Best Practices for Online Discussion: 16 Quality, Timing, and Value Added Response Tips

Expertly facilitated online discussion is the driving force for community in online classes. Creating norms for discussion quality and timing improve the dialog. This also helps the facilitator step back as students learn to deepen their online dialog.
 
The following quality, timing, and response tips were suggested by my network of e-learning professionals and by the participants in ELearning for Educators, part of the UW-Stout ELearning and Online Teaching Graduate Certificate Program.

8 Quality and Timing Tips for Online Discussion:

1. Focus on the prompt; follow the directions in the prompt closely.
2. Respond to those who respond to you! This is essential!
3. Avoid short "Me too" or "I agree" posts. Make your posts substantial
4. Add value to the discussion (see below).
5. Post early in the week. You'll get more response and become more engaged in conversation.
6. Respond throughout the week; you help sustain the dialog.
7. Avoid doing all of your posting at the end of the week. You miss out on interaction.
8. Use direct quotations from your text or online source. (Cite the source so your reader can find it.)

8 Value Added Response Techniques:

1. Ask a specific question (but avoid prompting yes or no answers).
2. Ask an open ended (on topic) question that invites a response.
3. Expand on the a specific element of the post.
4. Provide a teaching story that illustrates the a main idea.
5. Offer a different perspective on an essential idea in the post.
6. Provide an online resource relevant to the topic (include a hyperlink).
7. Describe a method you use in your practice.
8. Provide a summary of the ideas posted so far (good when you come late to the conversation). 
9. Create a mix of response styles; writing, audio and video keep things interesting.

Please Share tips and techniques you use to improve online discussion!

E-Learning Facilitation! LAST call for Spring 2015

Register Now!
This course provides you with real hands on experience. You'll learn how to create a sense of online community as you facilitate discussions with your peers. This is an opportunity to practice online teaching skills in a caring, personalized and supportive environment.

Course activities include hands-on practice using asynchronous communication technologies.

You will actively:

• facilitate, 
• explore questioning skills, 
• engage in conflict resolution, 
• practice netiquette, 
• experience problem solving scenarios, 
• participate in simulations, 
• and collaborate in online discussions. 

You will investigate time management strategies and pitfalls to avoid when designing and facilitating online class activities and explore various assessment tools to analyze and evaluate student participation in online discussions.

Don't miss this chance! Register Today!

EDUC 761 Creating Collaborative Communities in E-Learning
3 graduate credits
Totally online - no travel to campus required

No extra fees or surcharges for out of state or international participants.

This course is part of the University of Wisconsin-Stout Graduate Certificate in E-Learning and Online Teaching.

Instructor: Dr. Kay Lehmann 

Voice Thread Tech Tips from UW-Stout

Tech Tips Newsletter April 8, 2014 Editor: Karen Franker

This e-newsletter is brought to you by University of Wisconsin-Stout School of Education. If you do not wish to receive future issues, please see instructions to manage preferences at the bottom of this message.   NOTE: Web version of the newsletter http://www.uwstout.edu/soe/profdev/resources/voicethread.cfm   Like us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/onlineteaching --------------------   In this issue... 1. Sign Up for a Summer Online Course 2. How to Create Collaborative Learning Experiences with VoiceThread 3. Tech Tip: How to Add Your Own Slide to a VoiceThread (Video) Sign Up for a Summer Online Course Are you looking for a course to meet your professional development goals for continuing education, license renewal or advanced certification?   Check out the list of online classes starting in May, June and July. Register Online     Creating Collaborative Learning Experiences with VoiceThread Discover the multiple uses of VoiceThread in flipped and traditional classrooms, and explore how this versatile tool can increase motivation and assess learning.   Technology Forum: VoiceThread (PDF) Amy Brusini at Johns Hopkins University provides an overview of VoiceThread – what it is, who is using it, why it matters, and how it can be used.   What Can You Do with VoiceThread? The University of North Carolina ITS Teaching and Learning staff share sample Voicethread presentations including: explaining a process, interpreting a work of art, and analyzing photographic evidence.   Listen, Watch, and Read: Using VoiceThread for Assessing Student Reading Jeremy Sarachan describes how VoiceThread can provide a refreshing and creative new way for students to orally respond to discussion questions.   Motivating Learners with Tools and Pedagogy: ARCS Motivational Design and VoiceThread Whitney Kilgore explains how the ARCS motivational design model, when used with VoiceThread, stimulates critical thinking and provides students with an opportunity to use their own voices. Using VoiceThread to Create an Interactive Syllabus Michelle Pacansky-Brock’s presentation walks viewers through an innovative syllabus via VoiceThread. Diversifying Instruction in Large Lecture Classes with VoiceThread (Video: 52:41 minutes) Skim Michelle Pacansky-Brock’s Webinar for terrific tips on using VoiceThread to build an effective and collaborative classroom community, even in very large lecture-based courses. VoiceThread Digital Library The official VoiceThread site contains a library of successful projects organized by subject area. Michelle Pacansky-Brock’s excellent VoiceThread resource page  VoiceThread Participation Rubric by Michelle Pacansky-Brock     Tech Tips VoiceThread – The Basics (Video 5:30)   How to Add a PowerPoint Slide to an existing VoiceThread presentation (Video 1:42)     Register for May, June and July Online Courses   Final call for the Instructional Design certificate courses beginning on May 5th. List of all Summer and Fall 2014 Online Courses Register now to reserve a spot. Register Online! Request More Information Online School of Education Online Professional Development University of Wisconsin - Stout Archives - back issues in case you missed the most recent newsletter

