Social Work Educator Tips: Guidelines for Online Discussion Forums
Karen Zgoda is a social work educator, a Doctoral Student in Public Policy at the University of Massachusetts in Boston, MA, and a founding member of #MacroSW, an online community for macro social workers. In this blog post, she shares her tips for helping social work students learn how to be professional in online learning environments. This post is cross-listed on Karen’s blog at https://karenzgoda.org/.
Did you know that 95% of Americans own a cell phone of some kind, 7 in 10 Americans use social media, and that 89% of U.S. adults currently use the Internet? In fact, many check the most popular social media sites daily:
Despite the ubiquitous nature of technology and social media, we should not assume that social work students know the rules of online etiquette, especially online etiquette in professional settings. Students may not realize they are using casual language, making inappropriate or snarky comments, or revealing much about their personal lives they would not want their supervisors or professors to know. In fact, students are learning to regularly clean up their social media to take better care of their online reputations and their brand. If students are not sure what this means, I show a video clip from the The Ellen DeGeneres Show that highlights very effectively in 10 minutes why this can be problematic:
Further, students learning the importance of clear communication and clear guidance is crucial. As educators, we have a unique position to model professional online and offline communication, behaviors, and boundaries for our students. In terms of guidance, I believe it is helpful to set ground rules so both educators and students are clear about what technology is being used, for what purposes, and how to best use the technology for educational and professional purposes. I use the Netiquette: Ground Rules for Online Discussions developed by Peter Connor at the Institute for Learning and Teaching (TILT) at Colorado State University to introduce ground rules for online discussions. These ground rules help students learn the boundaries of what is okay and not okay, and consequences if guidelines are not followed. Here is the language I use to introduce the guidelines to social work students:
- As part of class we will be engaging in online discussions using Blackboard. Your participation is required and will count as part of your final class grade. The inclusion of this component is intended to expand and enhance your learning experience and professional communication skills through an active, ongoing, and intellectually stimulating conversation.
- Remember that though these conversations are virtual, the participants are not. At the other end of every discussion thread to which you contribute is one or more of your classmates. They deserve and expect the same respect and courtesy from you as you deserve and expect from them.
- Remember also that visual and auditory clues inherently readable in face-to-face discussions, such as facial expressions and voice inflections, all of which deliver the intangibles in a message, are completely unreadable in online discussions. Being purely textual, conveying the proper attitude and intent in this format calls for restraint and mindfulness on the part of each participant. Particular care in the crafting of both your postings and your responses is required.
- To help you, here are the “Netiquette” ground rules for class discussions. Following them will help you maximize the learning experience that comes from using an online environment to discuss different issues as well as to share and examine contradictory thoughts, ideas and opinions with your classmates. The instructor reserves the right to delete messages which do not follow these guidelines.
- Netiquette – Ground Rules for Online Discussions: https://tilt.colostate.edu/teachingResources/tips/tip.cfm?tipid=128
These suggestions are in line with the recently updated NASW Technology Standards for Social Work Practice for social work education (see page 44 of the guidelines). I have found that being upfront by setting expectations with students before we use technology is very helpful, both for me and for students. I always ask if any rules are unclear, need edits, or if there are other rules that should be added. It is also helpful to allow time for student discussion to address concerns and questions they may have.
Do you have your own guidelines for online discussion boards with students? Please add your comments to this blog post.
How to Cite this post:
Zgoda, K. (2018, February 20). Social Work Educator Tips: Guidelines for Online Discussion Forums [Blog Post]. Retrieved from: https://laureliversonhitchcock.org/2018/02/19/social-work-educator-tips-guidelines-for-online-discussion-forums/
