Monday, October 24
8:30 AM-12:00 PM
UTC

Facilitating Online Discussions: Maximize Learning, Minimize Your Workload

Tutorial ID: 13975
  1. Jan Buhmann
    PeaceHealth Oregon Region

Abstract: Are you using asynchronous or live discussions in your Web courses and are overwhelmed by the intensity and volume of the discussion? Are your students not active enough, too active, or simply Away Without Leave (AWOL)? Hear about new research and innovative approaches to facilitation that take participants from individual contributors to collaborators. Best practices in the set-up and moderation of online discussions will be introduced, and seven strategies to maximize learning and minimize instructor workload. Hear how innovators in online learning manage to keep their discussions vibrant and focused with role plays, guest speakers, and debates. In the second half of the workshop, hear how your course can be enhanced with live interaction through Virtual Classroom (Webinar) technology: Hold virtual office hours, check in with your students, give lectures, and conduct live discussions. See what it takes to run a pilot of a new generation of interactive live tools that provide virtual live collaboration spaces to bridge the distance in Distance Learning!

Objectives

1. Describe recent research findings related to effective student-instructor and student-to-student interaction 2. Describe the difference between individual thinking and collaborative thinking in student interactions. 3. Identify four steps towards collaboration in the evolution of online discussions. 4. Describe three options for initiating a discussion. 5. Identify seven strategies to reduce instructor stress and workload.

Topical Outline

Outline: * What do students want? * Present findings from current research Promoting effective student to student interaction * Present findings from Wozniak & Silveira (2004) studyLearning collaborative skills * Salmon’s 5 Step Model of teaching and learning online * Transitioning students from individual thinking to collaborative thinking Guidelines and procedures to establish a supportive learning environment * Netiquette, student and faculty roles, minimum work and behavioral expectations * Establishing groundrules * Grading discussion * Initiation/Socialization * Guiding collaboration * Building your discussion moderation skills * Moderator duties * Supporting learning and performance: Public vs. individual feedback * Reducing your stress and workload: Seven Strategies 1. Weaving 2. Reward quality, not quantity 3. Right-size groups 4. Set up groups with clear role descriptions 5. Experiment with different set-ups 6. Take time out 7. Reduce course-related e-mail

Prerequisites

Online instructors who incorporate asynchronous and synchronous discussions as a teaching/learning method. All levels are welcome, but it is helpful if participants have facilitated online discussions before attending the workshop.

Experience Level

Intermediate

Qualifications

Jan Buhmann, MS, RN, C, coordinates the design and development of online learning at PeaceHealth, a major healthcare network in the Pacific Northwest. He frequently presents at conferences on new technologies and runs workshops on developing Web-based courses using Instructional Systems Design methodology. Jan served for four years on the executive board of the National Nursing Staff Development Organization and its Informatics Committee to promote electronic information sharing and online learning. Jan has also written on new technologies for a reference book and several journals. He teaches online courses at Oregon Health Sciences University and Indiana University with a focus on nursing research and Web-based course design. Jan was born and raised in Germany and received his basic nursing degree in Hamburg. He holds a BS in Nursing and an MS in Community Health Care Nursing from Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland, Oregon. He has served as Clinical Educator at PeaceHealth since 1994.
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