Discussions

Your Name and Title: Nadine Aboulmagd, Online Content Developer, The Center for Learning and Teaching

School or Organization Name: The American University in Cairo

Co-Presenter Name(s): N/A

Area of the World from Which You Will Present: Cairo, Egypt

Language in Which You Will Present: English

Target Audience(s): Teachers, Instructional Designers, Faculty Professional Developers

Short Session Description (one line): This session will introduce participants to online discussion boards as a practice for enhancing collaboration, discussions and interactions globally among learners.

Full Session Description (as long as you would like):

Nowadays, more educators are integrating cross-cultural learning in their courses due to the increasing importance and popularity of global competency and global citizenship. Online interaction like face-to-face, needs collaboration and interactivity among learners and educators in order to foster digital literacy and global awareness among our students. Regularly in web-enhanced and online collaboration, this interactivity takes the form of online discussions and it is essential to conduct them effectively, which sometimes presents a challenge to educators.  

This session will introduce participants to online discussion boards as a practice for enhancing collaboration, discussions and interactions globally among learners. Then we will explore the reasons why there is a need for online discussions in relation to global competency, digital literacy and global citizenship. Finally, we will explore ways in which educators can conduct effective online discussions and the presenter will provide ten tips for positive online communication and interaction, commonly known as “Netiquette”, through a visual infographic created and designed by the presenter.

Netiquette is the combination of the words “network” and “etiquette” and includes the communication guidelines that the online global community follows nowadays. Like face-to-face, online discussions need to be conducted in a friendly, respectful and useful manner in order for all learners to achieve the maximum benefit. It is crucial to discuss netiquette to avoid lack of engagement in online discussions and therefore the learning community remains positive, beneficial and learner-centered both in class and online.

Websites / URLs Associated with Your Session:

https://nadineaboulmagd.wordpress.com/2015/04/08/revised-netiquette-infographic/