{"id":4931,"date":"2020-04-22T13:57:54","date_gmt":"2020-04-22T13:57:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.loucoll.ac.uk\/learningtechnology\/?p=4931"},"modified":"2020-09-30T12:30:45","modified_gmt":"2020-09-30T12:30:45","slug":"using-learnzone-forums-for-teaching-learning-assessment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.loucoll.ac.uk\/learningtechnology\/2020\/04\/22\/using-learnzone-forums-for-teaching-learning-assessment\/","title":{"rendered":"Using LearnZone Forums for Teaching, Learning &amp; Assessment"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What is a &#8216;Forum&#8217; activity?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The forum activity allows teachers and students to exchange ideas by posting comments as part of a &#8216;thread&#8217;. Files such as images and media may be included in forum posts if this setting has been enabled. The teacher can choose to grade and\/or rate forum posts and it is also possible to give students permission to rate each other&#8217;s posts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why use the &#8216;Forum&#8217; activity?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In normal times, teachers may wish to enhance teaching and learning in a more blended learning mode in order to supplement classroom-based education.  However, being forced to operate classes online has presented an opportunity to refine our skills with technology to improve learning at a distance.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Research has clearly demonstrated that the use of technology could encourage more independent and active learning among students.  Our LearnZone has two tools for creating a forum activity called &#8216;Forum&#8217; and &#8216;Open Forum&#8217; which could yield many benefits for you and your students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Types of LearnZone forum activities<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>You will discover that a number of different types of forum\ncan be added to courses on LearnZone.&nbsp;\nThese are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Standard forum for general use<\/li><li>Single, simple discussion<\/li><li>Question and Answer forum<\/li><li>Standard forum displayed in a blog-like format<\/li><li>Each person posts one discussion<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Potential benefits<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Here are some potential benefits of regular online forum\nparticipation according to Pavlina (2005):<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Intellectual exchange<\/li><li>Learning new ideas and refining old ones<\/li><li>Enjoying community membership<\/li><li>Influencing the forum&#8217;s evolution<\/li><li>Contributing to others<\/li><li>Making new friends and contacts<\/li><li>New business leads<\/li><li>Keeping up with current events<\/li><li>Learning about new opportunities<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Characteristics of a Good Online Forum<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>According to Martyn (2005), there are numerous characteristics of a good online forum.  These are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Require students to participate<\/li><li>Grade student efforts<\/li><li>Involve learning teams<\/li><li>Structure discussion<\/li><li>Require a hand in assignment<\/li><li>Learners use their own experience in posing\nquestions and scenarios<\/li><li>Relate the discussion to course objectives<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Qing Li (2004) also provided a further nine elements of a good online forum in her research.  These are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Establish a friendly, open environment<\/li><li>Use authentic tasks and topics<\/li><li>Emphasize learner-centred instruction<\/li><li>Encourage students to give constructive feedback and suggestions<\/li><li>Let students experience, reflect and share the benefit of using threaded discussion<\/li><li>Be sure that instructors facilitate collaboration and knowledge building<\/li><li>Encourage dialogue and referencing of other student postings<\/li><li>Use humour for motivation<\/li><li>Use emoticons to help convey ideas and feelings<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Forums in Sport FE<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Spencer Oakes has been using the LearnZone activity with students studying Level 3 Sport and Exercise Science.  The screen capture below highlights what type of forum activity has been created to support teaching and learning.  He has also provided a brief summary of the advantages and disadvantages below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"614\" height=\"763\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.loucoll.ac.uk\/learningtechnology\/files\/2020\/04\/Spencer-Forum.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4935\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.loucoll.ac.uk\/learningtechnology\/files\/2020\/04\/Spencer-Forum.png 614w, https:\/\/blogs.loucoll.ac.uk\/learningtechnology\/files\/2020\/04\/Spencer-Forum-241x300.png 241w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 614px) 100vw, 614px\" \/><figcaption>Screenshot from LearnZone of a Forum Activity from a unit in Level 3 Sport and Exercise Science <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns has-2-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Advantages<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>It provides a good starting point for the delivery of an online lesson with all the resources in one place and the students logging in to the forum, which has acted as a register. <\/li><li>Students can post questions on the forum and this has saved time in terms of not having to constantly respond to the same email.<\/li><\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"> Disadvantages<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The forum activity on LearnZone has limitations in the number of resources that can be uploaded at the same time.<\/li><li>To see which students have been engaging with the forum requires you to periodically refresh the page.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>There are many good reasons to use forum activities as part of your everyday teaching and learning.   Why not complete our training course linked below and develop a forum for us with your own classes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Training and Further Guidance<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>You can access bespoke online training on the <a href=\"https:\/\/learnzone.loucoll.ac.uk\/course\/view.php?id=1507\">Staff eLearning Guidance &amp; Support<\/a> area on LearnZone.  Everything you require to get started will be covered by taking this course.  You can contact eLearning on elearning@loucoll.ac.uk or by joining our eLearning Team on Microsoft Teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">References<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Martyn M.A. 2005. Using Interactions in Online discussion Forums. Educause Quarterly No.4 <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Qing Li. 2004. Knowledge Building Community: Keys for Using Online Forums Volume 48, Number 4 <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Kaur, M. 2011. [Online] <a href=\"http:\/\/www.inquiriesjournal.com\/articles\/414\/using-online-forums-in-language-learning-and-education\">http:\/\/www.inquiriesjournal.com\/articles\/414\/using-online-forums-in-language-learning-and-education<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What is a &#8216;Forum&#8217; activity? The forum activity allows teachers and students to exchange ideas by posting comments as part of a &#8216;thread&#8217;. Files such as images and media may be included in forum posts if this setting has been enabled. The teacher can choose to grade and\/or rate forum &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":112,"featured_media":4937,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[159,135],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4931","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-forum","category-learnzone"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.loucoll.ac.uk\/learningtechnology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4931","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.loucoll.ac.uk\/learningtechnology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.loucoll.ac.uk\/learningtechnology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.loucoll.ac.uk\/learningtechnology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/112"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.loucoll.ac.uk\/learningtechnology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4931"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.loucoll.ac.uk\/learningtechnology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4931\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4945,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.loucoll.ac.uk\/learningtechnology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4931\/revisions\/4945"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.loucoll.ac.uk\/learningtechnology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4937"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.loucoll.ac.uk\/learningtechnology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4931"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.loucoll.ac.uk\/learningtechnology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4931"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.loucoll.ac.uk\/learningtechnology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4931"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}