Reflections on Facilitating Asynchronous Discussion

When I started reading the article Facilitating Asynchronous Discussion by A. Bedard-Voorthees (Encyclopedia of Distance Learning, vol 2, 2005, pp. 912-917). I thought that as I’m not an online instructor, but an online learner, the article won’t be of too much help. But as I kept reading I realized that the article is quite useful for online learners too. On top of that, it’s also good to know what the instructor’s work frame is and the basic techniques they use to generate good asynchronous interaction.

The article ends with the mention of MERLOT Virtual Speaker Bureau, a program I’ve never heard of. A quick search on yahoo directed me here , where I found out that MRLOT “allows you to enhance the educational experiences of your students by bringing them together with guest speakers who are experts in their fields. Guest Experts are available on a wide range of topics relevant to technology, teaching, and learning…” Bottom line, it’s just another tool useful in distance education.

Going over the list of references, I found an article published in the Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks. The journal publishes interesting articles, but the only problem is that the full text of the article is subscription based, only abstract being available for free.

After reading this article I remembered that about one year ago I registered to an online forum about Thailand: ThailandQA. With all the information that I’ve been accumulating in the last week in my mind, and waiting to be put to good use, I came up with a project / paper idea. In the meantime, I started reading some of the post on the forum and tried to identify elements specific to asynchronous interaction.

Facilitating Asynchronous Discussion

The article Facilitating Asynchronous Discussion by A. Bedard-Voorthees (Encyclopedia of Distance Learning, vol 2, 2005, pp. 912-917.) presents techniques of how online instructors can facilitate meaningful asynchronous discussions. Asynchronous refers to “one-one-one and one-to-many text based interaction independent of time.” (p.912)

Competencies for asynchronous interaction (for instructors)

- scaffolding (building on prior knowledge, sequencing)
- technical support
- “online communication skills” – the ability to write clear, positive contributions in a “personable” way
- “content expertise”
- “personal characteristics”

How to create a positive atmosphere in asynchronous interaction (for instructors)

- self disclosure (local details and humor)
- expressing interest and encouragement
- inclusiveness behaviours (responding to learners by name, using “we” instead of
“I” and salutations – “Hi all”)
- control over the choice of words with negative connotations

Why learners may write impertinent posts

- lack of clarity about learning expectations
- anxiety about the new text environment
- a sense of displacement from community (due to online environment)

Side note: “students sometimes make remarks online they would never in a face-to-face classroom”

Instructional competencies (for instructors)

- ability to generate goals for discussion
- create participant expectations
- formulate stimulating questions
- re-direct strayed discussions

Content items that matter (for learners)

- addressing the topic
- reference to readings
- real-life examples
- a response to another student
- expressing own viewpoint

Side note: It’s recommended that the instructors provide “models for students as a way of suggesting appropriate levels of response”

Good questioning techniques (for instructors & learners)

- spark discussion
- re-engage participants
- prompt students to process the learning content
- respond to an expand upon the response of others

Kinds of questions

- open-ended or naïve (e.g. What would happen if _______?)
- asking for clarification of statement
- questions that identify assumptions
- asking for example of evidence
- asking learners to consider alternatives
- asking about viewpoints

Foreign language acquisition

"Foreign language acquisition is a skill, more than a body of facts, acquired with practice; therefore, sustaining motivation and promoting lengthy practice outside the classroom are key factors." (Anne Fox, UsingPodcasts in the EFL Classroom )

Reaction to new technologies

My initial reaction to new technologies was that of a person who likes the old ways. I always seemed to be the last one who tried them out, but once I did, I couldn’t do without them. I considered that all these new gadgets will take me away from other things that I loved to do, such as reading and spots. And I still feel the same, and it’s exactly what happens to me now. Computers, internet, etc take way too much of my reading and sport time. But now, I can’t do without these technologies. There’s no way out.

I think the period of greatest changes in my life was the one after the acquisition of a PC and after I had connected my computer to the internet. My life practically changed completely. Because of the internet and e-mail I’m now in Thailand, 7000 km away from home, doing an online certificate with an Australian university.

