Three-pronged approach to online discussions for learning

Although I have of late neglected this blog while writing for other venues, I am stimulated to regroup after attending a few sessions about online teaching and learning at the American Educational Research Association (AERA) annual conference. I have no beef with the research methods described by presenters. Instead, I find it disconcerting when researchers fail to attend to basic, foundational needs when designing the online discussions they research. In my mind, designing and facilitating online discussions for learning requires a three-pronged approach. The three prongs are: relevance, expectations, and preparation. And, if you haven't adequately addressed these three prongs, then the research results will likely be shallow and lack meaning.


Relevance
This seems obvious, but for some reason it is often missed. Students are busy folks...they don't have time for busywork and resent activities that feel like phluff. An online discussion for learning needs to be relevant – have a clear purpose – for students to attend to it in personally, professionally, and/or academically meaningful ways. If the online discussion they are being asked to participate in is seen as irrelevant – from their perspective...which is what counts when considering student engagement – then they will fail to contribute to the discussion as you had hoped, and will fail to take anything of value away from the discussion. Even when you have set up a relevant online discussion, you still may not attract the student participation you are looking and hoping for. Hence the next two prongs...

Expectations
“I asked them to post twice, and [with a disheartened tone] they only posted twice...” I'm not quite sure why we expect students to do more than we ask them to do. Let's face it, we get what we ask for; if we ask for two posts, that's what we will get from busy people (especially if the online discussion is seen as irrelevant). The “post x number of times” strategy for encouraging participation is a downright horrible way to go about this. In an on-campus course, when was the last time you said, “Class? During today's discussion of the readings, everyone must contribute one original statement, and comment on one peer's statement”? Never, because if we did that it would lead to a very strange, unnatural exchange...one that didn't even resemble the fruitful, organic discussions we want to facilitate.

But, if we don't specify how many posts we want students to contribute, how we will ensure that discussion happens? If you want a deep discussion, you have to set up the discussion to encourage depth; I've shared a number of strategies in this blog, such as discussion protocols, inspiration points, and one-minute papers. For example, if at the end of a week-long online discussion I ask students to submit a one-minute paper (note, not really a one-minute paper, but inspired by the concept) that addresses the following --

• Summarize the discussion in 150-250 words
  
• Share your most important contribution, and describe in 150-250 words why it was important to the discussion (include how others reacted to your contribution)
  
• Share a contribution that someone else made that was of particular value to you. In 150-250 words, describe why it was of value, and how you and others responded to that contribution during the discussion

-- then students will not necessarily just post twice. Instead, they will post to contribute something of value to the discussion. That may take only one post (although unlikely) or 15 posts. But, since they have to ultimately summarize, share, and describe the discussion, they will more than likely fully attend to the discussion...especially if it is relevant and tied to assessment.

Assessment is an important part of expectations. If we expect students to put time and energy into an online discussion, then we not only need to tell students what we want from them in an online discussion we need to make their discussion participation worth points towards final grade. Again, using the one-minute paper example, if you tell students up-front that you require a one-minute paper submitted at the end of each discussion, what the paper must include, and how you will assess it and award points, students are more likely to produce what you am looking for. And, the online discussion activity will more likely lead to something students see as valuable as opposed to busywork.

Preparation
What I’ve shared above is all well and good if students know how to participate in an online discussion. Too often we assume they know what to do, when they don't. Online discussions are nothing like face-to-face discussions, so students need assistance preparing for and participating in online discussions. Setting expectations, as described above, can certainly help. But, providing students with guidelines for posting comments (e.g., post early in the discussion to ensure your peers will see your comment, be sure to read everyone else's post in the thread before responding), examples of fruitful and not-so-fruitful online discussions (with you pointing out what makes them fruitful or not), and models of appropriate online discussion posts (which you can do by being active in the online discussions yourself) can help students develop the skills of online discussion.


Final thoughts...researchers, if you attend to these three foundational needs and then run your study, the results will more likely lead to important contributions...and I will happily be in the front row at your conference presentation.

Determing the essential learning objectives for a course

Recently, I've had to do some thinking about how to design and facilitate effective accelerated courses. We are implementing an accelerated format -- Maymester -- over a three-week period of time between the spring and summer terms. This is a popular approach at many institutions, allowing students to take another 3-credit hour course before leaving for summer break (or, for those year-round students, it gives them a way to take 6 credits between mid-May and the end of July).

