francis,
What do you consider "good posts?" How do you assess good vs. bad posts?
I have a Q&A discussion board in which I participate , but also encourage students to answer each other's questions and solve each other's problems.
I ask them to participate in the live chats and to prepare good post for the discussion board.
Robert,
I also use a lot of group projects. Virtual teams are important in the work world today. It's good they get practice.
Most all of my classes involve group projects. The rules, i.e. expectations, are described in the announcement area and group emails two weeks before the assignment is due. A chat is also conducted two weeks before to give the 'committee' time to organize. A schedule for work components is suggested to them along with a breakdown of the assignment components. I'm very strict about participation. If a student doesn't participate fully to the committee's initial guidelines they are not included in the final project, i.e. their name should not appear. Any disputes are to be referred directly to me and not argued with any of the group members. I've found this to be very effective at having everyone contribute....although I've contended with some out strays.
In other areas students are encouraged to start their IP and DB work early in the week. As our policy states there must be a posting by end of Wednesday. Every post receives an acknowledgment from me and at least three substantive posts are entered as either a reply or an addition to the forum.
denise,
"Lurking" can be a positive term in this environment. ;-) Keep up the good work and thanks for sharing.
denise,
Posting every few days keeps the students "coming back" to the online environment. Live chats are beneficial as well. Nice job.
I just realized that.... I lurk too!
I agree that sometimes you would like to wait and let them figure out the answers for themselves instead of just giving out information.
I post an announcement every few days. I thank students by name that have been attending my live chats and give reminders on what is expected on the assignments for that week.
Kristina,
Sounds like your students are working well through the discussion board. I'm glad to see you use the word "presence" as that is a key element of the online environment. Thanks!
The best form of engaging my accounting students is through the Discussion Board forum. I feel that this is one of the most valuable and active learning tools that we incorporate in the online platform. I post optional questions (towards response points) throughout the DB and throughout the week to encourage additional activity and reduce redundancy. It has helped to improve the overall student presence and activity - and it is also always a great learning experience for myself!
Emily ,
Every time I post an announcement, it is also automatically sends the students an email. So, I double up a bit! It works for me and the students.
Thanks for your input.
The announcement page is where I connect to my students. It is also where they learn class expectations and what to expect from me as their instructor. As an online instructor, I have found that posting announcements, often, maybe every couple of days, even if it's just an encouraging note, shows students that I am committed to them as their instructor.
Mia,
Interesting use of the word "lurking" but I totally see where you are coming from. Love the no right/wrong, just a discussion. That's important.
I am a big supporter of the "lurking" strategy in my discussions. I have found that when I make posts in the discussion forums, students either change their minds because they feel like I'm giving them the "right" answers and they have to match mine or they stop talking in the forum altogether. I try to encourage more responses by posing questions to students about the comments they have made in relation to the topic we are discussing or by making an example out of certain classmates by gushing over some of their well thought out and thoroughly explained posts. I try to discourage students from copying and pasting from the textbook too. I liken the discussion forums to a bookclub meeting at a Barnes-and-Nobles. We are just hanging out and talking casually about the topic at hand. There's no right or wrong so just jump on in!
