Ten Ways to Make Online Communities Work

1. Identify the purpose a. Summary Give explicit expectations for how students will communicate and show their knowledge while participating in the course. b. Connection to class Students should know what they are doing and why they are doing it. It makes the learning more meaningful. 2. Define the roles a. Summary Explicitly explain how participants will be working together, whether it is as peer evaluators or team members on group projects. b. Connection to class When students are given roles or a job to do, there is less likelihood that they will sit back and let others do all the work. If everyone has to do a part of the whole project, peers will pressure (hopefully in a friendly way) everyone to do their part. 3. Nourish conversation a. Summary When students post comments to discussion boards, ask open ended or probing questions to encourage more conversation from the poster or others. b. Connection to class Try letting students have a discussion without having to raise their hands. Sit back and try to be the facilitator and only participate when conversation halts. 4. Provide feedback a. Summary Acknowledge and compliment participants when a good point or nicely written comment is given. b. Connection to class Use phrases such as I like that you saidbecause. Or I agree or disagree with . and would like to add. 5. Encourage lurkers a. Summary Encourage those who are just reading the comments to also respond by asking questions that relate to their interest or expertise.

b. Connection to class Know your students. Have students complete an interest survey early in the year to see what they have knowledge about. Tap into students expertise during discussions. 6. Adjust the pace a. Summary Slow down or speed up instruction based on student need. b. Connection to class Provide pre-assessments and formative assessments regularly to guide instructional pace and to group students into groups that will be able to function well together. 7. Support & recruit new members a. Summary Encourage all members to participate as well as encourage new members to the group. b. Connection to class Have students complete exit slips in order to get feedback from everyone. Encourage students to join groups by asking current members to explain or discuss what the group is all about. 8. Recap by weaving a. Summary Summarize the post by weaving other comments or posts into your response. b. Connection to class Use phrases such as So, what youre saying sounds similar to what .said about.. Use four corners strategy to have students discuss different reasons why they agree on the same topic. 9. Track participation a. Summary Pay attention to not only who is participating, but also how they are participating. Are they just doing the bare minimum, or going above and beyond expectations? b. Connection to class Use a checklist to track student participation in group work. Also, have students self-assess and assess teammates using the same checklist. 10.Go with the flow a. Summary Pay attention to what is going on so that you can best facilitate the course.

b. Connection to class If a lesson is not going well or a group is not working well together, make adjustments. Utilize those teachable moments.