Unit 4: Design an Online Participation Activity
Unit 4 Objectives: Participants will identify the advantages and disadvantages of different kinds of online participation tools. Participants will implement online participation strategies by creating a mini-online participation activity.
Activity #1: MINI-LECTURE: What are the types of online participation tools available to teachers?
Blogs: Blogs are websites in which individuals record their opinions and ideas and provide links to sites of interest. Using a classroom blog, a teacher can post discussion questions, news articles, stories and photos. Students can post reactions to the materials posted on the blog.
The website theedublogger.com [[1] has many ideas to get teachers familiar with educational blogs.
Wikis: A wiki is a web application that allows teachers and students to add or delete content in collaboration with others. The main difference between a wiki and a blog is that users (including students) have more options for adding or deleting content on the wiki. Wikis encourage collaboration and don't necessarily have an established leader.
The website Teacher's First [[2]] offers teachers many tips to get started using a classroom wiki.
Online Education Platforms: These sites provide teachers with multi-purpose online spaces for their students. WizIQ [[3]] [ www.wiziq.com] and CollaborizeClassroom.com are two examples of these multifaceted online sites. WizIQ is fee-based, while Collobarizeclassroom.com is free to educators. These online platforms allow teachers to post discussion questions, to post videos, to share links, to provide online tutoring, and more.
The website Freetech4Teachers http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2011/02/seven-free-platforms-for-teaching.html#.UqNDH4XTG8A lists some free online education platforms.
Activity #2 REFLECT:
Read through one of the above websites on wikis, blogs, or online education platforms. What are the advantages and disadvantages to one online participation tool? List your ideas in the discussion space at ETAP ID Project at collaborizeclassroom.com. Read your classmates ideas' and respond to one classmate’s post.
Activity #3 SELF-REFLECTION:
Think back to your first post in Unit 1 on the factors that encourage and discourage class discussion. How has your thinking on this topic changed? Would you incorporate online discussion into your classroom? Why or why not?
FINAL ACTIVITY: Create a mini participation activity for a class. State the educational goal, the type of online tool to be utilized, and the student requirements for this activity. Reflect on how the online tool chosen meets your educational goal. Post your activity in the space provided at collaborizeclassroom.com. Read your classmates' ideas and respond to one classmate’s post.
SUMMARY: Online participation tools such as blogs and wikis offer teachers new ways to encourage active learning by students through participation in online discussion. There are many free online options available to teachers interested in supplementing their classroom discussions with active online learning tools.
Return to Using Online Participation Tools to Foster Active Learning
For further reading: References for Using Online Participations Tools to Foster Active Learning