Those who have taught an accelerated course already know the challenges, such as determining how much preparation (including reading) students can realistically accomplish between Wednesday and Thursday; how to address both formative and summative assessment needs that require quick turn-around to be useful; how to structure daily 3-1/2 hour class sessions that are engaging; and how to thoroughly cover all of course content. There is certainly a lot to consider to ensure that the quality of an accelerated course is high.

Instead of feeling overwhelmed by the challenges, I have found that a close examination of the course learning objectives to be a useful starting place. The point of reexamining them is to make sure you are focusing on the essential learning objectives as you develop the accelerated course. For example, in looking at a course I typically teach during a 15-week semester, I saw that I had included a mixture of both essential and nice-to-have learning objectives. For the accelerated format, I want to focus on the essential learning objectives, and make sure I am developing learning activities and assessments that map to those objectives.

How am I defining essential? The essential learning objectives are those that, if not reached by students, would negatively influence students’ (a) abilities to continue on in the program (or with the next course/s); (b) professional preparation, including abilities to do well on professional exams and certifications; and (c) confidence and efficacy as university students and emerging professionals. In other words, the essential learning objectives are those that make-or-break the course.

To help my colleagues and I determine the essential learning objectives for an accelerated course (or any course for that matter), I came up with a few prompts:

1. What should students be able to do as a result of this course that they cannot do now?


2. How do you want students to be changed as a result of this course?


3. For this course, what are the culminating performances of learning and achievement (e.g., the highest stage of development; performances that are significant, critical)?


4. What learning objective(s) have the most positive influence on students’ ability to be professionally and/or academically successful?


5. What learning objective(s), if not achieved by the students, would cause you to see the course as having failed?


6. What is the single, most important takeaway from this course?

These prompts may not be useful to everyone developing an accelerated course, but I have found it a helpful starting place in my own process.


[Note: On a related theme, please see my post on the Problems of Practice (PoP) approach to course/training design.]

The 22-page long syllabus; or How much to share with students at the start of a course

A year or so ago, I shared my Adult Learning and Education syllabus with a colleague as part of a discussion on enhancing adults' motivation to learn. When he saw that it was 22 pages long, he laughed. What was I trying to do, scare them off?!? And kill more trees?!?

Although afraid I would scare them off, my thinking about how much to give students up front was -- and continues to be -- pretty simple: as much as I can. Why?

My students are pretty busy. They work at least 20 hours a week (with most of them fully employed), and many of them have families. Most of my students take 6 credits per term on top of everything else they are doing.

My courses are fairly challenging. They are project-oriented, with the projects reflecting the true complexity of the workplace and profession for which the students are preparing. This means that the projects typically have multiple deliverables, and require collaboration with others.

The combination of busy people and challenging courses can lead to low performance, dissatisfaction, lower efficacy and confidence. Talk about enhancing adults' motivation to learn! So, my strategy is to give students all of the information they need up front so they can quickly determine if they can fit my course into their lives, and be successful while staying healthy. So, as part of my syllabus package(please also see my other posts on jazzing up the syllabus and using scavenger hunts to ensure students read the syllabus), I give my students:

• Syllabus, establishing relevance of the course and course activities in terms of professional preparation, format and structure of the course, grading expectations and criteria, policies, required materials and texts, contact information
  
  
• Calendar with all due dates
  
  
• Class meeting agendas detailing what is expected each week in terms of reading, discussion, activities, and project work
  
  
• Full project descriptions with corresponding assessment tools for all graded projects
  
  
• Strategies for success in the course
  

There is no question that this is a lot of content to present to students during the first class meeting. But, in my experience, students appreciate having the details up front. Besides helping them determine if they can fit the course into their busy lives, they can plan out their semester. This is especially helpful for students who travel for work and can only work on coursework at certain times during the week. And, I have found it helpful for myself. It is nice to have a clear plan in place from the get-go.

And anyway, if printed on both sides, it really is only an 11-page syllabus...

Voting a question off the island; or, different ways to think about quizzes and exams

Given the nature of the courses I teach, I tend to use authentic projects for assessment purposes. However, because of recent conversations with students, I've been reconsidering my avoidance of quizzes and exams. What I have heard from students is that quizzes and exams help them gauge their acquisition and comprehension of content, which can be very helpful for formative reasons in advance of project work. These conversations spurred me to reexamine my past uses of quizzes and exams, and explore different ways of structuring quizzes and exams for formative and summative assessment needs. Philosophically, I am more interested in assessments that are learning opportunities for students than I am in assessments that function as judgments of performance. Here are a few quiz and exam ideas that reflect (hopefully) that philosophical stance:

• Collaborative exams. I like collaborative exams, in general, because they can address both formative and summative assessment needs. Under this category, I have tried three different strategies --
  
  1. I have students in small groups (typically 2-3 people) complete the exam. One exam is submitted between the three of them, with the responses a collaborative effort. I do this in class, as opposed to as a take-home, so I can monitor participation and contribution.
     
