Interactivity

= Interactivity = = Moore's Model of Interactivity﻿ = = ﻿Additional Resources related to Interactivity Have Been Placed on the Resources Page for Week 3 Interactivity. =

Moore's Model for Interactivity is frequently cited as a conceptual framework that includes learner interaction with the following 3 components:

Source: Moore, M. G. 1989. "Three types of interaction." The American Journal of Distance Education. 3(2): 1-6.
 * 1) Interaction with the teacher
 * 2) Interaction with other learners
 * 3) Interaction with course materials

7 Principles of Good Practice in Under Graduate Education
The following seven principles are frequently referred to as indicators of good teaching practice. These principles were developed in March 1987, by Art Chickering and Zelda Gamson (who distilled findings from decades of research on effective teaching). George Brown College adopted these principles as a foundational framework for the current Academic Strategy.

The online environment lends itself to the incorporation of these principles. They include: > Seven Principles Re-visited. In an article (from a scholarly journal called Innovate) ,entitled "Backwards into the Future", the authors attempt to revise these principles to incorporate ideas related to the current digital context. The revised 7 principles include:
 * 1) Encourage student-faculty contact
 * 2) Encourage cooperation among students
 * 3) Encourage active learning
 * 4) Give prompt feedback
 * 5) Emphasize time on task
 * 6) Communicate high expectations
 * 7) Respect diverse talents and ways of learning
 * 1. || Relinquish authority ||
 * 2. || Recast students as teachers, researchers, and producers of knowledge ||
 * 3. || Promote collaborative relationships ||
 * 4. || Cultivate multiple intelligences ||
 * 5. || Foster critical creativity ||
 * 6. || Encourage resilience in the face of change ||
 * 7. || Craft assignments that look both forward and backwards.* ||

*Source: Sword, Helen and Michele Leggott. June/July, 2007. "Backwards into the Future: Seven Principles for Educating the Ne(x)t Generation" cited in Innovate Online Journal of Education. retrieved February/09.

** Your Task **
Describe 1 interactive activity that you will assign for your online students. Tell us how, or why this activity would serve to enrich the student learning experience. Identify one principle from any of the above principles for good practice that you think this activity would address.

In The News Activity (by Nick)

I teach an eBusiness course and as part of the curriculum, and we explore how Web 2.0 companies make money and form such large communities of interested people. In view of this, I though that an "In the News" activity would be lots of fun and would keep the course current.

The activity capitalizes on the number of newspaper and magazine articles available online to bring discussions of current events into my online course. These could be structured as an individual or group activity, encouraging students to utilize these news articles to promote discussions related to current events relative to the subject matter of the course. The steps are: (a) Identify online resources related to course topics, (b) assign online news Websites to individuals or teams, (c) have students read and reflect on their assigned news stories, and (d) have students read and reflect on their assigned news stories, and, (d) have students discuss the news stories on a shared discussion board.

Reflective Journal using Timetoast.com

I'm a big advocate of student reflection on learning and finding different ways to engage students in this activity. There's a very neat little website called Timetoast.com that allows users to create an interactive timeline.

I would introduce the assignment at the very beginning of the course, have students create their own timeline. Here's a link that will take you to a sample that I've developed: Learning Journal. (I had trouble embedding it in the wiki.)

You can have students mark important learning events, "Aha!" moments, throughout the course, then provide feedback and evaluation either throughout the semester or at the end. (Lazaros)

[|joyceklamer] In a class I am taking I was part of a group who presented on Multiple Intelligences. I would explain to the students that we all learn and study in different ways and give them a brief explaination of the 7-8 intelligences. Then I would give them a quiz we found to determine which intelligence(s) they fit into stressing that no one intelligence is better or worse than another.. After that I would give them tips to help them with their work. They could also share their results with their fellow students to learn their similarities and differences and support each other. This might also help me to understand/relate to individuals better. This would address principal 4 Cultivate Multiple Intelligences.

[|Terri-G] I think I posted this in the wrong place earlier.

I came across this exercise/assignment that can "warm up" new creative writers using either Twitter or a Wiki. Students first get comfortable telling short-form stories like a 6-word memoir (started by Hemingway), and then begin a story with 75-100 words on Twitter. They continue that story with weekly posts--in the same 75-100 word increments--either on Twitter or on a class Wiki over the entire semester. I think the medium would be fun for them, and telling a story in small sections at a time would make the whole task less daunting.

Game

I love using different type of games such as crossword puzzle, jeopardy, game board, and etc. After each lecture or presentation, I use a game based on the subjects. In this situation, most of the students easily interact with each other, me and the subject matter. They always forget the classroom and compete with each other to answer the game's questions. They experience an enjoyable learning instead of a painful one.

(Parisa)

Hi Parisa, Do you have any resource links to these games that you could share with the group? I think the use of games is a great way to engage your learners. Cheers, Shirley

Debates

I think the use of debates can help learners do discuss topics passionately. Forming teams of 4-6 to debate a particular topic assigned by the professor for a period of 15 mintues can help learners to get to know each other, form teams and gain value of understanding.

Paula Hacking

There are three activity areas in the communication courses I teach where live online interaction with/among students could be implemented. These are things I already do in the classroom that would lend themselves fairly straightforwardly to one or another of the online formats we've been introduced to. In addition, I might create journaling/blogging assignments and encourage students to read and constructively comment on each other's writing.
 * Icebreaker/introduction activities at the start of the semester;
 * Group brainstorming to generate content for assigned writing projects;
 * When teaching argumentative/persuasive writing, I've often asked students to break into teams to prepare and present debates on set topics. At more advanced levels, Elluminate is an ideal teleconferencing vehicle for delivering professional-quality student team presentations.
 * Scheduled live tutoring sessions, for groups and individuals having trouble with one or another aspect of the course material.

Martin Reyto