general questions using haiku

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Bryan Falcon on September 25, 2008 at 6:47am

There currently isn't a way for teachers to edit posts. They can hide offensive posts, or even delete posts...but at this point there is no editing.

So, that said, I would like to hear more from all of you...when does a teacher need to edit posts, and when they do, since grades can be attached to this, what protections do we need in place for students?

Then, on the other side, what editing rights should students have? For example, Classroom 2.0 (Ning) allows you 15 minutes to go back and edit your discussion posts. We could also allow editing until a grade is applied, etc. What are your thoughts?

Permalink Reply by Jenna on September 25, 2008 at 10:02am

I wonder if the answer to this question... how much editing should be allowed... is really a philosophical question. I leave editing wide open in all my other classes... but I have a very open style and a belief that the end game of learning is far more important than the steps along the path. I also see threaded discussion as a tool to promote thinking, not an accurate record of the path over time. If a student goes back and edits a post, to me this shows increased awareness and thinking (or simple spelling or grammar correction :) I see students take more risks in their posts when they know if they change their minds, or get convinced by another student's argument, they do not need to stand by a previous answer, they can ammend their work to reflect this new thinking. I grade on the final demonstration of your thinking on a topic... so a synthesis post or final paper, and don't grade posts as we go... so the grading question does not as much apply to me.

I know not all teachers share my philosophy, and I know that at different grade levels or in different organizations there are expectations in conflict with my beliefs. SO... I advocate for a range of editing permissions be an option that a teacher could control. This way they could determine the appropriate level of editing and correction with which they are comfortable and establish their online classroom with those expectations in mind. These are my thoughts... I am curious what other people think as well.

Permalink Reply by Jenna on September 29, 2008 at 12:10pm

Ok... I've got another picky question... I had a student have a really hard time getting registered.... apparently she never found the email, so I sent her the information of where to go and gave her the invite code. Somehow when she registered she spelled her name wrong :) and never submitted an email. SO... when I go into roster and try to fix this, I can't. Is there a place she can?

Thanks!
Jenna

Permalink Reply by Bryan Falcon on September 29, 2008 at 12:47pm

Hi Jenna!
Yes, if she knows her log in, she can go into her "My Account" link at the top left of her class and click on the User Information tab. She can change her information there and save it.

-Bryan

Permalink Reply by Jenna on October 8, 2008 at 12:06pm

Ok... another basic question... I am FINALLY starting to play around more with embed the web... this time embedding a Jing screencast onto a page and I wonder if I have options. I want to make a resources page that students can use to access screencasts, videos, etc that will help them complete their work, use new tools, etc. When I embed my screencast now, it takes up a large space. This means the page gets huge quickly. I am also concerned that a big video will make pages take forever to load on older machines. Is there any way to make the video a thumbnail on the page... and then when they click on it get the video to resize bigger?

Permalink Reply by Bryan Falcon on October 8, 2008 at 12:15pm

Another good question, Jenna.

If you place the embedded video into a small column it keep the video proportions small, but students can click the view in a popup link and it will open a new window where the video is full size.

Will this work for your situation?
-Bryan

Permalink Reply by Jenna on October 8, 2008 at 12:22pm

Perfect! Thank you! Jenna

Permalink Reply by Jenna on November 9, 2008 at 2:29pm

Ok, I have another funky question. I have had students in pairs and triads this semester to support each other through doing an independent project. I want to pair the pairs to create small groups of 3-5, but I would like to bring all of their posts so far with them... so they can refer back to earlier conversations if they want. My question: if I combine two existing groups that have posts in them already... what happens? do the two conversations come along? do they intermix by date? does it just create a new blank group with all participants?

Permalink Reply by Marcos Wright Kuhns on November 10, 2008 at 9:10am

Jenna,

There isn't a way to merge groups because we don't know of an intelligent way to merge discussion posts from two different groups. If we would just intermix by date, for example, the discussion would quickly become hard to follow. So, if you "combine" Group A with Group B by moving each student from Group B to Group A, they could only see past posts from Group A. Does that make sense? Ultimately, I don't suggest you try combining groups by editing your old groups.

What may be a better solutions is starting new discussions with a new group set. So, close the old paired discussions. Create a new group discussions & on the seconds step choose the "Create a new group set" option. As you're creating your new group set put the students from Group A & Group B into one group this time. What you'll end up with is this: students from Group A will be able to see their old discussion posts, same goes for Group B (though they won't be able to see each-other's old posts). But now that you've combined Groups A & B in the new discussion you created they can start discussing the topic together as a larger group.

Permalink Reply by Jenna on November 10, 2008 at 1:17pm

Thank you Marcos! This again gets me generating ideas for ways we could better communicate in groups online. My wish list grows! I am glad to know that I am not missing a feature I could be using though... and this is a workable solution. I am also thinking about the merits of making all discussions 'viewable' by other groups upfront. This would make combining groups later not have the 'can't see the old posts' problem. I feel funny doing that retroactively- not that anyone posted anything particularly privately, but when the original conversation is to be viewed only by your small group and me... well, it doesn't seem fair to later change the rules and say everyone can now see it. Again... most of the time not an issue, but ethically does not seem the right thing to do.

Thanks for the quick response and the ideas!

Permalink Reply by Jenna on November 10, 2008 at 9:41pm

ok... another funky question- I am embedding a google form onto a page, but the size of the embedded form is very narrow, despite the single column that allows for the form to be wider. Is there a way to get the form to match the width of the column? If not, is there a tool better than google to survey for information in this way??

Thanks!
Jenna

Permalink Reply by Marcos Wright Kuhns on November 11, 2008 at 8:26am

Jenna,

Looking at the form you're embedding Google spreadsheets looks like a good fit for your need. By default, Google sets the width of embedded forms to 310 pixels (which is definitely pretty narrow if it's in a column of it's own). To make it wider you'll have to tweak the "embed" code a bit. Try these steps:

1. In haiku, click the Edit button of the block with the Google form in it.
2. In the edit dialog, click the "View Code" link so you can see the original "embed" code.
3. Edit the "embed" code, changing the width="310" part to be something like width="600"
4. Click the "Save" button & see if the width is more to your liking.

You can play around until you get a width you like. Just remember that not all students will have as big of a screen as you do. I'd recommend keeping the width below 700 pixels.

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