Introduction to Moodle: Lesson 4 Discussions

Transcription

1 Intrductin t Mdle: Lessn 4 Discussins One f the attractive ptins f Mdle is the pssibility f engaging yur students in nline discussins f tpics f yur chice. These discussins will take place in frums that are similar t the news frum we intrduced in the first lessn. In this lessn, we will make tw assumptins: Yu have added a Discussins categry t the Mdle gradebk, as described in Lessn 2. Yu will manually recrd the grades in the Mdle gradebk at the end f the discussin. Other ptins are discussed in the Appendix. Adding an Online Discussin Categry Setting up a discussin in Mdle is a tw-part prcess: First yu set up an verall categry fr the discussins Then yu add the particular discussin tpics. In ne f the week r tpic sectins, select Add an activity and Frum. This will display an infrmatin windw like that illustrated belw. Enter the name f the frum and a descriptin f its discussin. Chse the type f frum yu wish t use fr this activity. The Standard frum fr general use is illustrated in this lessn. Click n the yellw questin mark icn t get an explanatin f the thers Enter N ratings as the Aggregate type. Mdle Lessn 3 Discussins 1 Versin: Mdle

2 Chse Discussin as the Grade categry. Click n Save and return t curse. Adding Discussin Questins Next we need t enter the questins that will help prmpt the discussin. T add questins t the frum, click n the name f the frum n the curse Hme Page Click n Add a new discussin tpic. Enter the subject and descriptin f the first discussin tpic. Mdle Lessn 3 Discussins 2 Versin: Mdle

3 T avid verlad, yu prbably will want t tell Mdle I dn t want cpies f psts t the frum. Tell yur students t d the same when they pst t a frum fr the first time. When yu are ready click n Pst t frum. Yu can pst as many questins as yu desire. Participating in a Discussin Later, when students decide t participate in ne f these discussins, they will click n the title f the frum. They can chse the discussin they want t jin. Mdle Lessn 3 Discussins 3 Versin: Mdle

4 They will see the questin that begins the discussin. T cntribute, they click n Reply. The students will see the usual text editr, which they can use t enter their reply. The reply will be displayed belw the questin. If yu have chsen t display the discussin in nested frm, replies are indented and psted under the message t which they are replying Mdle Lessn 3 Discussins 4 Versin: Mdle

5 Viewing a Discussin T view a discussin, yu can click n the Frums link in the Activities menu. Then click n the link t the particular discussin yu want t grade. In this example, the first questin appears t have generated the mst activity. Click n the link t this questin. Yu can display the discussin in different ways. The Nested frm display is shwn at the right. The nested frm has the advantage f shwing the actual text f the replies, which are indented. The disadvantage f this frm is that it can grw quite lng when a lt f class members are participating. Mdle Lessn 3 Discussins 5 Versin: Mdle

6 The Threaded frm cntains less infrmatin, but is mre cmpact. Whatever frm yu use will depend n yur preference. Yu can lk at the replies and judge the quality f each student s cntributins t the discussin. The Activity Reprts, which are discussed in Lessn 9, will give yu a measure f the number f cntributins each student has made, and can let yu lk at all f a student s respnses at nce fr any r all frums. Entering Discussin Grades When yu have assigned grades fr the students, g t the gradebk. Turn editing n. Enter the grades in the gradebk and click n Update when yu are dne. (Fr simplicity s sake, I nly entered ne Jane De s grade in the example at the right. Yu can enter the entire class at nce, if yu like. ) Mdle Lessn 3 Discussins 6 Versin: Mdle

7 Appendix: Adding Discussins t the Mdle Gradebk There are a cuple f different ways t handle grading discussins and adding these grades t the Mdle gradebk. 1. When a discussin is cmplete, lk at the quality and quantity f each student s cntributins. Manually recrd a grade in the Mdle gradebk fr their verall cntributin. 2. Rate each discussin cntributin individually and let the Mdle gradebk autmatically cmbine these ratings and recrd the resulting grade. Let s take a quick lk at the tw ptins. Optin 1: Manually Recrding Discussin Grades This ptin is fairly straightfrward. Mdle furnishes reprts that make it easy fr yu t see hw many times and in what ways a student has cntributed t a discussin. We will cver these reprts in detail in Lessn 9. Yu als can lk at each student s cntributins, either alne r in the cntext f the discussin, t help yu judge hw meaningful their cntributins have been. Yu can decide n each student s verall grade fr the discussin and enter the grades in the Mdle gradebk yurself. Optin 2: Letting the Mdle Gradebk Calculate and Recrd the Grades This ptin is a little mre cmplex. After yu have initiated a discussin and students have participated by psting replies, yu can lk at the replies that have been psted. Yu can rate each f the replies by putting a grade n the reply. When yu have chsen the grades, yu can send in these ratings Mdle Lessn 3 Discussins 7 Versin: Mdle

8 Yu can specify hw Mdle cmbines the ratings yu have submitted t give a grade fr the discussin. There are five ptins 1 : Average (default) : Cunt Max Min Sum The mean f all the ratings given t psts in that frum. This is especially useful with peer grading when there are a lt f ratings being made. The number f rated psts becmes the final grade. This is useful when the number f psts is imprtant. Nte that the ttal cannt exceed the maximum grade allwed fr the frum. The highest rating is returned as the final grade. This methd is useful fr emphasizing the best wrk frm participants, allwing them t pst ne high-quality pst as well as a number f mre casual respnses t thers. The smallest rating is returned as the final grade. This methd prmtes a culture f high quality fr all psts. All the ratings fr a particular user are added tgether. Nte that the ttal is nt allwed t exceed the maximum grade fr the frum. Whatever chice yu have made, Mdle will cmbine the ratings yu have submitted and recrd the resulting grades in the Mdle gradebk. In the spirit f simplicity, which is the general philsphy f these lessns, we will nt use the secnd ptin in this lessn. Give it a try, thugh, if yu wuld like. 1 Frm Mdle Dcs Mdle Lessn 3 Discussins 8 Versin: Mdle