick Community College, uses the following prompts in her English as a second language course and recommends them for other types of courses:
February 15 - A Three-Pronged Approach to Improving Online Student Engagement, Critical Thinking
By: Rob Kelly in Online Education
Monica Rothschild-Boros, an art appreciation and cultural anthropology instructor at Orange Coast College, uses a combination of embedded lecture questions, threaded discussion, and innovative assignments to engage students and get them to think critically in her online courses.
September 6 - Tips for Overcoming Online Discussion Board Challenges
By: Errol Craig Sull in Online Education
Discussion boards are often viewed as the heart of online courses, and for good reason: the students can interact with one another 24/7, sharing, debating, and offering ideas, insights, suggestions, and information that stimulate the learning process. Yet challenges do happen in discussion, and these can be formidable. Left alone, they can quickly limit the effectiveness of any discussion and create problems throughout the online course.
January 18 - How Many Faculty Discussion Posts Each Week? A Simply Delicious Answer
By: Cheryl Hayek, EdD in Online Education
One of the most frequently asked questions from veteran and novice online faculty alike is, “How many weekly discussion posts should I contribute?” The reality is that there is an intricate balancing act to achieve the coveted “guide on the side” role in discussion forum facilitation.
June 2 - Creating Effective Responses to Student Discussion Postings
By: Errol Craig Sull in Asynchronous Learning and Trends
An integral part of nearly all online classes is the threaded discussion—it is where students interact on a nearly daily basis, posting their thoughts and information on main discussion topics, your postings, and the postings of other students. While you have measured control over the content, length, and tone of student postings, you have full control over your own.
April 25 - Creating a Sense of Time in Online Courses
By: Todd Conaway in Online Education
One of the most useful elements of online courses is that they’re available anytime. But along with the timelessness, there is also an absence of time in many activities and pieces of content in the course that can that can lead to feelings of disconnectedness. How closely do we connect actual time to our student’s online experiences?
March 23 - Improve Feedback with Audio and Video Commentary
By: John Orlando, PhD in Teaching with Technology
While online discussion is generally deeper and more active than face-to-face discussion, even online discussions can eventually become a drudgery. Nobody likes reading long blocks of text online, yet discussion in an online classroom is text based.
February 10 - Pump up Your Online Discussions with VoiceThread
By: Mary Bart in Asynchronous Learning and Trends, Teaching with Technology
At its best, the discussion board can be the heart and soul of the online classroom. But it’s not always easy getting students to make the type of contributions you expect. The comments can be rather flat, not very insightful, and more often than not, it feels like some students just fill the minimum number of posts stipulated in your syllabus.
January 19 - Enhancing Learning Through Vibrant Online Discussions
By: Dale Kimball and Michael Jazzar in Asynchronous Learning and Trends
The discussion board is the heart and soul of online learning. As such, the life and livelihood of online teaching and learning flows through threaded, asynchronous conversations inspired by thought-provoking questions. To maximize the potential of online discussions, these conversations need to be relevant and inspiring dialogs that empower and enlighten online learning.
June 29 - Lessons Learned: Advice to Online Instructors
By: Rob Kelly in Online Education
If you have taken online courses, you have likely gained some valuable insights into what to do and what not to do as an online instructor. If you have never been an online learner, here are some lessons learned from Anna Brown, a learning technology specialist enrolled in a hybrid doctoral program in learning technologies.
