Co= urse Facilitation

From DePaul University’s = Center for Distance Education’s Course Facilitator’s Guide

Interaction

Discussion among = you and your students in online courses makes the difference between a quality course and an online correspondence course. Discussion encourages students to rehearse, argue, and critique the understandings they have gained in their personal study. Discussion al= lows you to determine the extent to which students are understanding and applying course concepts and acquiring course-specific skills.

Conversation onli= ne must be carefully thought through and planned to engage students with you a= nd with each other, and encourage interaction with course content and resources. Satisfying online conversations do not just happen - they take considered input and direction. =

What follows are suggestions for you to consider while planning and organizing the discussion for your course.

Become thoroughly familiar with the features = of the Course Management System

· = You are li= kely to be the first person the students ask for help when they run into technic= al or access problems. Everyone = will feel more confident if you can address the inevitable technical inquiries a= nd know where to refer those that extend beyond your expertise

Give students time to adjust to the technolog= y

· = All courses should start with a simple assignment – have your students post their introductions. This will give students who do not have much experience with online learning, or your cour= se platform a chance for an early success with the system. That will motivate = and encourage their subsequent use.

· = Most cours= es do not expect students to turn graded work in until the end of the Drop/Add period or some students will start out behind, through no fault of their own. That can be daunting.

· = Be generous with Welcome messages and topic starter messages with "START HERE"= ; in their subject lines.

· = Expect a r= ange of computer skills among your students.&nb= sp; Some students will be apprehensive and confused. Others will be very experienced - suggest THEY become 'coaches' and respond to other student's questions. Keep an eye on the= m as they do.

· = Do not hesitate to put information in more than one place. In each Course Module, for instanc= e, remind your students when assignments are due.

Plan Your Conversational Spaces

· Decide how many concurrent electronic conversations - or topics - you want your studen= ts to contribute and respond to at any one time. Remember YOU will also= have to read and keep up on all of them, so be kind to yourself AND your student= s.

· Break each Module’s conference into several topics so the sheer number of posts = in any one topic does not become overwhelming and unwieldy. =

· A summary = that weaves the students' comments into a cohesive whole concludes a discussion topic in a tidy manner. Decid= e if you will do this, or if you will assign this task to students.

· Consider dividing some of your topics into smaller conversational groups of 5-7 peop= le, with their own discussion conference. Conclusions can be reported out to he larger group.

· State by w= hat day/time comments must be posted. Students who are persistently late with their contributions will draw the ire of their conversational partners.

· Plan to respond to students' process questions in a separate “Course Q&A” conference especially created for managerial matters. <= /o:p>

· Respond to individual students privately ONLY when it concerns course performance, personal reasons for late assignments, or advising matters.

· Create a specific conference where students can ask and find answers to their process and “housekeeping” questions for the course. Then students will not have to hunt through conferences for this information.

· Create a conference that will function as a social space where students can discuss topics unrelated to course content. This helps student develop a sense of community. Dr. Collins’ social conferen= ce is always called “The Rose and Crown” – reminding her of the British pubs of her youth.

Coach your students in how to communicate onl= ine

· At the beg= inning of the term, state your expectations for appropriate online communication style, frequency and behaviors. For example: Other students’ command of the facts, their opinions, belief= s, and logic are all fair game; PEOPLE are NOT.

· Do not ass= ume that students know how to conduct online conversations in a collegial manner. Develop and agree upon guidelines at the beginning of the course.

· Some stude= nts do not realize that their comments sound condescending or sarcastic. Discuss this and other disruptive behaviors with them via private email.

· Deal with disruptive communication behavior privately and immediately. At the same time, restate for the = class the communication rules under which the class has agreed to function.<= /o:p>

· Text does = not carry the tone and nuances of face-to-face interactions. Students read messages through the= ir own perceptions, so misinterpretation is both easy and common. This can result in angry or harsh responses that derail conversation, and can cause hard feelings that take a= long time online to sort out.

· Suggest wh= en a student reads a comment that angers or confuses them that they take a deep breath, and respond with something like the following:

When I read <quote> I understand you to mean < state interpretation>. Do I unde= rstand you correctly?

Model this technique yourself - you can diffuse 'flame wars' before they get star= ted – especially if you check your discussions frequently.

· The size a= nd resolution of most computer screens make reading large blocks of text uncomfortable and we tend to read about 30% slower on-screen. Long sentences and long paragraphs= - solid blocks of text - are difficult to follow and feel like someone dronin= g on in the classroom. It can also= slow down the conversation and take it off track.

· Discussion conferencing thrives on short sentences, brief paragraphs, bulleted lists, = and generous use of white space. Take the lead in modeling these in your respon= ses to students.

· Keep your declarative comments brief - the definitive word from the Prof is more like= ly to stop discussion than encourage it.

Interactivity is what makes online learning

· = Plan to ke= ep your conversational spaces active and interactive. This is how students can take adva= ntage of the collective knowledge and experience of the group.<= /p>

· = Post a gen= eral welcome message and tell students where and how to start work.

· = Silence - = or not posting =3D invisibility in an online course.

· = Instructor invisibility =3D panicked students

· = Specify how often students should post - and attach grade points to it. Heuristic: students post their own response and comment on the response of at least one other student per topi= c.

· = Your quest= ions or discussion starters should encourage thoughtful and focused responses. Devise discussion starters that do not have one 'right' answer. See http://www.e= moderators.com/moderators/muilenburg.html for suggestions on framing questions to elicit online discussion.

· = Relate your discussion starters clearly to course materials/topics.

