Technology and Education Online Discussion Forums: It's in the Response - 0 views
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participation in online discussion forums provides opportunities for responsibility and active learning through the expectation of regular participation in online discussions.
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hey construct knowledge through the shared experiences that each participant brings to the collaborative discussions. The online web courses about teaching offer deeper perspectives and opportunities to learn because the participants are teachers from school districts around the state and other states.
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This particular use of the discussion forum, to negotiate and construct knowledge, is an example of using the technology as a cognitive tool and not simply as another kind of blackboard or one-way communication method. Cognitive tools and environments stimulate cognitive learning strategies and critical thinking (Jonassen, 1998). Students engaged with course content in discussions and group work with other students engage in generative processing of information.
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his involves the processes of reflection and the construction and re-construction of domains of knowledge. The resulting kinds of learning from these processes are not a regurgitation of a lecture or reading. It is a negotiated interpretation of knowledge
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The discussion forum makes active participation by all students the price of citizenship within this learning community.
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Students quickly discover that their peers are also holders of knowledge and they initiate discussions and respond to one another's postings
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It is possible to feel invisible in an online discussion forum if no one responds to an individual's postings. Part of a course design should include a requirement that students respond to at least 3 or more students each week and at least 1 of those should be a student not previously responded to. This helps distribute the responses. Responses are a hook to student motivation to participate above and beyond grades.
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They recommended that, "Instructors can encourage and model this behavior from the beginning of a course, thereby creating a safe learning environment of acceptance and trust. Activities that enhance sharing and cooperation can further develop openness and solidarity within groups." (McDonald & Gibson, 1998, p.21)
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Web environments can make use of interactive components and educators should design and look for activities that are problem oriented, interactive, and engage students in an application of knowledge, principles, and values (Hazari & Schnorr, 1999).
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he stage for disagreement within the discussion forum is also a motivation and invitation for students to become more engaged in the discussions.
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instructors should have the syllabus developed and the course up and online before the first day of class
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Instructors need to be a "presence" in the virtual conference center as they monitor the discussions and provide continuous guidance to students to focus on the course goals by utilizing a technique called "weaving". This is a skill that involves using a part of a student comment in a posting and re-directing it to the main topic without an explicit negative value judgment. Instructors in a discussion forum will set and maintain the type of language and tone used in the virtual conference center. It is harder to interpret the tone and therefore the meaning of a message without visual clues or the sound of a voice. Instructors fulfill a role like that of a list moderator as they support and give students guidance in communicating successfully within the environment.
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Feedback has long been recognized as critical to the learning process and timely feedback is potent.
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The need for affection is also present in a virtual discussion forum. This need is characterized by trust, self-disclosure and willingness to reveal experiences, thoughts and interpretations.
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These "getting-to-know-you" scenarios are as important as course content in reaching the goal of a collaborative community of learners. The instructor needs to be sensitive to this need and find a balance within the discourse.
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If they are left dangling for days on end, they lose a feeling of connection and begin to feel lost in Cyberspace.