I felt a big change this week in the discussion and am trying to figure out if it was because of the readings, the discussion forum question, the time in the semester, or perhaps an unintended consequence of the group projects. Whatever the reason, the discussion seemed much more free-flowing than before--there were lots of posts but in contrast to the earlier sessions when we had lots of posts, these were much shorter and more pointed, and also people asked questions of each other (the biggest change and the most important one, I think). In addition, there was a much greater use of first names. It felt like people really knew each other and were having a conversation. I am wondering if that is partly a result of the group projects, which were a way to get to know people through what they created rather than just through their words. If so, perhaps I should move them earlier in the semester, or think of some kind of group project to replace some of the earlier work. It also may be that people just feel more in control of the topic, less concerned about what they don't know.
And a reminder to myself about two new things I learned: pipl.com for researching yourself and the term "sky drive" for online storage.
No comments:
Post a Comment