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Educator's Voice

Volume 5, Issue 1
January 14, 2004

Online Classes Meet TV Fan Boards

I think of how many online teachers, with whom I work and consult with, are out there brainstorming ways to recreate classroom conversations and group projects, with an emphasis on problem solving within a targeted context. Case studies, exercises, projects, and many other classroom activities are being translated every semester.

Can the online environment recreate these types of activities that the communities on-ground classrooms seem to foster? In many cases, I would definitely say yes!

Most successful online educators agree that we must make the distinction between synchronous and asynchronous communication, understand the pros and cons of each, and figure out ways to exploit their strengths. Once we've done that, we can begin to figure out how to emphasize the aspects of student-directed learning, relevancy, and performance improvement. And, all of these concepts can be accomplished while creating a rich and diverse online community of learners. But how?

Believe it or not, we can find some direction from the world of popular culture -- television, to be more specific. Some good examples of engaging virtual worlds that are powered by asynchronous communication are the threaded discussions known as TV fan boards. A TV fan board is an online, interactive companion to various television shows. Check out the Web sites of The Learning Channel (http://tlc.discovery.com) or The Food Network (http://foodtv.com). Once logged-in, there are countless threaded discussions that are usually organized by program and episode. The talk is virtually endless. Find your interest and you'll find 20 people who are more than willing to talk to you about it. These online companions to TV shows offer thriving communities of people swapping home remodeling ideas or even favorite family recipes and cooking techniques.

So why are these discussions so successful? There are two elements worth thinking about:

1. These discussions are preceded by passive presentations - a TV show and a Web site (usually designed to look like a magazine or newspaper).
2. These discussions contain people actively swapping thoughts and resources. This is lifelong learning in the 21st century. These successful discussion boards also provide an interesting model for eLearning.

Two assumptions are also worth pointing out here:

1. A large amount of content development has gone into these quality passive presentations.
2. The learning participants are usually self-motivated adults with declared interests and goals.

So how can these assumptions help online teachers? There is no getting around the first assumption. A quality passive presentation must be created. So, it stands to reason that if you've built an online course, it must be a quality one. Anyone who has built an online course knows this is not always easy. Online course preparation time is on average longer than traditional classroom preparation.

Wouldn't it be nice to have teams of people developing your online course as the television networks undoubtedly do? Well, maybe it is possible. Consider:

• A Teaching Assistant or Student Aid
• An eager, tech-savvy student looking for extra credit and/or experience
• Other teachers with whom you can pool resources
• Repositories on the Web of learning objects, content ideas and activities

There may be more help out there than you realize.

The second assumption is contingent on your students' ages and interest levels in the subject. And, of course, there are many combinations of this. You may have young, unmotivated students who lack the skills to be resourceful and have no desire to share. Or you may have just the opposite. Online teachers work with all kinds of students and the strategies must be addressed accordingly.

Regardless of your situation, it seems that by presenting an interesting and engaging passive presentation, you're more apt to spark the interest and motivation of students who will then participate in threaded discussions--thereby creating a rich learning community.

The term passive here may be a misnomer. TV is passive, but certainly, the "lecture" portion of your course should be more than passive. But, let's start with the passive part.

1) Interesting online content is usually very easy to read - well-chunked information with ample white space around the text and images. 2) Online environments go beyond "passive" when hyperlinks are added to point to more in-depth information or maybe an interesting tangent.

If done well, this type of online "passive" presentation can spark great interest for a dynamic discussion.

This scenario has the making for a powerful learning environment (even without fancy multimedia) where students are directly in control of their learning. And, because students are sharing with other students, there is ample room for serendipitous learning well beyond your lesson plan.

I highly recommend logging into some TV fan boards. Glean some significance for yourself. Recreate what is relevant there to help develop your own community. Consider which parts of the community are passive and which are active. Explore the idea that strategically placed threaded discussions become teacher-guided, student-directed learning forums surrounded by your relevant content and resources.

The tools are there to build great communities, with threaded discussions leading the way. Keep in mind, regardless of how high-tech the world becomes, in the end, it's still about the people and their communities. As our familiarity with the technology increases, students and teachers alike will feel the medium fade into the background, allowing learning to take place as it always has, in a classroom, virtual or not.

       --Steve Bordonaro, M.Ed.

TIP

Time-Saver

Ever feel overwhelmed with student questions from your online class? Ever wish your e-mail inbox said "1 new message" each morning instead of 100? Here's an idea that can help cut down the number of e-mails you get from students.

Consider using a virtual office space. Call it what you will: Virtual Office, e-Office Hours, Prof Online…whatever! But, here's how it works. You create a discussion content item that holds course questions (try putting it under the Course Home area). Look at the benefits:

1. Students do not need to inundate faculty with e-mail.
2. Students learn communication expectations and norms (instead of assuming you'll answer their 2:30 a.m. question within 15 minutes…).
3. Other students probably have the same question and can benefit from the answer.
4. If instructors allow, peer coaching/mentoring can be a GREAT way for students to learn.

Consider intro text that says something like this:
Welcome to my virtual office. This space is set aside for students to ask questions as you would by coming into my office. Place any questions or concerns about the course here and they will be answered by 4 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday, or Friday [or whatever works - you set the times!]. It is possible that I will answer all threads during my office hours that are posted on the syllabus, but do not expect an answer until the times posted here.

As well, please feel free to answer one another's questions. I will check answers (as well as questions) for correctness, but do not hesitate, if you feel you can answer the question thoroughly and directly, to respond to a posting. Another idea is to use Chat or ClassLive for actual, synchronous office hours.

Good luck and good teaching!

       --Jeff D. Borden, MA