Background
We chose to share Situated Introductions using the Glossary tool in Moodle as our community-building, introductory activity.
This activity did not emerge instantly. First, we discussed mapping out our connections and using a super-cool mapping tool to visualize it all. After putting in a few hours exploring tools, we realized we couldn’t find a tool that didn’t make the activity feel it was more about learning the cool tool than about building the community.
Then, after a good chat about “why do we build community in courses?” and “what are we really hoping happens?” and a conversation with a colleague,* we finally settled on trying situated introductions.
Why “situated”?
Indigenous authors Melanie Lefebvre and Alicia Elliott describe situating yourself as answering the questions: ‘Where are you from?’ or ‘Who claims you?’ These questions “acknowledge the importance of community. The answers situate each of us within the extensive kinship networks inside our communities – networks that provide support, ceremony, and tradition” (Lefebvre & Elliot, 2017, p. 8-9).
Situating yourself is also means “revealing our identity to others; who we are, where we come from, our experiences that have shaped those things, and our intentions for the work we plan to do” (Sinclair, 2003, p. 122) as well as “[o]pening yourself to the truth that you don’t have access to every experience” (Wunker, 2016, p. 30).
Yes. This is what we hoped to do!
Our intention
Our hope was to use the glossary as “quiet” place to situate ourselves. The glossary does not email notifications (like a discussion forum) and posts can be modified at any time. We hoped the comments under the glossary would become a space for quieter connections.
We added “tags” along with the situated stories to offer another way to make connections. The Moodle “Tag Block” provides a visual on the course main page that highlights points of intersection and separation (see “morning person” and “not a morning person”!). Our intention was to see if these points spark open conversations or quietly reveal community.
Questions and Challenges
How long is that tag cloud going to get?
How much should we facilitate conversation in the glossary?
Will people read each other’s glossary entries without being prompted by notifications? Will people go back to the glossary and re-situate and then will people return to read without being notified of changes? Does it matter if they don't?
Are the tags too “surface” to feel like people can build community through them?
How will we know if it’s working?
* Note: The conversation was with Polly Madsen at Yukon College. She pooled many of the resources about situating and she facilitates situated introductions beautifully in face-to-face gatherings. Thank you, Polly!