  2. I have students in small groups spend half the class time discussing the questions, and then use the remaining class time complete an individual exam. Although the responses are not collaboratively composed, each student's responses are (hopefully) enhanced because of the preceding conversation with their peers.
     
  3. Finally, following a three-step process, each student submits two versions of the exam. Step 1: Each student completes the exam alone as a take-home, prior to the in-class exam session. Step 2: In class, students come together in groups of 2-3, discuss their answers to each question, and select the answer they want to formally submit as a group (or construct a new answer). Step 3: Students submit their original individual exams, and their collaborative exams (with each being worth a certain number of points towards overall exam grade).
  
  
• Student exam construction. I have found that the questions students ask about a topic says a lot about their understanding of the topic. Therefore, I really like having students develop questions. So, for this strategy, I ask students to construct an exam. I ask students to construct an exam, and provide a rationale for why it is an appropriate exam and why all of the questions are important to include. Sometimes this is the end of the assignment, and my assessment is strictly on the exam and rationale. Other times they are then given the exam to complete, and the assessment is based on both activities. It depends on my learning objectives. I have also had students do this as individuals and in small groups. I prefer having them do it in small groups because I believe the exchange of ideas, priorities, and rationales is a valuable learning activity.
  
  
• Got-it-'til-you-get-it exam. Especially with the support of technology (such as the quiz/exam tools within a learning management system like eCollege or Blackboard, a form created in Google Docs, or any number of data-collection web tools), it is easy to make an exam available to students for extended periods of time, and allow them to continue to work on their exam responses -- receiving feedback throughout -- until mastery is accomplished. What I like about this strategy is that it attends to both formative (via feedback on responses as they approach mastery) and summative (once mastery is accomplished) assessment needs.
  
  
• The People's Choice exam. When possible, I like to give students choices. It is hard for me to write a question that speaks to everyone in a class. Instead, I construct 2-3 questions for each topic or sub-topic, and ask student to select the one they wish to answer. Students report that they appreciate being able to choose the question.
  
  
• On-the-spot quiz construction. For quick-and-dirty quizzes on a recent set of readings or activity, I will ask students (as individuals, pairs, or small groups) to write a question on an index card with their name(s) included, and throw the cards into a hat. Then I will pull three questions from the hat that everyone must answer. I like this strategy because I want students to enhancing their questioning skills, and like that they have some say in the questions that they respond to. I ask for names on the cards to make sure that students take the question writing seriously.
  
  
• Quiz-plus-one. Another strategy I like is to pass out a quiz minus one question. I then ask students to construct the missing question and answer it. This gives students a chance to answer a question they'd really like to answer (one I may not have even thought of), personalizing each quiz. It also gives me a bank of questions I can use in the future!
  
  
• Voting-a-question-off-the-island. This strategy allows students to make a choice about which questions "count" and which do not. I have done this in one of two ways: students can choose not to answer one question (leaving it blank), or students answer all the questions but indicate which one they do not want counted in their grade. I prefer the latter tactic because it provides me with valuable information; it tells me which question(s) students struggle with, and the nature of the struggle because I have their attempted response available. Knowing this helps me make instructional decisions to make sure that students understand and appropriately apply the challenging content.
  
  
• Stump-the-professor, Phone-a-friend, Are-you-smarter-than-a-5th-grader?, and other game-like exams. I like using games and game-like strategies throughout my courses. In terms of assessment, I like to use games such as --
  • Stump the Professor is a strategy I've used in various contexts, and it works well for quizzes. I will ask small groups of students to compose a question they think will stump me, write it on an index card (along with their names), and throw it into a hat. Then, I pull out each question one at a time. For each question, students have a certain amount of time to respond in writing (either as individuals or in their original small groups) -- depending on how many questions there are -- as I work out my response. They submit their response, and then I share mine. Sometimes I am stumped, and I distribute points for that. This strategy helps them enhance their question construction, gives them some ownership over the questions, and is fun.
    
