Creating Magic in Discussion Forums

It is hard to manage a full course load at maybe one or two universities, plus advising, plus developing, and whatever other responsibilities someone may have, to take the time to create. To make magic. And learning how to make media, of any kind is a commitment. There are oodles of unfinished projects stored on computers everywhere.

But, there’s an easy way to put magic in a class. And it’s something courses, especially online, asynchronous courses, rely on: discussion forums.

Consider the ideas below when creating a discussion forum. They may not all apply to you, but hopefully a few will.

Let’s break this down a bit.

Memorable: Does the post require higher levels of thinking? Is it thought-provoking? Do the responses ask students to evaluate their everyday life or to make something?

Aligned: Of course, posts need to be aligned to the learning outcomes for the course. All the magic in the world means nothing if it does not connect with the mastery of the learning outcomes.

Generalizable: Could the response apply throughout the course? Are there opportunities for real-life application? Could the posed question be modified to be used in another course?

Innovative: This seems obvious: try something new! If it doesn’t work, it’s okay! Asking students to make infographics, or memes, or use a variety of media in their responses will lead to more creative responses rather than the standard, dull responses. They can also express themselves in a way that makes sense for them.

Continuous: Renewable assignments for an instructor or for a student are very important. And hugely important for open education. Why assign work that’s immediately trashed? Let’s create experiences for student that last longer and are useful in the real world!

Listen to the podcast below to learn more about creative ideas in discussion forums.

King, T. (2021, March 10). Online discussion boards: Creative ideas to ask better conversation and engage students (No. 5) {Audio podcast episode]. Faculty Focus Live. Faculty Focus. https://www.buzzsprout.com/1552018/8101900-online-discussion-boards-creative-ideas-to-spark-better-conversations-and-engage-students

Teaching with Accessible Videos

Videos are a very attractive form of education for many, but there are some important components to consider when assigning videos in a course.

• Is the content engaging? Videos are excellent for education when the content is engaging and relevant. If not, students may skip right over it.
• Is it accessible? Consider whether your videos have transcripts or closed captions. If they do not, it may be hard for those with different learning styles or potential impairments to appreciate the content the way it was intended.
• Is it the right length? Videos that are longer than 15-20 minutes are not recommended for use in classes. There may be exceptions to that rule, but overall it should be avoided. Consider an hour long seminar; how long before someone starts doodling? Looks at their phone? Falls asleep? Breaking up the content in manageable chunks just makes sense.

Select the blue hotspots below to learn more about the 3R’s of videos.

For more about Teaching with Accessible Videos:

National Center on Accessible Educational Materials (n.d.) Teaching with accessible videos. OER Commons. Retrieved August 23, 2021 from https://www.oercommons.org/courses/teaching-with-accessible-video/view

Video learning is a very popular style for learners of all ages. Want to learn accounting? YouTube it. Want to learn how to crochet? There’s a video for that. And for some, that’s the best (and maybe the only) way they will learn. Please view the following video from John Green (18:01): The Nerd’s Guide to Learning Everything Online.

Green, J. (2012, November). The nerd’s guide to learning everything online [Video]. TEDTalk. https://www.ted.com/talks/john_green_the_nerd_s_guide_to_learning_everything_online

Learning styles are nearly as diverse as people are, when you think about it. For example:  a person may learn well watching a video and then completing the task themselves; but prefer to read or listen to audio books. Those are different ways to absorb materials. When building a course, consider how diverse you are as a learner or your colleagues are and then evaluate whether the learning materials and activities are diverse. It is a mission, as a Quality Matters institution to meet the needs of all learners, not just a few. Consider the learning styles matrix below. Where you do you fall?

This work, “Learning Styles Matrix” is a derivative of “What’s Your Learning Style?” by Chelsea Webb, used under CC BY NC . “Learning Styles Matrix” by Andrea Bearman is licensed under CC BY 4.0.

Podcasts are a unique opportunity for education. Students can make podcasts. Faculty can make podcasts. Or instructors can use podcasts made by other, outside people. The topics and possibilities are really unlimited. This is a very exciting medium with which to engage students! Also, this is an opportunity for a “renewable” assignment. Giving students an opportunity now, to build skills in creating podcasts, is a skill and body of work that they can use in their portfolio or help them in their to-be career. Offering opportunities for skill-building, that can be generalized to a larger scope is something that will benefit students for years to come.

But as usual, there are some factors to consider. The factors are similar to videos. Complete the ungraded assessments below to test your knowledge from videos.

