What we read
The study skills page that follows Unit 6 of Bixby and Scanlon (2013, p. 66) gets us to think about and gives some tips for participating in online discussion boards, such as our class blog. Although you might not have done this before, it is a common part of reading and writing in a modern academic environment. For example, if you were looking for something more challenging to listen to, you might have checked out Harvard University professor Michael Sandel's lecture series Justice: What's the Right Thing to Do? In several of his lectures, Sandel refers to the blog to which his students are expected to contribute regularly as a part of their course. And of course, we have been blogging since day one of this class.
I've already given some reasons why we move some of Skillful's discussion exercises to an online discussion board, and on page 66, Bixby and Scanlon's tips fill this out a bit more.
I've already given some reasons why we move some of Skillful's discussion exercises to an online discussion board, and on page 66, Bixby and Scanlon's tips fill this out a bit more.
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What Bixby and Scanlon do
Following her two questions to get us reflecting on our previous experience and preferences, Cottrell suggests six tips to improve our use of blogs and similar tools in an academic context.
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Bixby and Scanlon's questions
Getting started
First, think for a moment about the two "Getting Started" questions on page 66.- Have you ever used an online discussion board? (Yes, you have, at least in this class.) How did you feel about it?
- Would you prefer a class discussion (which we have also done), or an online discussion? Why?
After you have thought about it for a minute, spend a few minutes writing your responses to these two question. Then publish your comment.
Scenario
Read the scenario and think about what Fatima did right and what she might not have done so well.
Consider it
Next, we will read the six tips in the "Consider It" section. As you read, which tips have I asked you to follow? Which have I revised a bit?
Which of the six tips do you think the most useful for you?
Over to you
Finally, think about the last two questions with which Bixby and Scanlon conclude their discussion on participating in online discussion boards.
Create a new comment to share your response.
- Why are academic writing skills important for an online discussion board? For example our discussion of the opening questions that Bixby and Scanlon give to each unit and some of their critical thinking questions.
- How do you think an online discussion board might improve your learning in a course?
- This is not one of Bixby and Scanlon's discussion questions, but do you agree with them participating in online discussions is helpful for academic reading and writing?
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Reference
- Bixby, J. & Scanlon, J. (2013). Skillful Reading & Writing: Student's Book 3 (p. 66). London: Macmillan Education
Yes, I've first used an online discussion in AUA class. It was good for its convenience and people in the class don't need to actually meet each other to have a discussion. However, I find it difficult for me sometimes. In my opinion, face-to-face discussion makes me feel more comfortable. To illustrate, seeing people's faces while talking feels more natural than doing it with just text. Moreover, since online discussion needs to be in text, the things you write have to be at least grammatically correct and I feel nervous with that.
ReplyDeleteGood comment. Whilst agree that grammar is important and worth considering as we write on an online discussion board, there is a difference here with the more formal academic assignments we do: the main purpose of online discussion is to effectively communicate your ideas, and while this is likely to mean you need more complex grammar structures than in informal conversation, or even in a class discussion, the main purpose remains communication that addresses the topic being discussed. With a couple of exception, which we are coming to today, When I grade your writing on the blog, grammar counts for much less than in a Google Doc assignment. They are only a problem in your blog writing if language mistakes cause communication problems that make it difficult for readers to understand your ideas.
DeleteFrom what we have actually done in this class over the previous four weeks, you can reasonably infer that I think both online discussion and in-class discussion are useful skills to practice. In a reading and writing class, I think it's especially important to use online discussion boards, not only because they are a common feature of academic life today, but because, as Bixby and Scanlon suggest, they are a useful way to practice the reading and writing skills that we want to develop in this sort of course.
ReplyDeleteI think an online discussion board is a very good way to improve my English since it is very convenient and it is accessible at anytime anywhere. Using an online discussion board allows me to learn about every of my classmates' idea easily and thoroughly. When using an online discussion board (such as this class blog), I get to comment on anyone's post when I have a question or something I don't understand which is more convenient than discussing in a classroom.
ReplyDeleteI like both online and class discussion and I think both of them have pros and cons. Using online discussion is more convenient while participating in a class discussion allows everyone to improve their spoken English. Using an online discussion blog all the time is also not good for our eyes since we have to stare at the computer or at our electronic devices. In my idea, an English course should include both online discussion and class discussion.
Yes, I have. I think it's the good way to exchange the idea in class. We can post our comments on blog then read other's, also other can read our. It's convenient and easy. Also writing can explain the idea more clearly than speaking.
ReplyDeleteI prefer class discussion because I can know the other's idea faster than post the comments on blog and I can see the expression of my classmate while we talk.
Keng covered a couple of specific reasons that show benefits of online discussion boards, and a related one is that writing ideas independently can effectively generate a greater range of ideas than is typically the case with a discussion in class. In our class discussions, I often ask you brainstorm individually before speaking, but putting ideas down in written words tends to remain a better way to get a variety of different ideas that can then be assessed and discussed further, as you can see by quickly skimming the responses here.
DeleteOnline discussion board is quite useful for practicing academic writing for me. It provides time to think about idea organization and revising the grammar which are the processes of academic writing. However, for discussion, I rather like class discussion than online discussion, because discussing in class by face-to-face interaction provides emotional perception and making conversation more effective. Also, class discussion can be more continuous than online discussion through the comment or post that need more time to understand other idea and response.
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ReplyDeleteI have used an online discussion board in my AUA classroom. I think it is very interesting to be a part of any discussion there. Online discussion let me know many ideas of my classmate quickly through scanning a lot of worth comments on the blog.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I prefer a class discussion to an online discussion because I can not get their real feeling through the screen, and that is a problem for me. If I want to discuss to someone about some topic, I need to know their emotion in that topic. We can pretend to agree to each other on the blog, but we can not do in the class discussion.
I have ever used an online discussion board at least in this class. The online discussion allows me to show the thought of idea and public to other people. This way can practice the critical thinking and analysis skills before writing the idea in public.
ReplyDeleteI would prefer both online and class discussion because online discussion can practice writing skills while class discussion can practice speaking skills. Both are benefits for people who would like to practice Academic English.
I have used an online discussion board since I start studying in AUA. I think that it is useful for students to use this online board, since it help us to improve our writing skill, and also, help us practice to generate the idea quickly. I am the one who really prefer both an online discussion and class discussion, which help us to gather people ideas, which maybe we did not think about that before, and then adapt the idea with our own thought, which we will finally get solid ideas. Beside, an online discussion board which we have to write something down will give us time to modify the idea we have or correcting the grammar to prevent vague ideas before we publish. What I think is also, the more that we practice, the more we can improve.
ReplyDeleteI had not been using an online discussion board before I used in this class. However, after I had a lot of practice with this board, I have improved myself a lot about time writing. However, this place is not much academic kind of English, so I feel a bit more comfortable to state my idea with not caring too much about rules(but I still have to care about it).
Yes, I have used an online discussion board. I think it's a good way to share our idea with other people.
ReplyDeleteI prefer an online discussion more than a class discussion because we can use it anywhere or anytime because sometimes we can't be together but through online discussion boards we can be able to exchange our idea and I think it is more convenience.