Enhancing Your Courses With Manila Discussions

Presented by Heidi King

Why Use Discussions?

Discussion ComponentsDiscussion Components

• Also known as bulletin boards• An asynchronous online tool• Typically threaded; Manila threads

differently

Educational GoalsEducational Goals

• What are your goals and which of those can be met using online discussions?• Create more meaningful interactions• Enable all students to participate (shy,

reflective thinkers, working students, etc.)• Encourage growth of a learning community• Extend classroom boundaries

• What are your goals for your class(es)?

Professional GoalsProfessional Goals

• Move to hybrid teaching?• Move to online teaching?

BenefitsBenefits

• Collaboration and group work.• A good way to manage and collect group

work.• Online resources can be shared quickly

and easily.• Cancelled classes can still have

meaningful online discussions.• Some students are more comfortable

writing than speaking.• Others?

Which Tool is Best?Which Tool is Best?

• Email vs. Online Discussions• Better tool depends on the nature of

your online discussions• Think of ways you can effectively use

the tools together.

Creating Discussions in Manila

Communication Strategies

Basic TipsBasic Tips

• Make use the discussions yourself (and email, too)

• Use the discussion list regularly• Assign specific tasks for students• Make students aware of your posting

policies

Your Online Discussion PoliciesYour Online Discussion Policies

• What will the discussions be used for? • Who will instigate discussions? Will

they be teacher or student driven?• How often to you expect students to

post?• How often will you read and respond?• How will you organize discussions?

NetiquetteNetiquette

• Be aware of the online culture of your students.

• Will you allow emoticons and acronyms?

Planning and PreparationPlanning and Preparation

• Encourage students to copy and paste from their word processor to the discussions.

• Offer formatting suggestions, such as hyphens and asterisks.

Other IssuesOther Issues

• Symbols and graphics• “Flame” wars

Teaching Strategies

Setting the ToneSetting the Tone

• The tone you take will likely be the one your students assume.

• Model effective postings and replies for students - post samples.

• Let students know the expectations for response time.

Modeling and CoachingModeling and Coaching

• “Lurk” and monitor your discussions• If your discussions are student-driven,

you can coach them behind the seens.• Email students you don’t see

participating.• Email students that may not be

responding/posting appropriately

What About Group Work?What About Group Work?

• Online discussions are a fantastic forum for group work.• Different groups have different

discussions.• Use email to communicate and form a

group response to discussion questions.

Designing Effective GroupsDesigning Effective Groups

• Survey the class to find out their skill level.

• Aim for 3-5 students • Place a technology savvy person in

each group• Decide what to do about “flakes”• Allow groups to set own policies

Grading and AssessmentGrading and Assessment

• Do you want to grade on quality or quantity or both?

• Do you want to grade at all?• In Manila, consider:• A simple grading approach OR• Group posts OR• Letting students decide which posts you

grade.

Managing AssignmentsManaging Assignments

• Start small• Think of one discussion activity that would

work well in one of your classes.

• Build on what you know• Once you have one or two online

discussions running smoothly, add more to one class.

• Explore multiple class discussions• Consider extensive online group work

Writing Effective Assignments

Writing Effective Assignments

• Be very clear about your objectives and expectations• State a clear due date• Make sure students have access• Refer students to examples• Use headers and spacing in the body of

your assignment• Highlight key points.

Create an Assignment