Documentation:Developing Social Space/Examples in Practice
Examples in Practice
Most courses employ an introductory 'Get to know each other' task, the purpose of which is to act as an icebreaker for the participants and to provide the instructor with an initial overview of the cohort's background and interests. In addition, a good icebreaker should also help facilitate the development of the social space. As such, it should not only provide the necessary background information but it must also engage the participants in order to promote greater interaction.
Mr Picassoheadis an example of a tool that can be used to foster introductions that provide both the required background information and a foundation for more meaningful social interaction. In a nutshell, learners are asked to visit the site and create a portrait (or avatar) of themselves, and then share the image either within the LMS or on a site such as Flickr. The other students are then asked to view the 'portraits' and discuss the various visual elements used, what they liked about using the site and how such tools might promote authentic learning, for example. Of course, the discussion prompts should be modified to suit your own course.
Rather than simply ask participants to provide information about themselves, asking learners to use a tool such as Mr Picassohead enables the instructor to engage the participants in a more meaningful and authentic manner and promote active learning. In effect, it provides learners with their first constructivist learning activity and takes advantage of a key technological affordance - namely, the ability to easily create, share and critically reflect upon a digital artifact. It also helps to lower any affective barriers that learners unfamiliar with online learning might have by introducing an element of exploration, creativity and fun into the course. Keep it simple, keep it fun and remember that the purpose of the activity is to promote interaction.
Other activities you might consider:
- Develop and share an online music playlist using Last FM;
- Record and post an audio or video introduction;
- Create and share a profile of some of their favourite neighbourhood places using a tool such as Google Maps;
- Map the connections between learners using a visual tool such as bubbl.us
- Integrate social networking or public note taking with the use of e-readers.
Reflection
- How often should the instructor post in a discussion forum?
- What are the risks/advantages of using Web 2.0 tools such as Twitter, Facebook, Googledocs?
- When is is ok for a learner to 'lurk' in a discussion forum?
- How can one cohort build upon the work of another?
- What level of digital literacy is required to successfully complete the activity or task?