Expanding discussions

Ruday, S. (2011). Expanding the possibilities of discussion: A strategic approach to using online discussion boards in the middle and high school english classroom. Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education, 11(4). Retrieved from http://www.citejournal.org/vol11/iss4/languagearts/article2.cfm

Even though I do not teach middle and high school, I enjoyed reading and imagining the possibilities of using online discussion boards to increase discussion participation in school. Technology is such an integral part of our youth today, I believe it should be incorporated into their academic learning as well. I am enjoying using the internet to learn and communicate through this class.

1. What are the greatest opportunities and challenges for using online discussion boards in your area?

I teach a dual language second grade class. My current students are still learning how to write in two languages, read and have little exposure to typing. Unfortunately, I believe that at this point in time, online discussion boards would not be appropriate for my grade level for instructional purposes.

 

 However, I think discussion boards could be used as an online tool to communicate with parents. I can see the possibilities of having online parent-teacher conferences in which we can communicate without needing a face to face meeting. This would be a more convenient way for me to respond to individual parent's questions and also post comments/announcements for all to see.

 

Some of the challenges would be two of the same ones Ruday (2011) listed: communication and access issues, especially because of the population I serve.

 

Still, some parents might still prefer the traditional face to face parent-teacher conference.

2. In what ways could/do your students benefit from the use of online discussion boards? Do or would certain technologies work better for your students than others?

 

If I were to use online discussion boards with my ELL 2nd graders, I would have to do it in the classroom and as part of an extension of an activity. Students would be allowed to type their responses without worrying about the grammatical structure and/or spelling. Also, it will have to be a very simple format and within specific guidelines for them to follow.

Also, I would probably go with Ruday's (2011) third recommendation, "Use discussion boards as opportunities to use Web 2.0 technologies" because students would be more motivated to write just for the fact that they would be able to use a computer and read each other's comments.

On the other hand, I think that older students would really benefit from participating in online discussion boards. I can actually already imagine foreign language classes using it as a way for students to practice their language skills with a native speaker in another country. Or simply to practice while responding to a specific assignment.

 

3. What are the implications of this strategic approach for our use of Discussion Board questions in class this semester?

 

I believe that by using discussion boards for the purpose of our class, we have gained greater engagement from every one in the class, thus having more authentic participation. I think the discussion boards have facilitated an open discussion that otherwise would be time consuming and probably not as efficient face to face.

 

This is the first time I use discussion boards, and honestly at first I was confused with all the threads and responses. I would have liked to see a more fluid way of seeing the conversation in order to follow it easier.