Sue Hellman

My pleasure :-)

Hi Viviana,

A few thoughts come to mind. Caveat: I'm not familiar with this strategy & had to look it up, so my comments may miss the point of how this structured conversation is supposed to work. If that's the case, I apologize.

First I like the issue & quotes you've chosen. The controversy is clear and timely (springs from the recent measles outbreak?). However, you seem to have made a deliberate choice not to set this activity in that context. I think making students aware of how visceral this debate became could enhance their motivation to participate fully (tension; authenticity), and so I might have set the stage with news clips, blogs, forum discussions, etc. from that time. If I recall correctly there was some thought of forcing parents to have their children vaccinated & even to prevent unvaccinated kids from attending school. Feelings ran very high with 'good health practices' (the greater good of the community) pitted against parental fear of unintended consequences (protecting one's own). Parents who refused vaccines were painted as stupid & irresponsible & even criminally endangering others. The parents wanted irrefutable proof from the scientific community that the vaccine could not cause autism. Both sides claimed they had science on their side.

Also, although I appreciate your concern for students' privacy, I'm not sure how this version of the strategy is a conversation. Conducting the objective step 'in the open' could help students see both sides of the issue. You could assign roles (parent; community health authority) and ask them to find the data to support or debunk the various quotations. Watching a Google Doc grow could be enlightening.

Next, I would give the students the option of making their written submissions public or just for you. You might find your fears about their privacy concerns were unfounded and use the activity to build 'quick trust' among the students which can enhance peer-to-peer learning in online courses.

Finally I'd debrief the entire experience in a synchronous meeting to explore the students' experiences and anchor your intended learning outcomes.

I apologize for being so prescriptive in this response. Under ideal conditions, I'd have asked more questions and held off on posting suggestions, but time did not permit a longer discussion.

Whatever choices you make, trying this with a class will be a great learning experience for both your students and for you. Have some fun with it, and don't shy away from sharing your learning with the group. That alone can be highly motivating & engaging for online learners.

-Sue

Hi all,

Sorry to be late to the party ... & to start I'm browsing the discussions and adding a few thoughts. Here are my thoughts on Curt's response to Leonna's question:

I think with online learning it's important to be aware of the spectrum of 'motivators' or 'engagers'. I found an article at http://lackawannaschools.org/cms/lib/NY19000337/Centricity/ModuleInstance/865/TheEight_Cs_of_Engagement.pdf (much of which I don't agree with or find useful) that gives an interesting way to categorize these (see table on page 9). What I think engaging e-learning does is provide engagers from all categories over the course of a lesson so that every learner at some point is drawn in and none are turned off by an over-reliance on any one strategy. Also providing choices of whether to participate in gaming, badging, and so forth is important. One does this on the fly in smaller f2f classes where one gets to know the students and can adapt or personalize by offering options and suggestions. But in e-learning, many learners start by browsing (as i'm doing with this course) -- looking for points of connection which pique interest and give them a sense that there's something there for them so the more different kinds of lure (strategies) you use, the more fish you'll catch. Once the course is over, asking for feedback about what they did/not find engaging can help you fine tune later iterations. Then you can choose to add, change, delete, or leave as is even if the feedback is negative. Adding some explanation of why you've made that choice & how it is necessary for or will enhance understanding can go a long way in those situations. Students like to know their feedback has been heard and acted upon in some way. They find that highly engaging ! :-)