E-Learning for Educators: Scoop.it Magazine

I'm happy to announce a new scoop.it magazine that will be built from articles suggested by students in UW-Stout's E-Learning for Educators course. (This is the first class in our Graduate Certificate in E-Learning and Online Teaching program.)

http://www.scoop.it/t/uw-stout-e-learning-for-educators

EDUC 696B Integrating Social Media Instructional Strategies

University of Wisconsin-Stout Online

EDUC 696B Integrating Social Media Instructional Strategies 

Online Course 1 semester hour graduate credit ($397)
Instructor: Dr. Kay Lehmann
Tuition and Registration
EDUC 696B 961 May 29 - June 25, 2012
EDUC 696B 960 July 9 - August 3, 2012
EDUC 696B 900 October 1 – December 14, 2012

Who should enroll?

Designed for elementary, middle school, and high school classroom teachers, special education teachers, guidance counselors, school administrators and support staff at all levels.  

Explore inspiring and effective ways to use social media for professional development or in the classroom or assignments, assessments, cross-cultural communication and language learning, collaborative learning, and real-world experiential learning. 

Connect  professionally and/or connect students with learning opportunities via social networks and cloud-based tools. Also, learn how to use Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and other personal learning networks for instantaneous and targeted professional development.

Description

Social media applications for professional development, global collaborative initiatives, learning community development and collaborations. Digital citizenship and learning outcomes and assessment using social media.

This course is an approved elective in the Master of Science in Education online degree program. NOTE: You may enroll in this course to meet your goals for professional development, license renewal, or to complete graduate credits and transfer the credit to another university.

Textbook

Levinson, M. (2010). From fear to Facebook: One school’s journey. ISTE: Eugene, OR. ISBN-13: 978-1564842701 Available from amazon.com or iste.org as a paperback or from amazon.com as a Kindle edition.

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:

1. Advocate and model safe, legal, and ethical use of social media.
2. Evaluate a variety of social media tools for professional or classroom use and develop learning applications.
3. Demonstrate an understanding of collaboration and communication strategies using social media with other professionals, community partners, or parents.
4. Critically analyze connected classroom projects and professional development opportunities conducted via social media.
5. Develop an assessment tool for evaluating social media for classroom or professional applications.
6. Develop an action plan demonstrating ethical and effective application of social media for communication, professional development, assessment of learning, learning communities, experiential learning or integration in the curriculum. 

Alignment with Standards

Course objectives are aligned with the following:

Wisconsin Standards for Teacher Development and Licensure (WI DPI) 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
National Board for Professional Teaching Standards 4 and 5

No travel to campus is required. Because this class is asynchronous and open to you 24/7, you may participate from your home or work computer during hours that are best for your work and family schedule.

The class is highly interactive with a significant discussion component. All discussion postings, projects and assignments will be submitted via the course discussion board and dropbox. Activities are conducted according to a schedule with specific due dates each week.

Sign Up Soon!

Register online

The School of Education reserves the right to cancel classes that do not meet minimum enrollment requirements.

For More Information...

Request Information Online
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Last Call for Fall 2010: Creating Collaborative Communities

This course provides you with real hands on experience. You'll learn how to create a sense of online community as you facilitate discussions with your peers. This is an opportunity to practice online teaching skills in a caring, personalized and supportive environment.

Course activities include hands-on practice using asynchronous communication technologies. You will actively: facilitate, explore questioning skills, conflict resolution, netiquette, and collaborative learning through problem solving scenarios, simulations, and online discussions. You will investigate time management strategies and pitfalls to avoid when designing and facilitating online class activities and explore various assessment tools to analyze and evaluate student participation in online discussions.

Don't miss this chance! Register Today!

EDUC 761 Creating Collaborative Communities in E-Learning
3 graduate credits
Totally online - no travel to campus required

No extra fees or surcharges for out of state or international participants.

This course is part of the University of Wisconsin-Stout Graduate Certificate in E-Learning and Online Teaching.

Instructors: Dr. Kay Lehmann & Lisa Chamberlin

Notes from the front lines: The first week of class.

Getting Started: Week 1

The first week of an online class is so intense. Here are notes from the front lines that capture some of the realities of teaching online.

Teaching two intense online classes, E-Learning for Educators and Teaching and Assessing Writing with the 6-Traits means I'm reading a lot of posts. (I've got the classes grouped so the volume of posts isn't burying the students.)

