Summary+Week+Three

= = =**WEEK THREE**=

**Assessing Online Discussion: ELL students benefit from online discussion forums in a variety of ways. Online collaborative discussion groups allow emerging language learners a place to practice their emerging language skills in an environment that allows them to control the pace of communication, supports revision, and removes the bias that pacing, speed, and pronunciation may introduce into a face to face conversation. Rebecca Jacobson states the advantages to ELL students as follows: "Electronic Communication, both synchronous and asynchronous online discussions, have been proven to benefit ESL students in that they give them the opportunity to express themselves and practice English in a comfortable learning environment. In addition, online discussions give these students a sense of confidence in that they can communicate with classmates without having to worry about their pronunciation and violating social norms. Videoconferencing is another form of technology that has become common in the ESL classroom. Not only does the use of videoconferencing allow students to communicate in an electronic environment and increase their levels of self confidence, it also allows students with different learning styles a well rounded learning environment. (Zha, Kelly, Park, et al, 2006). Wilburg states, “When used in the context of the multicultural classroom, technology can be used to support and enhance the learning process.” Activity: 1. Look sample rubrics for online discussion participation. 2. Create a sample rubric for use in your online classroom. //References// Wilburg, K. (2000). Multicultural Technology Integration: The Winds of Change Amid the Sands of Time. Computers in Schools, 16(3-4), 121-134. Zha, S., Kelly, P., Park, M. K., & Fitzgerald, G. (2006). An Investigation of Communicative Competence of ESL Students Using Electronic Discussion Boards. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 38(3), 349-364. ** >> [|View/Complete Assignment: Online Participation Rubrics for ELL Learners] >> [|*Discussion Forum: Creating Scoring Guides for Discussion Forum Prompts (Cooperative Groups)**] ==  Video Rubric:@http://www.uncg.edu/tlc/hybrid/online/online_discussion/using_rubrics.html

A sample rubric for participation is contained within the article "If You Build it They Will Come//"// is available at@http://www.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/spring51/edelstein51.html

A 5 tier rubric for participation entitled "Student Assessment in Online Courses," is a component of the Making the Virtual Classroom a Reality series of online faculty development courses offered through the University of Illinois Online Department (http://www.mvcr.org is available at@http://www.washington.edu/lst/workshops/web_tools/engaging_resources.

Hap Aziz, at the Valencia Community College, has written a rubric for participation available at@http://www.valenciacc.edu/oit/articles/articles_detail.cfm?ID=51.

Activity: 1. Apply your rubric to the sample postings contained within the resource section. 2. Place your rubric and scoring within the Discussion Forum. 3. Compare your rubric and scoring results with two other participants. Where was there agreement? Where was there disagreement? 4. Reflect upon the changes (if any) you would make to your online discussion participation rubric after seeing the work of others in the course. //References//

Edelstein, S., and Edwards, J. (2002). If you build it, they will come: Building learning communities through threaded discussions. The Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, 5(1). Available Online:@http://www.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/spring51/edelstein51.html

 **Rubric Revision - Activities 2 and 3 Revisited** 1. Consider the rubric you created for assessing online discussion forum participation and the appropriateness of the use of this rubric with ELL students. 2. Does your rubric require modifications for use with ELL students? Why or why not? Make sure to explain the reasoning behind the analysis of your rubric. 3. Create and submit your modified rubric.

**Updating Assessment Wiki** Please post the discussion rubrics you created along with a discussion of the underlying rationale for the design of each, and how you will use discussion forums in your online course.

hull_6202assess5.doc (69 Kb) Hello everyone, The categories I chose for my rubric were somewhat related to the assessment we needed to do. Here are my results:

ALICE: I gave her the 12 points available. She seems very well organized to me. She Contributed to discussion with clear, concise comments formatted in an easy to read format that is free of spelling and grammatical errors. Her post has accurate information, and her answers are well thought out that covers and develops the aspects of the tasks.

DWIGHT: I also gave him the 12 points available. He seems to be very clear and concise with his words. His answers were filled with accurate information, answers are well thought out as well.

FRED: I scored him 10 out of 12 points. I think he needed to write a bit more to his Content Contribution. He posts accurate information but it lacks in the development of the concept. He does share much of his personal experiences.

GEORGE: I gave him the 12 points available. He contributed to discussion with clear, concise comments formatted in an easy to read format that is free of spelling and grammatical errors. Her post has accurate information, and her answers are well thought out that covers and develops the aspects of the tasks. He also shares his personal experience with an exam which is a great way to have people relate to the topic.

NATHANIEL: I could only score 7 out of the 12 available points on this. I had difficulty finding the answers to the questions. He seemed to be writing about his personal problems in his district. He did contribute to discussion with clear, concise comments formatted in an easy to read format that is free of spelling and grammatical errors. He also posts a minimal assignment with little thought or preparation, but does not cover the aspects of the task involved. I don't see one reference to anything throughout the answers.

**__Discussion Board Rubric and Modified ELL Rubric__**

I plan on using the first rubric (see below) in my online class involving the Four Deadly D's. in the discussion forum. The second rubric listed below which has been modified will be used with ELL Students to help them work on their skills in the discussion forum.

