Tips to Promote Interaction Online Illinois Online Network

Break the Ice Easier to discuss academic topics ofstudents have already communicated Post bios Three truths and a lie Eight nouns Four “C” - Cartoon, car, color and cuisine

Require Participation Assign points Require a minimum number of postings per week Grade on quality of interactions

Facilitating Discussion Start the discussion Provide feedback Summarize Weave contributions of different individuals together

Facilitating Discussions Get the discussion un-stuck when necessary Deal with disruptive or off-track students Freshen with new material periodically Request feedback from group about how the discussion is going

When Should Instructor Post? Not immediately – allow students to write their ideas first If you post first, students will not post after you If you post too much, you will end the conversation

If Students Are Not Posting The instructor should begin by asking one particular students questions Provide a small amount of information and ask students to provide more Post something controversial so that students will be interested in posting

How to Encourage Shy Students Some students may visit the online course frequently but are too shy to post messages Address him/her by name Ask him/her to answer specific questions Send private e-mail

Use Several Tones Formal tone Humorous Questioning authority

Provide Feedback Send short messages to individual students thanking them and encouraging them to work Provide written feedback on their work frequently

Long Postings Tell students not to post long messages Other students will not read longer than 2 screens Long postings indicate a student is attempting to dominate the classroom

Provide Closure Summarize at the end of a topic Tie up loose ends and bring the conference to a close Thank students for their contributions to encourage them to participate in the future