I started to use computers because it was a fashion, everybody talked about PCs and Internet. My older brother was doing a BA in computer engineering, so basically he introduced me to the latest technologies. Once proficient in the use of PCs and internet, I started using my knowledge to make some pocket money, by typing papers and articles for newspapers and students. This only improved my ICT skills and exposed me to different genres and styles of writing, which greatly helped me in my future career as a teacher and writer.

I stopped playing computer games after about 2 years of spending days and nights in front of the computer playing strategy games.

Through the use of e-mail and internet I got to know and chat with people from different parts of the world. By accepting the job offer from Thailand, I even met the person whom I was exchanging e-mails with. Without the internet, this wouldn’t have happened.

Now I think I have more internet “friends” than real life buddies. This means that my social behaviour and interaction changed and adapted to the new situation, where I spend more time interacting on the internet than chatting with someone face-to-face. But, it was through the internet that I’ve met interesting people and joind several study groups.

With every new technology I was exposed to, I had to be taught/shown basic operating skills. That’s all I needed. Later on I would discover through experience more complicated features of the respective technologies.

Although reluctant to try out the new technologies, now I’m sure that I couldn’t do without them.

Timeline of literacy technologies

I decided to create a timeline and record the literacy technologies that I have used until now.

1978 – I was born on May 19

1979-1981 - I spent 3 years in a kindergarten where I mostly used colored pencils and blank paper, training my fine motor skills.

1982 – I start primary school in my hometown. At that time pupils had to write with fountain pens and use lined notebooks. I was not allowed to write with a pen. The teacher said that we could use pens starting grade 5 only, after we had learned the correct way to form letters.
- Soon after I started grade 1 I was taught how to use the phone we had in our apartment. My parents wanted me to know how to dial a number in case of an emergency and answer the phone if it rang.

1986 – My father had two typewriters in his room. He used them almost every day to write his articles for the newspaper he was working at. Me and my brother were not allowed to use them, so when my parents were not at home we often sneaked into their room, took the typewriters out, and played around with them. As my country was still under a strict communist regime, all typewriters were registered at the police station together with a copy of all the letters, hence my parents’ reluctance to let me use the typewriter.

1987 – My parents bought a record player on which I listened for hours and hours stories for children and classical music. It was my parents’ first investment in modern technology!

Before 1989 – My family had one black and white TV, but only 2 hours of entertainment programs were broadcasted by the government. The rest was all propaganda.

1990 - After the 1989 revolution, when the communist regime was overthrown, my father received from a friend, but only for a couple of days, an electric typewriter which he let me use for the short period of time it was in our apartment. I was 12 years old at that time, and compared to the old typewriters we had, the electronic one was like magic. I remember that I was particularly fascinated by the delete button.

1991 – My parent bought a colored TV and we got cable TV too. This was a major event in our family, with tens of channels to choose from and the possibility to watch TV at any time of the day.

1992 – I was already in junior high school when my parents bought for me and my brother a Spectrum computer. It had a word processor which I used to type up short compositions. I also learned how to write simple programs in BASIC.

1995 – My father started his own newspaper and it was at his office where I first saw a fax machine. Later on we had one in our apartment too. I rarely used it to send faxes, but I often used it to make copies of different papers for school.

1996 – Me and my brother bought our own PC which I used for typing texts for money and play games.

2000 – I was a sophomore when we connected our computer to the internet and used for the first time electronic mail. I remember clearly that for a few months I spent hours and hours in front of the computer surfing the internet. The abundance of information was more that I could take. For a while I tried to copy and paste all the texts that interested me and read them later on, but when I realized I could find them online at any time I soon stopped doing that.
- In the same year I bought my fist mobile phone, I think an Erickson the size of a brick. As talking was quite expensive, I mostly used it to send text messages and sometimes play games.
- Working part time as a typist, mostly typing articles and books for my father’s business, I saved up some money and bought a stereo (tape recorder and CD player included) and a VCR.
- About this time I bought my first interactive encyclopedia (Encarta), which came on 6 CDs.

2002 – After two years playing around with the internet I became a proficient internet researcher which greatly helped me in writing my BA thesis. It was through the internet that I found a vacancy at my first school in Thailand. If it hadn’t been for the internet, I would probably still be teaching in my hometown. Internet definitely changed my life (into the better).

2006 – I used my wife’s mini recorder to make an interview with my country's ambassador in Thailand. After the interview I had to do the transcription by listening to the tape and writing in Word the questions and answers.

Defining new literacies

For my online PGCE course I had to read “Defining new literacies in curricular practice” by Ladislaus M. Semali, published in Reading Online (vol. 5, no. 4), an electronic journal of the International Reading Association.

In this article Semali debates the importance of having a definition of “new literacies” in a world where it is very difficult to predict what new literacies we will be exposed to in a few years. The author refers to “new literacies” as those literacies that have emerged in the post-typographic era. He advocates that schools have to change their curriculum in such a way as to adapt to the new literacies, which now include, alongside printed text, moving images and graphics.

Key points from the reading:

1) In most schools, education inside the classroom is print based, while outside the school, students interact with technology that requires different competencies than those acquired at school. Thus, the need for teachers and schools to incorporate new literacy skills in the curriculum.

2) The most frequent new literacies in post-typographic era are:
- computer literacy (ability to use computers)
- information literacy (“ability to create, disseminate and retrieve information quickly”)
- media literacy (“ability to access, experience, evaluate and produce media products”)
- television literacy or “teleliteracy” (ability “to read and interpret television messages”)
- visual literacy (ability to read and interpret visual messages)

3) Schools need to create “media literate citizens” that can not only access and read the new literacies, but also create content for them (as opposed to the “passive citizens”)

4) Creating an absolute definition to a term as wide as new literacies is unwanted in a world of constant change and evolution.

Issues raised from my own context

- The need of a curriculum that includes competencies for new literacies might be a hot topic in developed countries, but developing countries, such as Thailand, haven’t reached a high enough standard of education (primary, secondary and high school only) to think about new literacies. It is very difficult to make school administrators (and parents!) understand that English doesn’t mean only grammar, or science doesn’t mean only memorization of definitions.

- Another issue arises from the fact that my students are non-native speakers of English and, with very few exceptions, the only time they speak English is at school. At home they are exposed to multi-modal texts that are most of the time in Thai, their native tongue. Will my efforts of exposing the students to new ICTs (and teaching them competencies needed for new literacies) have any practical value as long as the instruction is in English?

Technologies available at my school

My school provides an area of quite limited technologies that are at the students’ or teachers’ disposal.

List of technologies available at my school:
- ICT lab with computers connected to the internet (connection doesn’t always work)
- 1 printer in the ICT lab (can print only from a few computers)
- projector (special permission and assistance needed)
- 1 CD player for 2 classes

Types of literacies dominant in my practice:
- Apart from the basic competencies of reading, writing, speaking, listening, I’ve been trying to implement new literacies too, but my school puts a lot of emphasis on grammar, so little time is left for anything else.

Reading on the internet: literacy and technology

For my online PGCE course I read Reading on the internet: the link between literacy and technology by Elizabeth Schmar-Dobler published by Reading Online - An electronic journal of the International Reading Association. The article raises the following question: How can we, as teachers, help our students use their reading strategies when using the internet?

Students need to know how to read and write not only “in the print world but also in the digital world.” Nowadays, students need to poses the skills of finding, analyzing and using the best information in the shortest time, and this means the use of computers and internet. Thus, the literacy skills learned at school need to include reading and writing on the internet.

To be a successful user / reader of the internet, students need to:
- be able to handle the huge volume of information found on the internet;
- be able to decide where the information needed is likely to be on a webpage;
- be able to read expository texts that explain, describe, and give information through the use of hyperlinks.

From my experience, when Thai students need to find information for a school project, they usually go to well-established websites, such as wikipedia, and print the whole article about the topic of research, even if only a small part of that article is relevant. Then they add a cover (on colorful paper sic!) with a title and their name and finally submit the patched up project to the teacher. On many occasions I have seen teachers accepting such “projects” just because it’s okay to plagiarize in Thailand. But, by letting the students (and parents) get away with this, we’re actually “teaching” the students bad research skills.

As I will teach English to the highest grade in my school next school year, I intend to spend some time teaching the students how to select relevant information from the internet. I will do this by showing them how to apply similar reading strategies as those used with print text reading.

Schmar-Dobler’s article suggests these reading strategies:
- activating prior knowledge
- monitoring comprehension
- repairing comprehension
- determining important ideas
- synthesizing
- drawing inferences
- asking questions

As the students are only in Grade 5, I’m not sure if they possess all the above reading strategies, but once they master them I “can begin to build the bridge connecting literacy and technology.”

