Online discussions - facilitation hints and tips

The Role of the Moderator

Have Clear Objectives. Participants must believe their online interactions is time well spent.
Encourage Participation. The use of various learning options can stimulate learner participation and interaction
Be Objective. Before generalizing to the conference about a contribution, consider such things as the tone and content of the posting, the author and his/her skills, knowledge and attitudes that you may know about from prior conference postings, and time of the posting in relation to the conference thread.
Don't Expect Too Much. Online instructors need to be content if two or three well articulated, major points are communicated in a particular thread of discussion.
Find Unifying Threads. Instructors can weave several strands of conversation into a summarization that may prompt people to pursue the topic further.
Use Simple Assignments. Group assignments are appropriate to this media, but an over-complicated design in them is not.
Make The Material Relevant. Develop questions and activities for learners that relate to the students' experiences.
Required Contributions. In credit courses especially, students can be required to sign on and contribute substantively a certain number of times.
Present Conflicting Opinions. Instructors can draw attention to opposing perspectives, different directions, or conflicting opinions that could lead to debates and peer critiques.
Don't Lecture. Experience strongly suggests that a long, elaborate, logically coherent sequence of comments yields silence. Instead, use open-ended remarks, examples, and weaving to elicit comment and other views.
Request Responses. The instructor may ask particular learners for comments on a topic or question, then give them time to respond, for instance "by tomorrow."

Starting out

• Ensure that all discussions are clearly accessible and properly set up – eg group discussions are private.
• Orientate students and check student access by asking them to post a simple message when they have accessed the course.
• Help students to familiarise themselves with the online environment and fellow learners by creating an ‘introduction’ activity.
• Be clear from the start what you expect from the students. How often do you expect them to post? Will participation be assessed? What length should postings be? (Keep them fairly short, to minimise the amount of reading in a substantial discussion. This will encourage students to reflect on, refine and edit their postings.)
• Expect students to walk before they run, by making early activities simple and short.

During the course

• Use the SMART approach to activity design (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Timely)
• Give timely feedback and prompt discussions when necessary, but leave space for students to respond first if appropriate.
• Use ‘weaving’ to connect and elaborate on student responses, for moving the discussion on, or winding it up. (See below for ‘how to weave’).
• In forums where you intend discussion to be substantial, limit the number of participants to make the discussion postings more accessible/digestible.

For knowledge construction

• Provide frequent opportunities for students to critique each others work, to add new information and to synthesise knowledge. Eg after a discussion that brings different points of view to a topic, students could collaborate on a summary of their discussion then post it for other groups to read.
• Give students the opportunity to facilitate discussion.

How to weave

• ‘Collect’ up all the contributions into one message (if your software allows you to do this) or cut and paste them into your word process
• Read through quickly and colour code the key themes
• Create a structure in the file for each of these with titles
• Identify the unifying themes
• Identify the points of disagreement
• Summarise by a sentence or bullet point or two for each of the themes, identifying points of agreement, disagreement, perhaps by giving examples, attributed to the originator
• Add your ‘meta’ comments or teaching points if you wish
• If you wish to discussion to move on, ask specific but open ended questions

E-moderating presence online

E-moderators try to encourage online participants to be self sufficient. You might find some strategies to create e-moderators ‘presence’ online ( without having to be there 24 hours a day) helpful!

• Send out a personal e mail letter to all participants before the course starts, indicating how often they can expect you to visit (usually once a day).
• Greet each participant by a welcome e mail on their first arrival, as well as in the conference
• Ask for a personal e mail to the e-moderator as well as a message in the conference, early in the course
• Mention each participant by name at some point in early summaries. Continue to mention individuals in your messages. This is very motivating and a fine way to acknowledge contributions
• Run an e-tivity at stage 1 exploring how participants expect to fit the conferencing into their daily lives, and self-disclose a little about yours
• As the conference builds up and you find you have many messages to read on your arrival each day, focus on the last few messages in a thread (rather than reading them chronologically)
• As participants become more self sufficient and motivated (by stage 3) then avoid responding to each message but focus on setting up discussions really well and then summarising after a given length of time, adding your own teaching points then if appropriate
• Be prepared to put congratulatory message up and then an invitation to further action (e.g. very interesting points here, can I invite a summariser, or maybe please focus on *** aspect now to build on the ideas).