Social Icebreakers

It's the critical first week and the icebreakers have worked well. This is a discussion where every one in the class is talking together. With about 150+ posts in the icebreaker discussions of each class folks are staggering a bit trying to cope with the multiple threads of ideas and introductions. It's like walking through a crowded room where everyone is talking and sharing. I always like to start a class with a big social exchange. It give folks a chance to learn the software while they get to know each other without the pressure of an academic assignment. This is great!

An International Group

I think everyone gets a kick out of learning online with people from around the world. In addition to a large group from Wisconsin, we've got folks from New York, Delaware, Maryland, Minnesota, California, and Vermont. From overseas there are teachers connecting from Korea, Okinawa, Taiwan, Dubai, Germany, and England. I get a kick out of the geographical diversity of each class. (If I had the time I'd create a Google Earth tour of everyone's home...hmm with time enough...)

Ways to read a discussion thread in D2L

Over time I've learned to read these threads using some of the D2L message reading options. I like to check every box in a thread and then view it in printing format. This puts the entire thread up, one on top of the other, in message format. It's easy to read the entire exchange and scroll past the re quoted text. (Sometimes I wish folks would delete the quoted text, but I always leave it up to them to follow my model. I don't want it to be too complicated.)

Changing Subject Lines

When I respond I usually change the subject line. I'm trying to model this method early on so folks learn to capture the essence of the post in the subject area. Some do, some don't.

Mark as read

When I finish reading the posts in message view I scroll to the bottom of the group and click "Mark as read". I then close the window and return to the main discussion. A quirk of D2l is that you have to hit the refresh button on the navigation bar of the message system to get the posts to go from bold to plain (for read).

This helps me see my progress as I work through the posts.

Notes Become Grade Book Comments

I'll often write my responses into the grade comments area as I read the posts. I can put the notes in a field visible to participants, or in a private comment box. This way I capture my thinking about each post as I read and work a bit on my comments for the week. I can then paste them into the public discussion or save them for the private feedback for each learner.

Obsessed with feedback

I want to offer evaluation comments to all students at least once a week. Sometimes this becomes overwhelming and I have to lighten up. A really efficient voice conversion system would help. My right hand has carpal tunnel and a degraded thumb joint making typing a bit painful... but not enough to keep me from it. Still folks deserve timely and regular feedback, from their instructor and from their colleagues.

Good start

Both classes are rolling and packed with articulate interesting people. My job is to help them become a community so they can learn from each other. This is going to be fun!

Dennis/ SanMarcos

Last Call for the Fall!: Assessment in E-learning

Have you realized how powerful assessment is in the online learning environment? Assessment has the capability to drive interactions and engagement, as well as minimize plagiarism in the electronic classroom, strengthen higher-level learning and build e-portfolios. Learn what is needed to become an excellent online course designer while developing your electronic record keeping systems and methods for evaluating student learning, discussion postings and group projects. Become familiar with assessment tools that could make or break your online course.

EDUC 762 900C 3 graduate credits 
September 21 – November 14, 2009

Course Info     Registration

What the students are saying:

"My toolbox runneth over thanks to everyone here. I now have a whole arsenal of tools, a clearer vision of how to use them, and a brain full of ideas."
~ Susan Inak, 30 years in education; Middle School Science Teacher and Media Specialist.

"I feel more comfortable trying new things - actually pressing those buttons to see what else I can do with a tool. I enjoyed our discussions and felt support from everyone in the class. I truly felt like I learned a lot.  Everyone brought more to the material for me with their comments."
~ Melissa Anibas, Nursing Instructor

"My appreciation goes to Dr. Khalsa for the great course that she has created. This course has taught me some great assessment tools that can be used in my future online courses.  I have learned advantages and disadvantages of many of these tools."
~ Dora Szemborski, College Accounting Instructor  

8 Online Discussion Response Techniques

Online discussion is the heart of a community of practice oriented e-learning course. However, it can be difficult to know how to respond.

It's a good idea to think in terms of value added responses. What can you add to advance the discussion?
I like to post the following list at the top of discussion forums in my online courses. It's a good reminder and a handy reference!

Here are some suggestions to help guide you as you respond to each other in discussion forums.

Suggested Techniques for Response :

1. Expand on the topic.
2. Provide a teaching story that illustrates the main idea.
3. Offer a different perspective.
4. Provide an online resource relevant to the topic (include a hyperlink).
5. Offer a method you use in your classroom.
6. Provide a summary of the ideas posted so far (good when you come late to the conversation).
7. Ask a specific question (but avoid prompting yes or no answers).
8. Ask an open ended (on topic) question.

The netiquette of online discussion:

1. Focus on the prompt. Be sure to follow the directions in the prompt closely.
2. Respond to those who respond to you! This is essential!
3. Don't depend on "Me too" or "I agree" posts. Make your posts substantial
4. Work to respond with something that adds value to the discussion.
5. Post early in the week. You'll get more response and become more engaged in conversation.
6. Avoid doing all of your posting at the end of the week. You miss out on interaction.
7. Use direct quotations from the text. Include the Name of the text and page number. (Remember not everyone has the same text.)

I hope this helps!
~ Dennis