Purpose Forums must be seen to have relevance both online and offline See the completed and developing forum as both an on and offline body of evidence to be used to inform, add depth and breadth to an area of study If responses are not seen to be valued, the process itself will not seen to be valuable Low level prompts get low level responses – You get what you ask for There’s a direct relationship between the thinking level of the prompt and the thinking level of the responses Don’t look for answers to questions When building ask yourself if your initial prompt will afford each student with an opportunity to provide a unique response Discussion forums provide a unique window on student’s thinking permanent record of viewpoints, perspectives, attitudes and understanding Essential tool for formative assessment KWL, self, peer Provide opportunities for development of higher order thinking skills Equitable student voice Make it personal Forums are best for higher order thinking: ask open questions that will require a personal response.
No longer about access to information Forum exemplify the changing relationship between student / teacher and the nature of knowledge itself
When do we teach kids to have a conversation Review forums as a class activity Highlight and discuss high and low quality responses
Participation is not optional Require postings as a part of formal classwork Short is sweet Short shelf life Set expectations about frequency and timing of contributions Set clear expectations re response times: Give time for others to respond. quality of written response No txt. Many have experience of posting to informal websites using txt and smileys etc… Respect Forums provide a meeting point for a variety of viewpoints and present an opportunity for each student to have a voice Rules need to be set re valuing contributions / viewpoints and perspectives, what constitutes an appropriate response All posts must add value Use of repetition and posts which add no value
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