[M3-3] Assignment VS Activity Continued...

PART 2:  Now that you have a better understanding of the difference between an assignment and and activity, we are going to design an activity that you can choose to grade or not, using the Discussions tool.

NOTE:  For  complete Instructor Guide ~ http://guides.instructure.com/m/4152/c/23845

Our first task is going to expand our understanding regarding the value of using discussion forums for learning.  Often times, the amount of interaction on a discussion board becomes overwhelming.  Therefore, defining the purpose and role is critical.  Please take a few moments to read an article produced by Edutopia on "Mastering online discussion facilitation." Links to an external site.

The ben­e­fits of using an online dis­cus­sion board for your class are numer­ous. Some key advan­tages include:

• Builds con­nec­tions and class com­mu­nity by pro­mot­ing dis­cus­sion on course top­ics and more infor­mal discussion
• Con­tributes to the devel­op­ment of cog­ni­tive, crit­i­cal think­ing, and writ­ing skills
  
• Allows time for thought­ful, in-depth reflec­tion on course top­ics. Much like tra­di­tional writ­ing exer­cises, stu­dents have more time to think about, research, and com­pose their thoughts before con­tribut­ing to the discussion.
• Facil­i­tates exploratory learn­ing by allow­ing stu­dents to review and respond to the work of oth­ers and approach learn­ing in diverse ways
• Empow­ers stu­dents to express them­selves. For stu­dents with dif­fer­ent learn­ing styles, an online dis­cus­sion board can be a venue where they feel more com­fort­able con­tribut­ing to group dis­cus­sions.  With pos­i­tive rein­force­ment from inter­ac­tions on the dis­cus­sion board, an increase in in-class par­tic­i­pa­tion may also occur. (Source: University of Washington, 2011)
  Links to an external site.