  • Phone a friend. For this strategy, small groups of students support each other as they each complete a quiz or exam. As a small group, they decide which question they need help with. They then construct no more than two questions they can ask me about the question (or, alternatively, I have allowed groups to ask me up to 5 yes-or-no questions). This strategy encourages students to consider what questions they can answer with each other's support, and which question they really want help with. They have to be very thoughtful as they construct the questions they ask me to make sure that after there "phone call" with me that they can proceed. It offers them additional opportunities for learning -- not only from each other, but also from me.
    
  • What's my line? Similar to Stump the Professor, small groups of students construct a question they can answer but they think will stump the other groups. I collect the questions, share each of them -- one at a time -- and give student groups a certain amount of time to respond to each one. Students receive points for correct answers, and points for the number of other groups they stump with their question.
    
  • Name that answer! For this strategy, I develop 3-5 complex questions about the topic, and a set of corresponding hints. Small groups of students compete to see which groups can determine the answer to a question with the fewest number of hints.
    
  • Are you smarter than a 5th grader? The idea behind this strategy is to have student groups compete on quickly answering questions. I use this strategy for quizzes when I do not need to consider the quality of the response, just if it is correct or not. If I am not using a student-response-system (e.g., Clickers), then I pass out different instruments (e.g., bell, whistle, drum) to small groups so that they can chime in when ready to respond.
  
  
• Quizzes about content of collaborative projects. I use a variety of strategies to assess individual student contribution to collaborative projects, and this strategy is one I frequently use. Once I receive a collaborative project, I will construct a quiz about each project. Then, I will require each student to complete the quiz about her or his project. Students know about the quiz in advance (as part of the project description, as incentive to attend to the details of the project and participate fully), and well complements the other tools I use for group projects (e.g., team contracts, team member assessment tools, structured walk-throughs).
  

These are just a few ideas for using quizzes and exams in support of student learning. In addition, I have found these strategies to be valuable in providing me with data that formatively informs my teaching and the direction of the course. Although quizzes and exams are not typically my first choice of assessment approach, these strategies have the potential to enhance student learning, and give them confidence as they prepare to work on more authentic activities and projects.

Do-it-yourself lecture makeovers

Years ago when I first started teaching my idea of an engaging lecture was to bring blank overhead transparencies to class, and write on them while talking. I even mastered a David-Lettermanesque delivery to my lectures that got me a few laughs here and there…and served to fuel my enthusiasm for teaching. What I didn’t realize then is that I wasn’t a good lecturer…and that what I was delivering was far from engaging.

Lecture is an instructional approach used by many faculty...sometimes out of habit, lack of alternative models, or necessity (e.g., constraints of the physical space, limited in-class time, high number of students). We know stuff about our discipline, so it requires little effort for us to talk about that stuff. Although we have to prepare for class, the preparation is relatively easy when our plan is to lecture...again, because we know our stuff. But, who is doing all of the fruitful cognitive processing on the topic -- the person preparing the lecture, or the person listening to the lecture? So, the questions of the hour are -- regardless of the efficiency of lecture, does lecture really achieve what we want to achieve? Are students engaged, and are they processing and retaining what we are sharing with them?

It turns out that the answer is no. So, does this mean we need to stop lecturing, or are there ways to improve the lecture approach?

Seems to me that the more we can have students do something with the content -- as opposed to listen to us talk about the content -- the better. Therefore, embedding students-do-something-now strategies throughout a lecture is a good way to enhance the students' experience and opportunity to process and reflect on the content. Acknowledging that this is not an easy task in a traditional lecture hall (equipped with fixed stadium seating!) with 100+ students, here are a few examples of students-do-something-now strategies that may work regardless of the instructional constraints:

• Think-pair-share. This strategy involves (1) asking the students a question about the content; (2) giving students an opportunity to consider the question, study their notes and/or text; (3) confer with their neighbor regarding their answer to the question. There are many variations on this strategy, especially in terms of how to handle the "share" aspect. For example, a pair can join up with another pair to discuss the question; using Clickers, pairs can log their response (this is a nice option for providing the whole audience with instant feedback, and for giving you as the lecturing information that can help provide direction for the next part of the lecture.); and pairs can log their response and their names on to index cards, pass them to the front, and the lecturer can randomly select a few responses to share with the whole group. [Note: This approach also provides a jumping off place for the rest of the lecture, and the index cards with students' names can be used for student participation grading.]
  


