Badges, Blogs, and Google+: Clicking in an Online Learning Community

badges-blogs-google-plus

When we teach online we must do more than build a course. We must select the right tools and tasks to both encourage student learning and allow effective demonstrations of it, but we must also intentionally build social capital and create a learning community. Creating a learning community that clicks, or connects, is a challenge under any circumstances, but even more difficult in an online class where there is little social capital. As both an online instructor and student, I have found that you can create an online learning community that clicks and will share the tools that I use with my students, including badges, blogs, and social media, to create connections and foster active engagement. These tools have successfully worked to engage first-year students through graduate students and include adaptations of methods I learned as an online student at Texas Tech and through the National Writing Project.

2014 CCCC – Computer Connection

Saturday, March 22 ~ L Session 9:30 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. ~ 3rd Floor of the JW Marriott

Inspired by:

Session Notes

Resources, strategies, and tips: