During week 6 when we read about Lurker students I became very interested in this topic because in a way I consider myself a Lurker because I do not feel as confident in my English writing skills.
I found an article that discusses this issue and the following questions will help me to summarize the article.
1. According to the author why are online discussions important in DE?
The authors say that online discussions are a way to develop understanding, share ideas and questions to others (Alley & Greenhaus, 2007)
2. Why do some students become lurkers?
These students are worried about negative responses or students may need more time to analyze the content and may not become as involved in the online dialogue.
3. What are some helpful activities to provide a safe environment to engage students in an online discussion? According to Alley and Greenhaus;
- Introductions: teachers introduce themselves and students do the same. The teacher should model the activity.
- Games: “Who is who” a game where each student sends the teacher 3 facts, one fact should be somewhat obscure, the instructor posts the answers and the students guess who matches the facts.
- Role-plays: allow students to share what they know, to analyze and apply what they learned.
- Debates: students can exchange points of view in an orderly manner.
The authors advise to take into account the students’ background and learning styles when choosing activities to promote interaction and participation. These activities are excellent suggestions to create an engaging environment to prevent those students who tend to be Lurkers to become more involved. In my personal opinion it takes more than activities to attract those students whom for numerous reasons are not as participative in the conference area. Teachers could ask those students directly what their needs are if the teacher or other advisors can help. Nevertheless is the students’ responsibility to participate and to be an active learner.
Alley, J., & Greenhaus, K. (2007). Turning lurkers into learners. Learning & Leading with
Technology, 35(1), 18-21.
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