I always want to be mindful of the situational factors when thinking about any Online Teaching, and planning to build online community is no exception. I am creating online tools for adult learners in a school setting with a variety of backgrounds. They are typically lower in digital literacy in terms of navigation skills and technological competence ( We all have access to technology in our school, mainly used for checking emails and accessing paycheques and other employment information.
I would start out by using an icebreaker question that gives me an idea of their values, what skills they want to develop, and that captures what our lunchroom discussions look like when we do meet face-to face. We love to share stories and talk about our experiences together, so asking these questions would be a great place to start. For example, I might ask “what would a perfect day of school look like to you?”.
Next, I might ask them to share what they would want a new staff member to know about our school and how we manage conflict, how we work as a team, how we share ideas and information. I love the idea of using something like QuizBreaker to gamify the experience, but I think the lack of tech skills might be a detriment here. Some of the support staff only have a landline telephone at home, and shy away from technology until using it becomes necessary for their jobs (like last March, when we were shuttled online with little preparation time).
Were I to be working with my typical cohort of students and building online community, I would take a very different approach. I would do more synchronous activities, in particular, meeting face to face (depending on comfort level of the students). As Parker & Herrington suggest, cultivating a sense of belonging is part of building online community. This connects well with one of my values as an educator, and pairs well with my understanding of the Circle of Courage. I echo the belief that “the philosophy embodied in this Circle of Courage is not only a cultural belonging of Native peoples but for all the world’s children” (Brendtro, Brokenleg & Van Bockern, 2019, p.15). They acknowledge the importance of building relational supports for children outside of the nuclear family. As an educator, I take my responsibility as a caring adult seriously as I build relationships with students and other youth in my community. Taking this value into consideration, building community is always a focus in my practice, whether in online or face-to-face interactions.
With the grade 4-6 students that I typically work with, they benefit from my years of experience as a Day Camp Leader and Inclusion Facilitator, which provided me with an amazing amount of games, particularly of the icebreaker type. I might use some of those games in a Google Meet, for example, and adapt them for an online discussion. One of the games involves tossing a ball (not an actual ball) to each other, and taking turns answering a question. When they pass the ball, they decide which kind of ball it is, and throw it accordingly. The person receiving the ball needs to decide how they would catch that ball. For example, I would give and receive a golf ball differently than I would catch an exercise ball. This gets the students moving, playing a game, while also interacting face-to-face, as the game doesn’t work as well with cameras off. Additionally, I would build in some type of game play, like Kahoot or QuizBreaker, as they love to game, but I would need to be mindful of the feedback these games give, as the students in my class are struggling with internalizing mental health disorders, and I wouldn’t want to cause harm to them through activities like this, at least at first. Building that supportive community would come first, and it might look a little different based on the students in the cohort.
References
Brendtro, L. K., Brokenleg, M., & Van Bockern, S. (2019). Reclaiming youth at risk: Futures of promise.
Digital literacy Fundamentals. (2019, February 20). Retrieved March 10, 2021, from https://mediasmarts.ca/digital-media-literacy/general-information/digital-media-literacy-fundamentals/digital-literacy-fundamentals
Parker, J., & Herrington, J. (2015). Setting the climate in an authentic online community of learning. Australia Association for Research in Education Conference, 1-12. Retrieved from “https://www.aare.edu.au/data/2015_Conference/Full_papers/140_Jenni_Parker.pdf”
Hi Tammy,
I loved the activity with the ball. I used to do a similar game when I taught improv to junior high students! I think it could work very well in an asynchronous online learning environment, where a child would say the same of the person, and the type of ball. I imagine it would be very engaging for the students.
The fact you recognize the importance of being and being seen as a caring adult for the youth in your community is so important. Nothing can be achieved without the strong relationships formed, and when the word gets out you care to other students or youth, they will be more likely to come to you. In the great experiment that has occurred this year with online learning in elementary, relationships still come out as a major factor in determining student success.
Thanks for sharing.
That’s exactly where I got the idea for the ball game! During Day Camps we used an actual ball. I think it is so important to use our experiences in other capacities to build our strengths as educators. If the skills don’t translate to other things, then are they worth holding onto at all? My skill for reciting the alphabet backwards is used as an icebreaker or as a way to grab attention from a rambunctious group.
It always comes back to relationships! As I have been reading everyone’s posts I am really struck by how everyone has indicated how important it is to create a sense of safety and comfort – making sure there is a space for everyone to share their voices and creating an invitation for engagement with the wider community. And I know it can often be really hard work – so it has been great to see so many different approaches and ideas. Thanks!