Every day teachers face the dilemma of maximizing learning in the context of limited resources and class time. An online forum, also known as a discussion board, offers a solution to this perennial issue by creating opportunities for students to collaborate outside the classroom. An online discussion goes beyond independent practice and turns homework into a true extension of class.
Joseph is a typical student who is reading a novel about the internment of Japanese-American citizens during the aftermath of World War II. Like many high English Language Arts sessions, there are plenty of in-class guided discussions that are led by the teacher. But Joseph’s learning and inquiry extends beyond the classroom walls and beyond the school day. Using a closed online site that has been set up by his teacher, Joseph and his classmates are required to complete a series of activities that demonstrate what they are learning about the internment issue. Joseph finds some source videos online at the Internet Archive and uses iMovie to create a remix version of the experience of a young child in the camp. Joseph’s project is persuasive in nature, trying to convince his audience that the government was wrong in what it did to United States citizens. He sets up a Voicethread and embeds it into his online space so that others in the class can give him audio feedback on his project even as his teacher posts comments and suggestions about the project to Joseph’s online forum while checking in with him during class time. Joseph dutifully keeps a log of his activities and completes weekly surveys posted by his teacher on his progress. The final project is a presentation in the classroom of his persuasive video, along with a multimedia reflection by Joseph that integrates peer feedback. Later, after more revision sparked by his class presentation, Joseph posts the video project at his class website, extending his audience to the world.
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