· = Do not res= pond every time a student posts. Encourage students to respond to each other or you will be conducting more one-on-one tutorials than you have time and energy for.

· = Redirect discussion by using probing questions rather than statements.

· = Debate encourages discussion - arrange for students to take and defend different perspectives.

· = Solicit or pose conflicting opinions - too much agreement makes for dull reading.=

· = Play devil= 's advocate by taking an opposite position (gently) and asking why it is not j= ust as valid. Point out logical f= laws or holes in arguments.

· = Divide your students into very small groups (2-5 students). Explain and demonstrate the criter= ia you use to assess papers. Encoura= ge students to share and critique each others' drafts.

· = Allow your students to assist in the development of rubrics for personal assessment an= d to help you articulate exactly what you are looking for the student to do.

· = Discussion areas are not good venues for checking student knowledge with questions that require content recitation. O= ne right answer from a student and there is no need for more discussion. =

· = Choose discussion questions that touch emotional chords and engage the studentR= 17;s interest. <= /p>

Check your class discussions frequently

·      =    This means= , at the beginning of the term, log on at least FOUR times a day - as the quarter progresses you can cut back but NOT less than once a day during the work week. With the speed of inter= net interaction small conversational sparks can quickly be put out, ignore them= and they may become forest fires that are almost impossible to control and could permanently disrupt your course communication.

·      =    If you will not be reading discussions over the weekend, tell your students in advance.=

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·      =    At the beg= inning of the term especially, students will quickly become frustrated if their questions do not receive a prompt response. Tell students what your response t= ime will be - and DO IT.

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·      =    Start the = term by scattering comments and questions frequently - this encourages discussion and lets students know they are being heard, and reassures them that they a= re 'doing it right.' Ease off as= the quarter progresses - they won't notice.

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·      =    If you hav= e to be gone for more than 48 hours during the week tell your students, and the distance education support staff, in advance.

Encourage students to share their own expertise

·      =    Adults lea= rn well by 'swapping stories.' M= any online students are practicing professionals. Suggest that they draw from, refle= ct on, and share their own experiences. This brings home the relevance of the cour= se material to their every day lives.

·      =    Encourage students to look into their lives frequently for examples of what they are learning in their online course, and give them a place to report how they a= re applying their new learning in their lives.

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·      =    Do not TELL students everything. Set out concepts with your criteria for choosing examples and non-examples. Present to students the first one = of each. Have students collect t= he examples from wherever they can find them (text book, course reading, the Internet, their library, personal experience etc.) and share them with each other, critiquing them using the criteria you have stated.

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Moving the discussion along

· = “Wea= ve” student comments. Often, when= you are reading student comments you will notice several themes developing. Compose comments that draw the str= ands together, then ends with a question that will help the students move to the next step.

· = When describing the kind of responses required of the students, be explicit about what is considered a quality response – provide an example if possible.You’re your students know that simple agreement or disagreem= ent that does nothing to contribute new information or to move the discussion a= long is insufficient.

· = All input = that students make needs to be supported. Agreement and disagreement need to be in the form of "I agree, because . . ." or "I disagree because . . ." followed by a citation= from the text, readings, other course and information resources, personal knowle= dge or experience etc. This encou= rages deeper thinking and time-on-task.

· = However, t= hink seriously before you require formal written responses from students, comple= te with citations and references from students. Discussion by way of mini-papers d= oes not flow easily.

Grading Online Discussion

We suggest you gi= ve the students points or acknowledgement for responses that contain one or mo= re of the following:

1. Offering up ideas or resources and inviting a critique of them

2. Asking challenging questions

3. Articulati= ng, explaining and supporting positions on ideas

4. Exploring = and supporting issues by adding explanations and examples

5. Reflecting= on and re-evaluating personal opinions

6. Offering a critique, challenging, discussing and expanding ideas of others<= /span>

7. Negotiating interpretations, definitions, and meanings

8. = Summarizing previous contributions and asking the next question

9. = Proposing actions based on ideas that have been develope= d

The above list was adapted = from Gilly Salmon’s book E-moderat= ing: The key to teaching and learning online. London: Kogan Page: p. 143. (2000).

Encouraging Active Learning

Even though the course that you are facilitating has already been developed, you have the flexibility to add active learning activities to your course conferences if they are not already part of the course.&n= bsp; Check with the CDE Instructional Designer Dr Mauri Collins if you are not sure. Strategies and activities for active learning can include:=

Debates	Critiques<= /o:p>	Interviews=
Role plays=	Debates	Case studies
Skill practice<= o:p>	Simulations	Journal keeping=
Group or panel discussions	Socratic dialog= s: students asking the questions of each other	Problem-solving, given real-life situations
Presenting cour= se material to each other	Preparing summa= ries	Discovering and sharing resources

These activities = do not need to be extensive and can enhance and complement the existing compon= ents of the course and elaborate on contemporary events.

Dr. Mauri Collins

Faculty Development Specialist

Center for Distance Education

DePaul Univeristy, Chicago Loop Campus

mcollins@s= nlonline.net

http://www.emoderators.com/moderators.shtm.

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Do not be concerned that some of the articles on the emoderator’s site appear dated. The focus is on the teaching and learning, not on technology.

The basic tenets of good practice in online teaching a= nd learning were set forth by the pioneers (Hitlz, Harasim, Teles, Turoff, Feenberg, Mason, Levinson, Paulsen, Berge, Davie, Kaye, etc.) in the 1980s = and early 1990s. The technology m= ay have become more sophisticated since then but the advantages and challenges= of framing technology-mediated learning interactions between and among faculty= and students remains the same.