Kerstin Upmeyer

Getting students to participate in helping one another.

I wish I could claim this as my own, but I cannot. I want to share with you all a wonderful technique I learned from a teacher I had during graduate school. Her name was Shauna Schullo, and she passed away last year at a tragically young age from breast cancer. So whenever I explain this technique to my students. I always tell them about her and how she made me a better online instructor.

The technique is called "Ask the Guru." Basically it is an extra discussion board forum that I set up in every class. I inform the students that they should post any general class questions in it. I remind them anything personal they should email me about. However I inform them that if it's a question about the class to post it there, with the question as the subject. I then also tell them to feel free to ANSWER anyone else's questions if they believe they can help. They might get to it before I do so the question might be answered faster.

Ask the guru does several things:

1. It avoids me repeatedly answering the same questions over and over in emails, saving time I can spend on feedback and critiques.

2. It means the students see each other's questions and may help one another, enhancing interaction and participation.

3. The question may have already been asked by someone else, so the student gets an immediate answer. In fact I have created an "Ask the Guru FAQ" from questions and answers in past classes.

I love this technique because it serves a dual purpose. It streamlines my workload since I am not having to type out answers to the same question multiple times. It also enriches the learning experience of the students by getting them to participate in helping out one another.

What techniques and tips have you discovered that do either of these things, or better yet, both? Please feel free to share!