University Events

Description: Student discussion has long been heralded as a key element of active learning (Bonwell and Eison, 1991; Howard, 2014). Moreover, virtual discussion boards have been a long standing feature of online and blended courses (as well as some face-to-face courses), and they have gone a long way to promote student dialogue and engagement in both virtual and physical learning spaces. But new digital tools, when intentionally applied in courses and strategically aligned to learning outcomes, offer exciting opportunities to innovate with discussion in the classroom and online. They stand to make student discussion more accessible, inclusive, and efficient - not to mention more fun!

In this session, we'll look at three such tools: Flipgrid, an online video posting platform; Padlet, a digital task board that can be used to organize student postings as well as provide organizational space for individual and group projects; and collaborative worksheets, which use Google Docs to engage students in the process of creating a shared study guide for a textbook chapter or lecture. The session will begin with a brief model of each instructional tool followed by a discussion of applications across disciplines and modalities.