Category Instructional Design

online classroom conversation

Conversation in an Online Classroom Part 1: The Discussion Board

One concern about the use of online classes is the lack of direct conversation in an online environment. Students learn by testing and defending their ideas. In an online course, if there is no forum to present and defend your ideas, how will you know if your understandings are accurate, and how will you know what you do not know? There are two avenues for discussion that have been used in online courses; the first is discussion boards, and the second is scheduled meetings in an online environment.

The Discussion Board for Online Conversation

In a discussion board, the instructor posts an assignment or a question to encourage conversation. Students are expected to respond to the subject or post their assignments to elicit feedback. Frequently, there are guidelines as to how many posts or replies each student must make to other students, the length of the post, and even specific points that need to be made. In my personal experience, the discussion board sounds like a great idea, but without instructor presence and participation, it frequently fizzles out. Students write thoughtful posts initially, but quickly learn to do the minimum requirement if there is no instructor presence and especially if the motivator to participate is points or a grade. Scanning multiple students’ online classes shows that the vast majority of them do not read the online posts, even if they are in reply to something that they have posted. In one of my current classes, the instructor set up a discussion board for each chapter to encourage student interaction and to facilitate asking questions. So far, with two weeks left in the course, there have been a total of two posts.

A group talking over a book.

A Discussion Board that encourages conversation

There are some very effective uses of discussion boards. The easiest of which is a forum to answer student questions, either by other students or by the instructors. In the graduate school where I worked, discussion boards were used in most of the classes. The students still participate in classes, but as they are active learning classes without lectures, the students frequently will have questions while reading the preparatory content and after the discussion in class. By having the students post a title on their discussion post and having a strong instructor presence, the discussion board has been used very effectively to answer student questions and encourage participation. One reason that this discussion board is working so well is that there is an active instructor presence and students receive timely answers to their questions. Some may argue that this type of discussion board is merely online office hours and does not encourage active thinking, answering questions, and defending an argument.

And one that doesn’t

The second type of discussion board is trickier to implement successfully. This type of discussion board requires students to post short answers or essay answers to questions and then respond to each other’s responses. Adult learning theory states that learners must be motivated by a desire to understand instead of a desire to earn points, but getting a student to respond to a discussion post without some benefit is tricky. An active instructor presence is required as well as transmission of information that the student clearly values.

Anonymous responses?

Should the online discussion board allow anonymous responses? The benefit of anonymous responses is that the students may feel more comfortable responding and therefore increase conversation. The drawback would be that allowing anonymous responses may allow some students to use the discussion board to make comments that they would not make in person.

Confidential responses would enable the poster to be anonymous to fellow students, but not to the instructor. I am not sure this would serve the intended purpose. A possible way to mitigate some drawbacks of anonymous responses is to set clear boundaries early in the class. I would advise being very specific about what is and is not appropriate. Generational differences and the current generation’s comfort level with the online environment and sharing may lead to different understandings of an “appropriate” post.

Tone

Everyone has probably experienced the misreading of tone and intent in emails. In the written online environment, sarcasm and joking may be misinterpreted and be a turnoff to students. An instructor may think they are being funny and trying to make the student feel more comfortable, but, in actuality, the student was asking a simple question and no longer feels comfortable doing so in the future.

The Future

The best users of a discussion board are learners who are self-driven and inquisitive. Learners who are seeking to understand the content and not merely working to see how many points they can accumulate. These learners must be comfortable in a social environment that encourages interaction and is non-hierarchal. They must feel strongly that knowledge is constructed and requires the input of all, not instructor driven with the learner’s role being a recipient of information. As more and more classrooms move to active learning and a flipped classroom style, I wonder if we will see more effective use of the discussion board in the online classroom.

Person using a computer for an online class.

Online Discussion Part 2: The Virtual Classroom

Is it possible to replicate the traditional classroom experience in a virtual setting? In my opinion, it depends on who is teaching the course. I have been in several online classes that had a required synchronous online classroom setting in addition to the asynchronous portion of the class. All students sign into the learning management system to access the virtual classroom using either a link from the instructor or accessing a previously set up classroom at a given time and date. As the student logs in, his/her attendance is noted, and he/she is frequently given access to a chat feature and a microphone that the instructor can mute if desired. The instructor can utilize a virtual whiteboard and PowerPoint in the same way that it can be used in the traditional classroom. In addition, the instructor can share his/her desktop as well as search and display websites. Finally, there are break-out rooms where small group discussions can take place. Each break out room has audio, chat, and whiteboard capability.

People using a computer
Photo by Canva Studio from Pexels

Having these features is necessary if the goal is to replicate the traditional classroom experience, but I found that using the whiteboard too awkward and time-consuming to be of value. Unlike in a traditional classroom where students can have side discussions while waiting for the next assignment to be prepared, in an online class, distractions are plentiful, and it is easy to lose focus and difficult to return to the discussion.

The range of style in a virtual classroom

As far as the skillful use of the virtual classroom by the instructor, it has varied from straight lecture to full discussion. In the straight lecture class, there were occasional small group discussions, but they felt more like interruptions than of added value to the class. I found that the classes taught in this style dragged on forever.

The temptation to do other work and only half-listen were strong. At the other end of the spectrum was an instructor who assigned somewhat complicated case studies that required financial analysis on a biweekly basis.  These case studies were due before class started. This style required constant student attention and focus. The depth of these discussions was greater than in any traditional class that I have attended. The online setting made you feel that it was a discussion between you and the instructor. In addition, I think that students who may not be comfortable speaking up in a traditional classroom felt more comfortable doing so in a virtual setting.  More information on discussion boards is provided here.

Voice over PowerPoint

Many instructors do voice-over PowerPoint to provide the lecture component of a class. As someone who has a preference for audio delivery of content, I appreciate that it is provided, but feel that the discussion component to an online class is what makes it on par or better than a course taught in a traditional classroom. 

After completing a course where all lectures were delivered in a voice-over PowerPoint format, I really missed the ability to interact with the instructor, hear his stories, listen for emphasis on topics, and get explanations when needed. Perhaps if instructors were paid the same for teaching online classes as traditional, there would be more instructor involvement in these courses.

Designing Training Content

How do you start when you are given a new assignment to write training content? Do you talk to the learners, the management, read documents, or just start writing? Training content is supposed to move a learner from their current understanding to a desired level of knowledge, right?

How many clients agree to a needs assessment before the development process is started? Balancing time, scope, and cost against trying to develop a product that will best meet the desired outcomes is always challenging.

Two people working at a computer.

In the real world

In the real world, I find that we rarely have access to the learner’s point of view (point A), and sometimes the goal of training (point B) is not very clear. Here is an example. You are hired to write training content for new software which you have never seen or used before. You get access to instruction manuals and a sandbox version of the software, a busy subject matter expert, but not to learners who have used or will be using the software. Where do you start? If you start with the subject matter expert, you are likely to ask questions that you could have figured out on your own if you played in the software sandbox for a while. The subject matter expert may feel you are wasting his/her time or asking them to do your job for you.

On the other hand, if you start with the instruction manual or the sandbox, you may need to spend a lot of time learning how to do something, a subject matter expert could have more quickly helped you understand. Time is money.

Who is the best source of information for training content?

Is the subject matter expert the best source of information for software training? After teaching for many years, I would venture to guess that many of us would say no. When you are an expert at a topic, you forget the little details that trip new learners up. I don’t know how many times I explained the same concept to high-achieving students, and they did not get it. Why? Because I did not remember which steps confused me when I first started learning. (If you are interested in this topic, look at Peer Instruction a User’s Guide by Eric Mazur).

Should we initially work in the software sandbox and wade through documentation or seek the help of the subject matter expert? You could probably catch the details that way, and your directions may be more logical, but time is money. Even better, get access to someone who just recently mastered the software. They could verify the instructions were factually correct, but would still remember the confusing details.

Storyboard or develop?

Woman working on a computer
Photo by Andrew Neel from Pexels

Let’s say you have a general idea of the content you are to write for the software example, do you storyboard on paper (physical or online) or in a rapid authoring software such as Articulate Storyline. I have talked to people who have good reasons to support either choice. Those in favor of the paper method say that it is quicker, easier to review, and subject matter experts are not distracted by design. They get more feedback focused on the content instead of color choice and placement of buttons. Those who advocate for storyboarding in a rapid authoring software say that they can’t see the flow well when it is on paper. When you move through the module as a “learner” and see the pictures, watch the videos, try the assessment questions and listen to the voiceover, you can get a sense of whether the learning material has a good flow.

What are your preferences for developing training content?

Articulate Storyline 360 has an online review platform where you can share the link with any constituent, allowing them to navigate through the module as a learner. They can make comments on individual slides. True, you may get comments on the design, and that may lead to more discussion about design than you would want, but doesn’t design matter?

What do you think? Do you go to the SME first, later or not at all? How do you storyboard? I was taught to talk to the SME first, storyboard second, and then develop the content. I am starting to prefer reading content and using the sandbox first, then developing content in a rapid authoring software, and then finally bringing in the SME. The SME can see the actual module and pinpoint errors or any missing content. If I can find some new learners to test the training module, that is truly a win!