Teaching News Terrifically in the 21st Century 2013 | Page 13

Volume 2, 2013

Page 13

Honorable mention, full-time faculty division (tie)

Talking all at once: 
Managing simultaneous
face-to-face, online discussions
By Jennifer Brannock Cox
Salisbury University
Types of courses the idea could be used in:
newswriting, reporting
Target level: freshmen, sophomores, juniors, seniors,
graduate students in a professional program
What is the goal of the assignment or exercise?
Discussion in the classroom has been a favorite
tool for learning among educators and students, while
technologies, such as laptops and mobile devices, have
become more of a distraction. By combining the two,
educators can improve learning outcomes, allowing students to share information and converse in ways that are
familiar for them without interrupting the richness of the
discussion. Students use different technologies to participate in and later reflect on discussions about journalism
and media. Students use critical thinking to contribute
thoughtful comments, both written and spoken, and
deeper analysis to process the information learned on
multiple levels and platforms.
How does the assignment or exercise work?
For class discussions, I separated 20 students into
inner and outer circles. The inner circle participated in a
face-to-face discussion, contributing a minimum of five
meaningful comments that demonstrated their understanding of the assigned readings and ability to think
critically about each topic. The instructor moderated the
conversation, asking broad questions and guiding the
discussion.
The outer circle was not permitted to speak at all,
participating instead on Twitter using a shared hashtag.
These students followed the inner circle conversation,
tweeting 5-10 times using their phones or laptops. Their
tweets included direct quotes from the conversation and
their own critical analysis and reac ѥ