• Interview. Instead of lecturing, I have had students interview me about the topic. I start this strategy by telling students that during the interview they must collect all of the information they need on the topic to fulfill the requirements for writing an essay, completing a project, or preparing for an exam. Then students -- in teams with an elected interviewer, in rows with the person in the front deemed the official interviewer -- work together to determine what 3-5 questions their group (team or row) needs to ask in order to achieve the objective. This strategy encourages students to reflect on what they already know, what they can find out via their text or other resource, and what they absolutely need to ask their professor. It also helps them construct good questions, and prioritize needs. [Note: I have previously described a related strategy, called Stump the Professor.]
  


• Point-counterpoint. One of the best lecture-enhancement strategies I've used is to invite a colleague to participate in a point-counterpoint discussion on a particular topic (often controversial), with the students as our audience. This strategy allows students to listen to two (or more, as with a panel) practitioners/experts discuss and debate issues related to the topic. It helps students recognize that there are differing perspectives on the issues, and to see how colleagues grapple with those differing perspectives.
  


• Fishbowl. Another strategy that has worked well for me is to select different groups of students to participate with me in a small group discussion, with the rest of the students listening. I form these student groups ahead of time so I can keep track of who has participated, and make sure that I invite everyone in the audience to participate at least once.
  


• Value-added. I avoid lecturing on the same content the students have available to them via the textbook, article packet, or other set of resources. If I lecture on the same content they have available to them elsewhere they learn very quickly to either (a) not bother reading the text, or (b) not bother attending the lecture. As an expert in the domain, I have something unique to offer -- my take on the topic at hand, and my stories about how it plays out in practice. I want students to see the value in both the readings and what I have to share, so I avoid replication.
  


• Making it relevant, Part 1. As often as possible, instead of lecturing in the conventional way, I tell stories or describe cases that illustrate the points I want students to consider. This strategy helps students process the content in a more contextually meaningful way, helping students see how the content is relevant to the working world.
  


• Making it relevant, Part 2. It helps students engage in a lecture if they understand how the lecture content is related to (a) their professional preparation (i.e., what they will be doing on-the-job), and (b) how they are assessed in the course. I remind students at the beginning, middle, and end of a lecture how the content is related to both their professional work and/or the current assignment they are completing for the course. I then reinforce those relationships by incorporating them into my assessment of the assignment. For example, when I ask students to provide design documentation for an instructional product they have created, I require them to cite not only their readings but the lectures and class discussions as well. [Note: Related, I occasionally use the one-minute paper or quiz strategy, informing students at the start of the lecture that at the end of the class I will ask them to submit a one-minute paper or quiz. Knowing that this is coming encourages students to attend to the lecture and take useful notes.]
  


• Making it relevant, Part 3. My courses are very project-oriented. Therefore, a strategy I have found very helpful is to focus my lecture content on issues directly relevant to the students' ability to fulfill the project requirements.
  


• "Give me a break"...i.e., a pause in the action. This is a simple strategy to implement during a lecture. I allow students time throughout a lecture to summarize what I've shared, clean up their notes, ask for clarification from neighbors, and -- in general -- process and reflect on the content. After the pause in the action, I ask for questions -- often, after time to reflect on the lecture, a few students will find they have a gap in their notes and will ask me a follow-up question. I have found that giving students time to summarize the lecture thus far, in their own words, allows them the time and space to do the same sort of fruitful cognitive processing that I've done in preparing the lecture. If I don't give them time to process and reflect, then the lecture is for naught...and all I have accomplished is hearing myself talk.
  

These are just a few ideas for enhancing the lecture approach. I find it helpful to mix up the strategies so I am not doing the same thing repeatedly. These strategies have helped me deal with the instructional constraints of large classes held in traditional lecture hall settings. And, ultimately, I have found that I do not actually do that much lecturing, instead allowing students time and space to work with the content in more relevant and meaningful ways that help them stay engaged.

A few strategies for setting the right tone for online discussions

As a staple of online instructional interaction, online discussions are a big part of what takes place in the learning community – it is through these discussions, often, that much of the learning occurs. Therefore, learners’ comfort with participating in online discussions can have a big influence on what they achieve in the course. Comfort can be achieved through establishing trust with the instructor and with course colleagues, and through practice via non-threatening discussion experiences. To establish trust, consider the following strategies:

• Share a story, related to the content of the course if possible, that gives learners insight into your values, passions, interests, etc. Consider using a tool such as PowerPoint to enhance your story with photos, images, and audio clips (including your voice) – making it a digital story, in other words. See http://www.augustcouncil.com/~jdunlap/movie for an example of a digital story that helps my students feel more connected to me (and, therefore, more willing to share and participate in course activities, specifically discussion) while introducing an important topic my courses – values for teaching and learning. Notice that students never see the me, but hear my voice, see photos of my family, and listen to me describe a life-altering event that reflects my own values around teaching and learning. Now that I have shared, the students are more open to sharing.
  
