Help your students succeed with blogs, wikis, and discussion boards

As we know, not all students have the same academic/personal backgrounds as witnessed in one of my current classes. In this class, one of the students has lived in an elite boarding school and regularly meets with dignitaries including the Queen of England while another student has never had the opportunity to leave South Carolina. The educational background and basic skills differences can sometimes be quite apparent.  This disparity can bring an unlevel playing field into your classroom and dumbfound a faculty member who is trying to grade each one fairly and equality.  I believe that everyone can learn and succeed, but they have to have the tools to do it.

I incorporate blogs, wikis and discussion boards into my classes.   While some of my students have used these features in high school, others have not.  Many think that replying or posting online means leaving jokes, scathing comments or “one-liners” like “I agree with Bill”.  This certainly puts a damper on the quality of the discussions.

One way to make sure that everyone is on a level playing field and to encourage meaningful participation is to use a rubric.  A rubric is a scoring or assessment tool which can help faculty and students score/grade the quality of the academic material based on set criteria.  Being introduced to a rubric, students can then know how they will be graded and learn what they need to do in order to succeed.  The grading rubric can be used for blogs, discussion boards, wikis, and modified for classroom discussions.  Whether you assess each post, blog, etc. on its own individual value, is up to the faculty member. I personally evaluate the overall depth and quality of a blog as a whole not by a particular post.  Rubistar is a website which contains a vast array of rubric templates to choose from or allows you to create and save your own.  http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php  

By incorporating the use of rubrics in your classes, you can alleviate those posts which begin and end with “I agree with Bill”.  In the end, you can also help all students have the tools to succeed in your course.

A few weeks into classes...

A few weeks into Fall 2010 classes and all seems to be going well, though, I have been seeing that my freshman students aren't really taking the syllabus seriously. Though we have gone over its importance, several students (who missed a deadline) have already mentioned to me that they didn't know that what was written down in the syllabus was truly expected of them. There seems to be a disconnect in the course expectations.  This brings me to an interesting article that I read entitled "How to Avoid being a Jerk in the Classroom".   Bottom line is treat everyone like you would like to be treated. I tell myself to remember what it was like to be a freshman. http://chronicle.com/blogPost/How-to-Avoid-Being-a-Jerk-in/26427/

Thinking upon my freshman year (it has been awhile) leads me to my next note. Since I am middle-aged (loosely defined as being between 40-68), I am sometimes wary of the rise of forgetfulness and distraction.   New research however shows that my middle aged brain can "develop new functions and abilities for a very long time, especially with a little care."   Age and education can help by helping the brain hemispheres work together more efficiently. So there is hope.  http://chronicle.com/blogPost/Your-Mind-at-Middle-Age-A/26380/

Finally, those of you who have attended my workshop on Web 2.0 (Social Media) have heard me mention the social bookmarking tool called Delicious.  Here is a short synposis of reasons to use it in your daily life even if you don't want to be "social".   http://chronicle.com/blogPost/Social-Bookmarking-Even-When/26375/
Continue success with your teaching

Teaching Large Classes

From “Strategies for Teaching Large Classes”, Faculty Focus


Imagine 90 veterinary students singing “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Rabies.” Deb Wingert and Tom Molitor, University of Minnesota, report that in their large science classes (more than 50 students) student groups are assigned a virus family to research and then teach to the rest of the class. Frequently they use well-known songs and other memory devices.  Can students deeply learn complex content this way? Based on their experience, they say, “You betcha!”

Interactive strategies used in their large science classes:
• Interactive Lecture — Short lecture segments alternated with group work.
• Cooperative Learning Groups — Stable groups meet throughout the course to work on problems, case studies, and research projects.
• Jigsaws — Each learner teaches content to other group members.
• Games — Competitive games enthusiastically engage learners, i.e., Jeopardy and Monopoly- like games. Winners earn course points.
• Constructive Controversies — Groups prepare positions on polarized topics, and then debate the issue during class.
• Group Tests — Learners take the test individually, and then they take it again as a group. Students receive an average of their own individual and the group’s score as their grade for that test.

Welcome to the USC Online Teaching and Instructional Design Blog!

Welcome back to USC and the USC Online Teaching and Instructional Design blog!

I hope that this blog will inform you of interesting ideas, helpful hints, resources, tools, or news about online teaching and using technologies in and out of the classroom. I will be passing on information that can assist you in your endeavors or just giving you food for thought. You can also follow me and the USC Online Teaching and New Technologies Group on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Columbia-SC/Univ-of-South-Carolina-Online-Teaching-and-New-Technologies-Group/106056819448837

The fall 2010 semester has started and, by now, we are, hopefully getting into the rhythm of classroom or the ebb and flow of our online classes. I am showing my age when I say that my freshman students seem to be looking younger every year.  USC faculty have been hard at work thoughout the summer in preparation for their classes and I was happy to assist wherever possible. Consultations about designing effective online courses as well as using technologies such as Blackboard, Adobe Connect, and social media (i.e. Facebook) in the best fashion, filled my summer.

One of the highlights of the summer was my Effective Online Instruction course for USC faculty, staff and graduate student system-wide. This 8 week online course is offered 1-2x a year to USC faculty, staff and graduate students in order to prepare them for the world of online instruction. We had 38 enrolled in the course this summer. I am truly happy to say that the students enjoyed the learning process and the camaraderie between their peers. At the completion of the course, participants are given a certification of completion which, I hope, helps with their T & P. At the very least, I hope that the participants get encouragement in their teaching and have fun learning!


Teaching and Technology Services here at UTS hosted its annual August BEST (Blackboard and Educational Software Technologies) Institute on August 16-18, 2010. This culminating summer event focused on technology, tools, pedagogy, and online teaching. It was wonderful getting together in a collegial fashion and talking about topics as diverse as using Google Apps, using Facebook, Skype, and Twitter to teaching to the Millennial (Net Generation). Many thanks to those who attended the sessions and special thanks go out to those who attended my lively, open, frank discussions about Facebook, Twitter, Web 2.0 Technologies (Social Media), and the Millennials. Again it was a great success. We traditionally hold this free, open event twice a year in January and August.   Look for our calendar of events at http://www.uts.sc.edu/events/

So, "Here's a health, Carolina" (from USC's alma mater- "We Hail Thee Carolina") and have a great semester!