Technological Literacy

The third article that I had to read for this week's online PGCE course was Technological Literacy by Carmen Luke (1997), published by the UCLA Graduate School of Education & Information Studies (GSE&IS). The article gives a good historical overview of technology, but having in mind that it was written more than 10 years ago, the information is not up to date.

The “Pedagogy” section of the article gives a few very good IT based activities, some of which I might even try next school year:

- Daily weather report: First thing in the morning, students have to find on the internet the weather report for specific cities, in my case Bangkok, and, let’s say, my home town. The article suggests NASA’s website, which seems the most appropriate choice.

- E-mail partnership project: Students correspond by e-mail with students from other countries. This seems to me like a great idea, so if there’s anyone interested, let me know. I can “provide” about 20 Grade 5 students (age 10) starting mid-May. The good thing about this project is that the e-pen friend doesn’t really have to be in the same age group. The article writes about primary kids corresponding with university students.

- Hypothetical class tip to __name of country__: Another very good problem-based learning project that has the students plan a trip abroad. The students can be divided into groups, each group dealing with different aspects of the trip: plane ticket and hotel reservation, sites to visit, budget, visas, passports etc. Information can be then gathered in a small booklet and “donated” to the school library.

All these activities involve computer mediated learning, which “tends to generate group rather than solitary learning, it encourages collective risk taking…, collaborative problem solving and information sharing,” as Carmen Luke concludes her paper.

Visual literacy

For the online PGCE course I also read Talking about visual texts with students by J. Callow (2003), published by Reading Online - An electronic journal of the International Reading Association.

Visual literacy is part of the new literacies and in describing it, a type of metalanguage needs to be used. The article was based on research done in a few Australian schools and deals with the way students understand the visual aspects of their own Power Point presentations.

The article takes the reader through the main steps of the project and concentrates on explaining (with plenty of visual examples!) how the students perceived the visual images they used in their projects. It is interesting to mention that most presentations had images bigger than (or at least as big as) the written text that accompanied the image. The students were allowed to use only clip arts, but some suggested that real pictures would have had a stronger effect on the viewer/reader.

The author concludes the article by stating that it is important not only to familiarize the students with the technology involved in making visual presentations, but also how the visuals used create meaning.

My experience with Power Point is rather limited. I used it this past school year only to make a weekly newsletter for my students. I haven’t made any presentation at all and haven’t asked my students to do one. But, my teaching partner asked his students to do a presentation for science and some of the students came back to school with very nice power point presentations. Unfortunately, they were done by the parents and not the students, and none of them acknowledged the sources for the real pictures used. Thais don’t care too much about plagiarism.
Nevertheless, after reading the two articles I realized that there are many ways in which teachers can incorporate new literacies in their lessons. Sometimes such lessons are cross-curricular and might be a bit difficult for subject teachers to get them approved by the school’s administration.

Using computer games in the classroom

A few days ago I read for my online PGCE course Popular culture, textual practice and identity: literacy and the new technologies in the middle years of schooling by C. Beavis (2000), published by Australian Association for Research in Education (AARE).

Nowadays, with the emergence of more and more sophisticated computer games, that involve a variety of literacy skills, from reading on the screen, identifying symbols, viewing and listening to clips, teachers should also consider incorporating in their teaching practice the use of computer games. Research has shown that an intersection exists between “new forms of textual and media culture, literacy and identity.” The article explores the possibilities of developing reading and writing skills through the use of computer games, with examples of students drawing from popular culture in accomplishing such tasks.

I think that the results of the author’s research would have been the same even if the students had been from Thailand. I’m not sure if the games children play in Thailand are the same as the ones played by children in the Western world, but what I know for sure is that the games they play get more and more complicated and popular as times passes by.

One example that I know of is the widely popular game Ragnarok Online, a multiplayer on-line role-paying game. The game is exactly the kind of game the students described in the article played. Ragnarok brings the player onto a “ world where you can become a hero with your own personal character and play together with thousands of new friends” (quote from European official site)

Instead of conclusion

1) What electronic texts could teachers use to practice reading and writing skills and what are the implications?
- The article suggests the use of computer games. The imaginary world of these games can be the start of many writing activities.

