Extending Classroom Discussions with Technology

Classroom discussions are a great way to get students to think about a topic and take that thinking deeper. Having multiple perspectives widens viewpoints and enables better understanding to form in the learning community. There are many discussion techniques. I actually found a fantastic blog post that not only gives you a big list of strategies, it also explains them well and how to use them. I highly recommend reading it!

As educators, we all know that discussions are an integral part of a learning environment. After-all, collaboration could not happen if we didn’t discuss things. As a student, I always loved classroom discussions. I particularly remember a discussion that happened in one of my Psychology classes. The teacher had us watch a video about Disney. This video brought up issues within many of the Disney animated movies relating to gender equality and gender roles in society. This video, as you can imagine, created strong emotion amongst the members of the class. A heated debate ensued. What this did for us as learners was open our minds to another perspective, whether we agreed with it or not.

The problem with classroom discussion

The above-mentioned discussion was very interactive as you can probably imagine, however, there was one thing wrong with it. Not everyone in the class participated. In fact, it was dominated by outspoken individuals in the learning environment. This is typical in a face-to-face learning environment where the participants who are a little more reserved won’t speak up. It isn’t that they don’t have important things to say, just that the other outspoken individuals usually dominate the discussion. Yes, a teacher can use various techniques to moderate discussion bringing in more of the class, however, there are other tools that can be used to ensure all students have a voice.

When I was studying my advanced degrees in an online learning environment our class discussions happened in a forum. While I enjoy face-to-face discussions, I noticed something interesting taking place in the technology facilitated online discussion. Everyone in the class participated. All voices were heard. Another thing I noticed was that the discussion was deeper than what could have happened in a face-to-face discussion. This was because the students had a chance to think about what they wanted to say, whether in an initial response to the discussion or in a reply to another participants post. The student could also include data to back up their point of view. Both of these added to the quality of what was being shared and improved the discussion.

Technology to enhance and extend classroom discussions

This doesn’t happen too often in a face-to-face discussion because time is limited. This is where I believe technology facilitated discussions can be used by educators to take the discussions happening in the classroom further. Imagine having a fantastic discussion in class and then for homework, taking what was begun in class further in an online discussion forum of some type. A well-planned rubric and expectations as to the type of posts being made can guarantee deeper thinking and learning in whatever topic the students are discussing. Another bonus to using online platforms to facilitate discussion is that using these tools provide students the opportunity to practice lifelong digital citizenship skills. No doubt, this blended approach to discussions will improve the process. There are multiple Web 2.0 platforms available to help a class facilitate discussion. Below, I will discuss a few.

Learning Management System (LMS) Discussion Forums

Many LMS’s have discussion forums built right in. These forums usually enable students to type responses to initial posts. Some even allow attachments or links to other types of media. This means typing is not the only way students can continue the discussion. These types of forums are great for older students and are in my opinion a great place to have discussions that will undoubtedly go deeper than a typical face-to-face as everyone in the class will make a post. It is up to the online learning teacher to ensure that the proper culture is created when using these tools. Rubrics and expectations should be shared prior to the discussion moving into the online world.

Synth Podcasting Platform

Synth is a fantastic platform for podcasting in the classroom. The latest release has multiple features that help this platform become a perfect place for classroom discussions to move into the digital space. A fantastic educator and a Synth Educator Andy Simpson (@andy4edu) summarized them well in his recent Twitter post.

This platform is perfect for younger students as there is no typing required, so even kindergarten kids could use Synth to participate in a classroom discussion. The video below shows just how easy this can be for teachers and students.

Flip Grid

Another great tool for moving class discussions into the digital realm is Flipgrid. Flipgrid enables educators to create spaces made specifically for discussion. A teacher could create a Class Discussion Grid where all classroom discussion topics could be placed. Flipgrid is a versatile tool for facilitating classroom discussions. Using Flipgrid is easy too. Participants answer a question posed using the built-in video recorder and selfie-cam. Students can also respond to each other’s posts. It is a great environment for facilitating discussion and giving students a voice.

There are many other tools available out there that can be used to facilitate online discussions some are listed below.

Padlet, Wakelet, Twitter Chats using Hashtags, Google Hangouts Chat. As you can see the tool is available. Have you thought about extending your classroom discussions by using technology?

Thanks for reading

Dr. Shannon H. Doak