We have a whole range of options for allowing your learners to discuss and share ideas. Below you'll see some advantages, challenges, and uses for each of these social tools in iQualify:
Talk channels
In-page discussions
Social notes
Pulses
Online meetings/webinars
Note: All social posts can be hidden by a facilitator if required, and learners have the option to report their peers' posts for moderation.
Talk channels
Talk channels are classic forum-style chats found under Talk in learners' menus.
Facilitators and learners can start "threads" or "topics" that others can respond to.
Use Talk for
More complex or higher-level conversations that require back and forth interaction between users.
Announcements or updates that learners need to see as the course progresses.
See Overview of Talk channels for more information on how to set these up.
Advantages
Users (learners and facilitators) can reply to others' comments, enabling "threaded" conversations with back and forth interaction.
Talk channel posts can be added by facilitators as needed throughout the course.
Challenges
Talk channels sit apart from the content (as some posts might be more social in nature than content-related).
Although people can add posts as needed, you need to consider which channels you're likely to want before you activate the course (as channels are set by a manage user when activating the course).
In-page discussions
In-page discussions appear at the bottom of the page and are built by course authors. Learners are posed a question and can share their thoughts with the group.
Use in-page discussions for
Sharing ideas about the content of a particular page.
Questions where there's a learning benefit in learners seeing either a pattern in the group's responses or a large diversity in responses.
Engaging a learner's prior knowledge.
See How to create a page discussion for more information on how to set these up.
Advantages
Content-related discussions can sit right there with the content they relate to.
Learners can engage with the discussion once they get to the right part of the content, ensuring it's relevant to them at that time.
Users (learners and facilitators) can reply to others' comments, enabling "threaded" conversations with back and forth interaction.
Challenges
Discussion questions need to be planned and added by the course author(s) before the course is activated.
Pulses
Pulses are online polls - they let facilitators take the pulse of their group. The example below is a multiple choice pulse, but we also have text and spatial pulses.
Facilitators can choose the duration for which the pulse will run – minutes, hours, or days. Learners get a notification, respond to the pulse, and see the responses in the course Overview.
Use pulses for
Checking in with learners to see how they are feeling about their study, a particular topic, or an assessment.
Highlighting common misconceptions and generating discussion about their answers.
See Overview of Pulses for more information on how to set these up.
Advantages
The different options for pulses mean you've got a huge amount of variety in the questions you can ask.
Learners get to see anonymous results of the group so can see patterns.
If you ask the same pulse multiple times, learners can see how their answers have changed over time.
Challenges
Choosing the right time to let the pulse run such that learners respond and look at the group's results.
Encouraging learners to revisit the group's results once everyone has answered.
Social notes
Social notes let you and your learners have a discussion right next to the relevant content.
People can add a comment next to any paragraph in the course to share their ideas or questions.
Use social notes for
Clarifying content.
Encouraging social note-taking.
See Overview of social notes for more information on how to set these up.
Advantages
Learners get to initiate chats and comments about content, right next to the particular paragraph.
Challenges
Learners might be going through content at different paces, so you can't guarantee that learners will see all comments from others.
Online meetings/webinars
As a facilitator you can add a space within your course to have online meetings or tutorials with your learners.
Use online meetings for
Discussions where you want learners to think on their feet.
Question and answer sessions where learners can get answers to their questions about content or assessment quickly.
See How to add an online meeting into your course for more information on how to set these up.
Advantages
Instantaneous conversation.
Can record the webinar for learners to watch at a later time (especially those who were unable to make the meeting time).
Challenges
Finding a time that works for the majority of the group to meet.
Supporting learners with the technology required for the online meeting application.
Encouraging learners to speak up as they can be shy about turning video on or speaking.