2) How can reading and writing be incorporated in a lesson where students are in front of computers playing a game?
- All strategy games require the players to be able to read and decode a range of multimodal texts. By asking the students to write stories about these imaginary worlds, students practice their writing skills in a way that is meaningful to them.

One problem that could occur is that most of these strategy games are now translated into many languages, and I know for sure that the games my Thai students play are mostly in Thai.

5 recommendations

1. If you are working (teaching) in Thailand and want to share your experiences click here.

2. Read the 3rd issue (March 2008) of Horizons – The Journal of David’s Teaching World here.

3. Join the ELT World Discussion Forum - Thailand here.

4. Continue your education and do a distance DELTA here. The course is delivered by the British Council and International House London and validated by Cambridge ESOL.

5. Read about black-listed schools in Thailand here.

Creative writing

In 2004, while teaching ESL at a Thai school from Bangkok, I conducted a creative writing project with my Grade 11 (Mathayom 4) students. Using an idea taken from the Learning Post, I asked my students to write a poem or a short composition starting "If I had wings...". Some of the poems and compositions written by my students were published in Learning Post (a Bangkok Post publication) and the school's magazine. Read below the students' compositions:

"If I had wings I would fly to Japan because I have some important business to do in Tokyo. I want to meet my best friend." (Apiraporn Hanpakdee)

"If I had wings I would fly in the sky along with the birds. I would fly to my love because I want to see him, and I wish he had wings to fly with me." (Watanya Yuyen)

"If I had wings I would fly everywhere. I would be free. I would same money because I wouldn’t have to pay for transportation. I could travel fast. I would be on time. But, most importantly I would be free." (Nuttawdee Bhamornsuwarn)

"If I had wings I would fly around the world and visit many countries, like China, Japan, Romania, USA, and England. I would go in the sky and touch the clouds and sleep on the clouds." (Sanchanok Laowerawat)

"If I had wings I would fly to the sky. I would go everywhere I want because I would have my wings." (Sanchanat Laoveerawat)

"If I had wings I would like to look like Tweedy. I would fly away from Sylvester. I could see everything from the top of the world." (Pimphan Sapthamrong)

"If I had wings I would fly to the sky. I would fly in our galaxy too. I would keep my wings because they are so beautiful. I would show them to people around the world. I would fly away from bad people. I would be able to go around the world by myself." (Vorathon Pomyen)

"If I had wings I would fly around the world. I would fly to the sky, then I would fly home to show my wings to my family. I would be like Batman. I could help people from bad persons." (Saranya Phuwibonpanich)

"If I had wings I would fly like a bird up into the sky. First, I would see the clear blue sky and the beautiful sun. Then, I would fly to the sea and see whales, sharks, and dolphins. From the top of the sky, I could see the boat that looks as small as a toy. Next, I would go across the sea to different places, such as England in Europe, and then come back to Thailand. Finally, I would fly to the south of Thailand and help the tsunami victims." (Punyanit Kunkitpiwat)

"If I had wings I would fly somewhere and find someone to love me. I would give him my love forever." (Chattraporn Mearnpud)

"If I had wings I would fly around the world. I want to live with someone special and my family. I wish my friends had wings because I would like to fly with them." (Duangporn Auraiwan)

"If I had wings I would fly everywhere because I want to help someone. I don’t have money and expensive things, but I have the heart to help you." (Jirarat Boonchoti)

"If I had wings I would fly around the world until I would die. I would also take care of my family. Although I can’t live with them, I will always live in their hearts." (Tippapa Laosakulporn)

"If I had wings I would fly around the world. When I have free time I would fly with my parents, or my darling. When I’d get married I would have the wedding party in the sky, and everyone must have wings." (Varanya Techsukthavorn)

"If I had wings I would go anywhere I wanted to. I can invent the wings by myself. I would go to Europe. I think Europe is a very interesting place and the weather is cool. I would show all the people my wings on TV. When I bored of the wings I would try to leave them because I don’t want to be a freak. After that I would invent the time machine." (Panee Jansasithorn)

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a4esl.org

Activities for ESL Students
- Free online quizzes, exercises and puzzles to help you study English

iteslj.org

The Internet TESL Journal
- Articles, Research Papers, Lessons Plans, Classroom Handouts, Teaching Ideas & Links