In a face to face classroom setting, I am able to spot during lecture and ask the student for his or her opinion. In the virtual learning environment, I see how this can be challenging. I am unable to see the student's face, or hear the tone of their voice. I can only go off of their written response.
Page 51 deals with the topic of "social presence" and the idea of how real a person is perceived in an online conversation. In a face to face classroom, the concept of "real" in social exchanges is not an issue. For social presence to be real in an online classroom, the instructor creates opportunities for interaction and collaboration.
Page 56 describes an "icebreaker" activity where students post a digital image that relates to why they are taking a course. They are asked to explain why they chose the particular image and what they expect to take from the course.
I can see how this activity could help establish a sense of social presence among students. They are becoming "real" to each other. I have read that presence can contribute to retention and satisfaction. The instructor has more responsibility for creating presence in an online classroom than in the face to face setting.
Share a discussion topic that you typically use in a face-to-face classroom setting. Can you foresee any challenges to adapting this discussion to a virtual learning environment? Please share your goals and objectives for the discussion.
To be honest, I have not yet found a way to get my online students to "experience" this as well as I have in my face to face classes, where the reaction to hearing something different is immediate and often visceral.
Where I work I encourage students to participate both in class and online. Some student thrive in the online environment while others struggle. I wish more teachers used digital tools so that students can actively engage, instead of listening to lectures.