After reading Claire Major’s chapter in the book,Teaching Online: A Guide to Theory, Research, and Practice, I learned about many digital web tools that support different modalities of online learning. One of the courses discussed in chapter 4 that particularly stood out to me was open online course for teaching literature for young adults taught by Cris Crissman form North California State University, US. This online course was designed for “pre- and in-service teachers who want to learn about the latest trends and methods for teaching literature to middle and high school students” (Major, 2015, p. 96). The enrollment of this course is “open to creative explorations of pedagogy, open to innovative uses of digital technologies, and open to anyone interested in the teaching of literature for young adults” (Major, 2015, p. 96). The course is also completely online, decentralized, follows a “do-it-yourself” platform, and is both synchronous and asynchronous.
What I thought was so interesting about the design of this course was the instructor used an online virtual space called, Second Life as an online meeting place. In Second Life you create a virtual character/avatar and connect with others around the world. To me this isn’t the typical digital tool one would use to teach and have discussions in, however, I think it is an inventive way to have students interact with one another in a virtual setting! The students in this course participate in small group work and whole-class seminars and meet weekly in Second Life. They are tasked with choosing a Young Adult book and from there they meet in the Bookhenge in Second Life. During these meetings, the students “participate in book clubs and plan collaborative responses that include digital storytelling” (Major, 2015, p. 97). I think this Second Life is a great digital tool to use in an online class. It allows the user to connect and interact with their classmates in a unique way that is different than only using forum/blog posts as a means for communication and collaboration. The travel aspect is also eliminated and you can freely work from home or wherever else in the world you are. It alters the design of what one would think a typical online course should be. Another neat aspect of this digital tool is it can be open to the world. Open-course participants can be invited to join the class in real-time classes (Major, 2015, p. 97). In this particular online course, the open concept of this course allowed for “…conversations with guests, including award-winning YA authors” (Major, 2015, p. 97-98). The ability to communicate with other people/professionals in the world is something this digital tool offers that you may not get from many other tools.
Learning in Second Life:
During this online course, they use inquiry and develop/explore a question related to teaching literature. Once the students have explored the resources related to their inquiry they make their responses on blogs. These responses can in the form of text, audio, video, or occasionally, a collective VoiceThread. “VoiceThread is an application that allows users to leave a video or audio comment” (Major, 2015, p. 98). This digital tool allows students to engage and have discussions with their classmates and instructor asynchronously. This tool is engaging because the learner can interact with their classmates collaboratively. VoiceThread allows educators to make video tutorials for students and is also a great tool for students to use to share their thoughts and use as a platform for discussions. Through VoiceThread users can easily comment on their classmates work and upload their projects, or reflections. Users can work collaboratively on VoiceThread together or individually. Users also have the option to share their work with only the instructor or with classmates. After learning about VoiceThread I would definitely like to try it out with my future class. I think it would be a great tool to use for digital storytelling and to help English Language Learners. In VoiceThread you can attach your voice to a picture, so that could help the learners to make the associations between object and word.
Below I have provided a link to the VoiceThread site if you want to learn more about it: https://voicethread.com
I have personally had experience with blog posts as a form of interacting and sharing my thought and responses with my peers. I’ve have made these responses during online courses and face-to-face courses. I think they are an excellent way to interact with one another, especially when it’s an online course. I’m usually one to opt for writing my responses rather than creating audio or a video. I am able to articulate myself better when I write what I have to say out first. However, what I do like and appreciate about responding in audio/video is it makes it feel more personal. Since you are able to see the person, it makes communication more meaningful.
Overall, I thought the digital tools that were used in this online course (Second Life Blog Posts, and VoiceThread) were effective in creating a learning environment where students could interact and work collaboratively with one another. This online course allowed for learners to work through the material asynchronously, while also hosting class meetings in a virtual world where students could engage and converse at the same time. This online course was different in its approach, however, I believe the tools utilized created a special learning environment that was engaging for the students.
References
Major, C. H. (2015). Teaching online: A guide to theory, research, and practice. Baltimore, Maryland: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Feature Image: Austin Distel (Unsplash) https://unsplash.com/photos/Imc-IoZDMXc
