Blog #1 Spring 2007

Encouraging Online Participation

By: Lam Wing

SUMMARY

Have you ever felt like “ditching” class and staying home in your pajamas on a rainy day? The new wave of technology allows people to do this 100% of the time. Online discussion forums are just part of a distance learning education.

Encouraging Online Participation discusses methods to ensure that student posts are meaningful. To begin, Wing recommends that the students introduce themselves. This will help students avoid feeling isolated. He suggests that every student should post an introductory message at the start of the class to become acquainted.

Wing mentions a supposed advantage of online discussion forums. Speaking in front of others is a common fear. Many students prefer not to share their own opinions in a class full of people. Online discussion forums provide a comfortable environment for students. Teachers should avoid the “sage on stage” idea so that the new found voices won’t suddenly become quiet. Wing refers to it as being “the guide on the side”.

From the lazy student’s perspective, online discussions are easy. As long as he or she posts a message, who cares what’s in it? Wing calls this a low quality post. Features from a low quality post are posts that provide little new insight, show little evidence of critical analysis and repeat what has already been stated, have little relevance to the main line of discussion and are factually incorrect (Wing 2004).

In order to prevent low quality posts students must follow guidelines. Teachers must direct the students in a very specific manner. Students should also be reminded that online discussion participation counts for part of their grade.

When starting an online discussion forum, teachers should be able to answer the following questions: How often should students check the discussion forum? Which postings are voluntary and which ones are mandatory? What kind of assessment is being used to evaluate the meaning of the posts? Are students required to lead any discussions? Have you used any yes or no questions without asking why?

REVIEW

One particular aspect mentioned in this article got my attention. Online discussion forums are advantageous. Students who would not usually speak in a live classroom now have a voice. Are we giving those students a “crutch”? Many students already have an appreciation for stay-at-home-communication. Why make a phone call when we can send instant messages? Why buy music when we could get it for free from the internet? Today people don’t even need to go grocery shopping at the supermarket. Peapod.com is available 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Physically, sitting on our behinds all day is not good (though I really enjoy my pajamas). Mentally, this kind of lifestyle leads to antisocial behavior. Are we making a mistake by throwing school into the sedentary mix of at-home activities?