Good morning, I have used the online discussion forum in WebCT over the past few years with some of my classes and have had mixed success. In an accelerated Intro to Soc class, where I meet with the students one night a week, I post follow-up discussion questions since we never seem to have enough time to fully explore topics. Most of the students will post something over the course of the week, and some of them will get on every day, or even several times a day, and continue to post throughout the week. I try to respond to their postings, but I have found that the students also take responsibility for responding to each other. I have been very satisfied with the quality of the postings.
This semester I am using this feature in connection with an online class. Each week I post two questions related to the week's topic. The questions are designed to relate the material to current issues in the students' lives. I have not had any face-to-face time with these students, so only know them through the work they submit and the comments they post on the weekly discussions. Unlike my experiences with my face-to-face classes, where I would routinely post responses and students would then reply to my responses within the forum, I have found that when I post a comment it tends to slow down the discussion rather than simulate more comments. One of the students who hasn't participated much wrote me to say that he found it to be frustrating to participate, since he would post a comment and then maybe not get any response back from any of his fellow students. In contrasting my two experiences I've wondered whether it has to do with the kind of community that exists. In my accelerated class the students know each other, since they are in a "cohort" program taking classes together over the course of two semesters. On the other hand, even through I've tried to create a virtual community, I haven't been too successful. Since the students don't know each other at all, they may not feel comfortable really engaging in any kind of "back-and-forth." I will continue to use this, because I think that, in the balance, it gives students a chance to have a "voice," especially in an online class. But I'll probably make some changes next time around. I'd be interested in hearing what others think. Gwen Nyden Oakton Community College Des Plaines, IL > > Hi Jay... > I am using Blackboard in my Sociology of the Family course. Every week, I > post two topics: one from current events, one from the text assignment. > Students remark using their personal experiences. > > Some students are very comfortable with this format and love to log on > several times a day, writing very long, personal posts -- almost seeking a > therapeutic release, I believe (the course covers so many intense, > personal > subtopics). I respond to each and every post, always linking their > observations back to something in the text, to guest speakers we've had, > or > to family issues in the news -- otherwise it can just get too intensely > personal. > > While in grad school (recently, at the same school where I'm adjuncting > now) > one professor utilized Blackboard in a similar way but would not post > herself, except for the initial question. Some students found that > frustrating...to get no feedback from the professor. > > Both as a student and an instructor, I notice class members do not seem to > post to one another -- barely at all. More than half the class does not > seem to like posting on Blackboard period (again, my experiences as > student > and , for 2 semesters with small and large classes, as instructor), though > not doing so in my class impacts their grade substantially. > > My main reason for implementing a Blackboard component into the class is > that I am sensitive to the fact that some students are shy and will not > speak up in class -- this provides another outlet for them to participate > in > discussions. I grade postings subjectively, based on frequency of posts, > detail, and connection to studied material. These postings count as 30% > of > the grade, with 40% drawn from the subjective grades of 2 exams, and the > other 30% from attendance and other assignments. > > I plan to continue using Blackboard -- though it keeps me working > throughout > the week (better than a mountain of papers once a week though) > > Sarah Murray > William Paterson U of NJ (we're neighbors!) > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Jay Livingston" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: "Teaching Sociology" <[email protected]> > Sent: Friday, April 07, 2006 8:24 AM > Subject: TEACHSOC: Class blogs > > >> >> >> A few weeks ago, Andi Stepnick posted something about having students >> post journal entries to WebCT. I'm curious as to how this works because >> I was thinking of doing something similar. Many years ago, back in the >> pre-Internet dark ages, I had students keep journals. I required two >> entries each week. In each journal entry, students were to try to link >> an idea from the course to something specific from their first-hand >> experience. It worked well with some students, but having to read and >> comment on so much handwritten material was burdensome. >> >> So I was thinking of having students do something similar now but on >> Blackboard -- a sort of collective blog. Each student could see what >> others were posting, and they could make comments. Perhaps discussions >> would get started. >> >> I wonder if others have experience with class blogs, and how anyone >> thinks something like this would work, what problems might arise, how it >> would be graded, etc. Any suggestions? >> >> >> Jay Livingston >> Montclair State University >> >> > >> > > > > > > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Teaching Sociology" group. 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