  
• Ask students to post bios/introductions, but to encourage discourse around the shared information ask them to share of list of “facts” about themselves – some true and some not true. Have students engage in a “20 Questions” like discussion so they can determine which facts are in fact false. Besides the practice with using the discussion forum tool and responding appropriately to others’ messages, students start making connections that help them feel more comfortable. “We graduated from the same high school!” “You like to quilt too. What was your last project?” “I’ve been to Australia too. You have to go to Perth…” “What do you mean, ‘Don’t get off the boat in Ensenada’? There’s a story there.”
  
  
• For purposes of practicing online discussion (using the tools, protocols, etiquette, etc.), give learners opportunities to discuss non-threatening, low-judgmental topics. Consider the following activities:
  
  • Send students to a website that requires they do something and then ask them to share their experience with the group. For example,
    
    • Have students visit http://trevorvanmeter.com/flyguy/ and respond to the following questions in a discussion forum:
      - What happens to you while you are there?
      - What is your favorite part of the experience?
      - Why do you think I am asking you to do these sorts of activities?
      
    • Have them visit the Mr. Picassohead website -- http://www.mrpicassohead.com/ -- and create an artwork, then submit a link to the discussion forum. Once posted, encourage students to comment on each other’s artwork.
      
    
    
  • Post entertaining photos (not related to the course content) and ask students to share their captions. See below for an example of one of my favorite photos with some student captions.
    
    
    A few student captions:
    
    • Wait please! I do have good news...I just saved tons of money on my car insurance by switching to Geico.
      
    • Tim Burton "re-imagines" When Harry Met Sally.
      
    • I can take the giant brain, I can take the claws for hands, but why must you insist on wearing blue leather pants every time we go out?
      
    • MIT student enrolls at UCD. Instructors panic!
      
    • Listen, you're a nice guy and have a great personality, but my mother simply won't accept a son-in-law whose brain is on the outside.
      
    • During a break on the set, Ted belts out a rendition of "If I only had brain" on his air guitar. Meanwhile, Mary makes a run for it, hoping her career as an actress is still intact.
    
    

Wordle...just for phluff?

I've been using a fun (and quite popular) online tool called Wordle to produce images of word collections. For example, I recently created a Wordle image as a main page graphic for my online course. Here is a simple one that summarizes what I write about on this blog --



In this example, some words -- such as teaching -- are larger than others because they are included in the word list more frequently than others. To illustrate, if I were creating a Wordle image to represent the concept of baseball, my initial list of terms for this concept would include: baseball, bat, field, hat, player, field, umpire, glove, stadium, fans, hotdogs, popcorn, etc. This list would produce a Wordle image in which all of the words were the same size, indicating that they were of equal importance in understanding the concept of baseball. However, from my perspective, the word baseball is more important to understanding the concept then hotdog or popcorn. Therefore, I would modify the list as follows to make sure baseball was the most prominent word in the Wordle image: baseball, baseball bat, baseball field, baseball hat, baseball player, baseball field, and so on. With the revised list, the most frequently used word is baseball, so it would be the largest word in the Wordle image. In this way, I can easily illustrate word strength and importance within a list of words if desirable.

Wordle can be used for instructional purposes. For example, I have asked students to produce Wordle images that represent their understanding of a reading, topic, concept, or idea. Then, I ask small groups of students to debrief their images together to discuss what terms they selected and why, why some terms are larger than others (or what terms should be larger than others because they are more important), and so on. A variation is to limit the number of words students (working as individuals or in small groups) can use to describe a complex concept (e.g., constructivism, eLearning, diversity), and have them create a Wordle image that captures the essence of the concept with exactly 20 words. I have also used it to create word collections and asked students to determine how the words are connected, and what topic the collection of words describe. These types of activities encourage students to reflect on a topic or concept, and articulate their understanding based on that reflection.

Wordle can also be used during class introductions, specifically in online courses. Instead of asking students to share a bio, students can produce a Wordle image that summarizes who they are, likes and dislikes, hobbies, and so on. Again, it is a fun way to encourage reflection, articulation, and sharing.