Strategies to encourage participation:

• Participate. Online discussions can fail because the instructor is not involved or because he or she is too involved. This factor depends on the dynamic that exists among the students in the class, between the students and the instructor, and the subject matter. Decide whether you want an area where students discuss class topics freely or with the knowledge that they are participating for your approval. Trial and error may be the only method of discovering the appropriate level of participation.
• Give credit. Encourage online discussion by offering course credit to those who are active participants in the course discussion area. A reward may provide the incentive needed to get the ball rolling.
• Encourage collaboration. Create assignments that require students to collaborate online. Have students meet together online in small groups to discuss a topic, or use the site for coursework critiques and roundtable discussions.
• Be realistic. Keep your expectations for online participation consistent with the subject you are teaching. If the subject of your course is not one that provokes much face-to-face discussion, don't expect your web site to be abuzz with conversation.

Some online techniques:

• Any problems?
  Every so often post a message asking if anyone has any problems. It is best if this is asked in relation to specific aspects of the subject. A general posting like "Any problems?" is less likely to get a response than the a more directed question such as "Does anyone have any problems with the topics of conjugating verbs, and parsing sentence?"
• Assessment.
  Equity issues make the topic of online assessment is difficult to resolve. Ensure accessibility of all your course participants prior to making submissions to a discussion board assessable. Make use of the assessment tools within WebCT or provide alternative assessment items.
• Exam!
  Writing the words 'exam' and 'assessment' will ensure the attention of students. For example, you could post the following: 'In last year's exam I asked the following question and I would like each of you to have a go at answering it, in less than one page, and post your answers to the group. The question was:..."
• False statement.
  Post a statement like: 'The following is based upon an invalid assumption, discuss amongst yourselves my statement(s) and see if you can identify the invalid assumption(s).' While strategies such as these are powerful, careful monitoring of the discussion is necessary. Remember, that many students consider what comes from the lecturer as gospel.
• Synchronous communication.
  A tutorial group discussion can be simulated by using the chat facility or by simply arranging for students to be logged onto the discussion board at the same time.
• Online poll.
  Post a question and ask students to register their votes on the issue by sending a message back to your email address so that you can collate the votes and post the result.
• Reflection.
  Encourage students to reflect about online discussions before replying. Suggest that they download the messages, read them off-line, create their responses, and then log-on to send their messages. This is particular useful if dealing with students in remote areas, or where students are charged for time spent online.
• Review.
  Periodically post a 'regroup' message that reviews what has been covered to date. As people work at different rates, it is important to ensure that everyone is brought up to date and has covered the same material and has a similar understanding/learning. The final exam is too late!
• Rephrasing.
  Rephrasing a students posting gives it a sense of authority. For example, you could send the following email: 'Last week Frank asked about the origins of the word "jump". Here are my suggestions. Does anyone have any other ideas?'
• Links to outside URLs
  In relation to specific sections of the subject, or in answer to questions, you can post a message providing the URLs of relevant sites, such as online journals, library catalogues and other discussion groups.
• Facilitator of the Week.
  Students can, on a rotational basis, to take over most of your facilitator roles.The student who is the 'facilitator of the week' is responsible for weaving the discussion and posting summaries and encouraging students to post messages. Your role becomes one of a content expert, ensuring that misconceptions are recognised.
• Bulk Emails
  Notices sent to students via e-mail eliminates the problem of student missing important information because of missing classes due to illness or other reasons. Ideally, this should be a routine, leading students to expect them.

Sources:

Salmon, G. (2000). E-Moderating: The Key to Teaching and Learning Online. London: Kogan Page.
Resources for practitioners: http://www.atimod.com/e-moderating/resources.shtml
The Role of the Online Instructor/Facilitator, Zane L. Berge, Ph.D. http://www.emoderators.com/moderators/teach_online.html
Web Teaching at Dartmouth College - Taking discussion online: http://www.dartmouth.edu/~webteach/articles/discussion.html
Flexible Education at Flinders - Facilitating Online Learning: http://www.flinders.edu.au/flexed/resources/teach.htm
Macquarie University Centre for Flexible Learning: http://online.mq.edu.au/docs/facilitate.pdf