For more information about building an accessible podcast, check out this resource from CUNY (full citation shared below).

Then, listen to The Onliners Podcast, provided by Trine University, which discusses ways to engage online learners, embedded below.

City University of New York (2021, June 24). Accessibility toolkit for Open Educational Resources (OER): Podcasts. Retrieved August 23, 2021 from https://guides.cuny.edu/accessibility/podcasts

Eberts, K. & Buell, K. (2021, March 31). Engaging your online learners [No. 28]. The Onliners. TrineOnline. https://theonliners.transistor.fm/28

What is OER? Open Educational Resources, like this interactive text book, offer learning materials that are openly licensed, to students, faculty, and really… the world! This is at no cost for the user. If you or someone in the world is paying for that resource, it’s probably not OER. True OER needs to have a Creative Commons License applied to it. Creative Commons is a whole world, learn more by experiencing the padlet, below.

There are some distinct parts in a Creative Commons License, please view the slides below to learn more! Tip: Make the slides full screen to better experience the content. The double arrow in the bottom right corner of the slides will make the slides full screen.

the anatomy of a CC License by Andrea Bearman is licensed under a Creative Commons 4.0 International License

There are many benefits to using OER.

Money: The biggest benefit of course, is the money that it saves students. With tuition costs, living expenses, and all other expenses, there’s plenty to pay for when in college (or life, really!). If we can save costs by using openly licensed resources, why not? There is evidence, provided by Florida Virtual Campus, that demonstrates the following statistics:

2018 Florida Student Textbook & Course Materials Survey by Florida Virtual Campus is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Customized Course Materials: Textbooks are written with a specific goal in mind. Similarly, courses are built with a focus, which is usually the learning objectives. There is a movement in education, shifting the focus off of textbooks. But sometimes textbooks do not support that mission. So, when making custom materials, like OER, an instructor can remix or create a text, video, podcast, and other openly licensed learning materials that make sense for the course. Faculty can use, improve, and share materials. Faculty can network and collaborate with others. And in turn, this creates materials that are tailored to a course, with current information (and they can be updated regularly!). Please note: some Creative Commons Licenses do have restrictions, like NoDerivatives (nothing can be changed) or  ShareAlike (it must be shared with the same licensing).

Review any of these engagement strategies that you have not used in the classroom. Select the question mark for more information about the strategy. Then, consider how you would develop one of these strategies in your courses.

Review the checklist below which offers insight to where accessibility may be a concern. This is not an exhaustive list, the more innovation there is in courses the more this list may grow.

Adapted from:

Angelo State University (n.d.) Digital accessibility checklist for courses. Information for Faculty and Staff. https://www.angelo.edu/faculty-and-staff/instructional-design/accessibility-checklist.php

Standards from the Quality Matters Higher Education Rubric, Sixth Edition. Quality Matters. Retrieved from Specific Review Standards from the QM Higher Education Rubric, Sixth Edition.

As you develop content, consider the resources in this book to guide you in the development of engaging resources. Continuously improving our courses is not always easy, but it is a great service to students.

Here’s a final audio experience as this comes to a close by  Faculty Focus and Tierney King: Listen: Creating Pockets of Joy, Humor, and Positivity in your Face-to-Face and Online Class (15:50)

King, T. (2021, October 14).  Creating pockets of joy, humor, and positivity in your face-to-face and online class. (No. 21) [Audio podcast episode]. Faculty Focus Live. Faculty Focus. https://audio.buzzsprout.com/4ao2hntmr4r666s1hmx6sjzlm2ex?response-content-disposition=inline&

As mentioned, reflection is a great opportunity to learn, evaluate, and progress in work, education, and other facets of life. A favorite way to reflect is the two things prompt (see below): review, reflect, and move forward!

Question 1:

“Comfort Zone Suge” by emily @ go haus go is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

What are two things within your comfort zone? Is it the discussion forums? Maybe videos? What things are tried-and-true methods for you?

“Elephant Stretching for some Food” by Augapfel is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Question 2:
What are two things that stretched your comfort zone? Was it the podcasts? OER? What things would be a little bit of a challenge to implement, but not too overwhelming for you?

Question 3:

What are two things that overwhelmed you? Memes? Gamification? It’s good to be challenged right? Now, to be fair, adding engagement to add engagement is not helpful. But if it aligns to the learning outcomes and makes sense, why not try it? Ask for feedback from students and feedback! Ask your IT department or instructional designer for assistance, too!

“Fierce Macaque” by MarPa87 is licensed under CC BY 2.0.