Moderating Online Discussions

1
Moderating Online Discussions

• Northwest Higher Education Assessment Conference
• May 4, 2001
• Libby Wagner libbyw_at_pcadmin.ctc.edu
• Peninsula College

2
Session Goals

• To offer an introduction to using online
  discussion groups to augment a face-to-face
  learning situation
• To offer an example of an online discussion group
• To offer resources and references for using
  online discussion groups
• To introduce some student comments from those who
  have participated in online discussion groups

3
Why Use Online Discussion Groups?

• They can offer students another venue for talking
  about and studying course material
• They can provide an opportunity to move
  discussions more deeply into subject matter
• Theyre fun!

4
Challenges to Using Online Discussion Groups May
Include

• Technology snafus
• Reluctant or inexperienced participants
• Disparity in online skills
• Time Management
• Manners and ethics

5
Whats Your Role Online?

• The designated facilitator serves a number of
  functions, from organizer to cheerleader to
  imparter of information (Palloff and Pratt 36).
• Like their colleagues on campus, e-moderators
  have to think through the design of structured
  learning experiences for their students . . .
  They must understand the online environments
  potential, which is different from that of any
  other teaching medium (Salmon 12)

6
What About Students?

• Swimmers dive in early!
• Wavers need considerable help and encouragement
  to get started!
• Drowners find it difficult to log on and are
  reluctant to ask for help . . .
• Lurkers theyre out there . . . Somewhere!

7
Most Common Beginners Comments

• Well, once I got in there and figured out where
  to go . . . Then it was great!
• I didnt think Id like this Im surprised.
• This is a lot more difficult than I thought it
  would be.
• This takes a LOT more time than I imagined!
• Im required to think a lot more than when Im
  just in class . . .

8
How Much Time Will This Take?

• Organization and set up will vary according to
  your own skills
• Online time will vary depending upon the goals
  you have for its role in your pedagogy
• Clear goals need to be established for you and
  for students

9
Example

• Students are placed into 5 groups of 5 members
  each
• All students are responsible for an assigned
  reading
• One group is assigned the posting of 2 related
  discussion questions (DQs)
• Each student is responsible for both responding
  to the DQ (1 posting) and responding to 2 of her
  peers responses (2 postings)

10
Minimum Requirements Example

• Each 5-person group posts 15 responses per DQ
• Instructor reads 75 responses (all groups) and
  posts approximately 2 responses per group (10
  responses)

11
Time?

• Students report, after finishing the reading
  assignment, spending between 20 minutes to 1 ½
  hours reading, posting and responding
• Instructor time varies between a 15 minute
  check-in to see whats happening to 2/12 hours
  reading, posting and responding

12
Implications and Directions?

• Whats online time worth in terms of learning
  and contact time with students?
• Something Id like to see . . . Three days in a
  face-to-face class, two days online!

13
English 112 Winter Quarter

• Class Profile
• 8 Running Start Students
• 4 Returning Students
• 13 Traditional-age Students
• Variety of computer literacy skills

14
Group Set-up

• Told students theyd have online opportunity when
  discussing course objectives
• Created Groups after two weeks of class
• Chose ringers for each group
• Identified computer-savvy member of each group
• Let them work face-to-face on some in-class group
  assignments without me!

15
Getting Online

• Created Course in WebCt
• REALLY basic
• Gave step-by-step instructions for logging on
• Created a fun, non-threatening introduction
• Said every day, This may be frustrating at first
  . . . Well work it out!

16
What is the moderators role?

• Create a balance between allowing discussion to
  happen and popping in during key times or
  teachable moments
• For the most part, let them resolve their own
  conflicts and challenges
• Dont feel compelled to respond to each issue or
  answer
• Set aside times for just reading the postings
  without responding
• Dont feel like you should log on every other
  hour to see what theyre doing . . . It eats up
  lots of time!

17
Unofficial Results at Midterm

• Most students were enjoying online experience
• A few didnt like it at all
• One was currently a non-participant
• Discussion topics went places I couldnt have
  taken them in class, either because the medium is
  simply different or we simply dont have enough
  time

18
What did they say at the end?

• 22 out of 25 students responded
• 21 out of 22 rated the online discussion groups
  as positive
• 1 out of 22 rated the online discussion groups as
  negative
• 17 out of 25 noted or commented that the online
  discussion groups helped them learn more about
  the assigned readings

19
Some comments . . .

• I thought the online section was helpful. It
  allowed us to learn more and participate more,
  even though class was over. Kris
• The online experience was fun. I was able to
  think about what I was going to say before I said
  it. I had a good group . . . James
• Online was difficult in the beginning, but I
  learned much from it. I love discussions! Lindsey

20
And more comments . . .

• Overall, I liked the online experience, which is
  pretty crazy since before this class I didnt
  even have an e-mail address! I feel more
  confident about using the computer as a
  discussion tool. Natalie
• Positivestime to make thoughtful responses.
  Negativespeople who dont post until the last
  minute!!! Al
• Online stuff was great except without a computer
  it was a little tough when people post late.
  Heidi

21
Plans for Assessment

• Students were surveyed both online and in person
  at course completion
• I completed a reflective evaluation process for
  myself at course completion
• For grades students were tracked for minimum
  posting and responding requirements
• Most programs have a time feature for tracking
  how long theyve spent online and how many items
  theyve read and posted

22
Totally Online vs. Web-enhanced?

• Still get the human contact
• Great way to get started to see if you like this
  way of teaching
• Beneficial for students in terms of
  multi-media/technology experience
• Really promotes active, rather than passive,
  learning!
• Reduces pot luck factor!

23
Some Helpful Resources Books

• Building Learning Communities in Cyberspace
  Effective Strategies for the Online Classroom
  Rena M. Palloff and Keith Pratt (Josey-Bass)
• E-Moderating The Key to Teaching and Learning
  Online Gilly Salmon (Kogan Page)e-moderating
  home page

24
Other Resources

• Syllabus New Dimensions in Education Technology
  (magazine) http//www.syllabus.com/
• The Chronicle of Higher EducationThe Chronicle
  Daily news 12/10/99 01
• WebCthttp//webct.com/
• eCollegehttp//ecollege.com/