Journal 3 - NETS III

"Keep Them Chatting" -Jeannie Cole

Cole, Jeannie (February 2009). Keep Them Chatting. Learning and Leading with Technology, 37, Retrieved February 19, 2009, from http://localhost:51966/learning_leading/200902-offline2/index.html

"Keep Them Chatting" is an article about techniques that educators can use to get students thinking and talking on certain topics in online class discussion rooms. The two main tips for educators who conduct online class discussion rooms are: one, to set goals and achievements for the class and two, to select questions that promotes student interaction and discovery through research and collaboration with other students. There are four main types of questions that can be used to promote student thinking and exploration. The first one is called the "high-level, open-ended questions." This type of question requires students to do their own thinking since there could be more than one way to answer the question. This question allows for students to be creative and to think on their own. The second type of question is called "the inquiry method." This type of question requires students to engage in research on the topic and to solve any problems that they encounter through their research. Students are exploring on their own and making their own discovery with a little push in certain direction.

The third type of question is called "the discrepant event inquiry method." This type of question starts the student off by showing them an unexplained photo, video, document, or any other source. The teacher then gives the students a question that requires research. The fourth type of question is called "personal examples." These are questions that can be answered from personal experience but also requires the students to do their own research to be thorough with their answer. All these questions have guidelines which can help students to stay on topic. I have taken several online courses before and can understand how students can be turned off to discussion rooms because the questions are either very standard or just plain boring. A lot of these question types seem to have very positive outcomes and they do seem to stimulate thinking and student exploration that then leads to students discovering things on their own.

Question 1: How can educators stimulate student interaction in an online class discussion room?

Educators can stimulate student interaction in an online class discussion room by posing questions that students can collaborate with each other on. The questions should require students to do research and to develop problem-solving skills. Students can help each other out by discussing with one another the types of problems that they've encountered. Most likely another student would have had the same problem so then these students can help each other out. Another way to promote student interaction within the discussion room is to assign group assignments. Group projects require that students interact with one another and to communicate their thoughts.

Question 2: Describe one of the four types of questions suggested by the article to help promote student interaction and discovery.

One of the type of questions is called "the inquiry method." This type of question requires students to do their own research and to solve any problems that they encounter while doing the research. Although students are doing individual work, they are still interacting with other students to discuss how they will go about with their research and the types of problems they have encountered.