Design for 'techno expression' in online and blended courses
I am not sure if this term 'techno expression' will stick (it sounds odd to me) but I find that the concept that it is defining is really useful - “a technology-based process by which one or more people, either individually or collaboratively, use words and/or media to articulate ideas or thoughts”. In my own words techno expressions are all means of self-expression using technology. My own experience taught me once the importance of self-expression for the students not just through words but through pictures, videos, and even design.
I used wikis as part of the assessment for a course in Varieties of English Language. Students were encouraged to collect different kinds of data for their assignment and create a wiki about their research project. After some research I chose the platform pbworks for the assignment because it had all the functionality that I thought we need. But soon after the students started working on the projects they started coming to me with questions on how can they customize the design, the fonts, and the look of their wiki. Unfortunately, that was quite limited and even not possible on their end. Customization of avatars, web pages themes and design are means of expression and they are as important ways to communicate as words, comments, likes, votes, etc. Lesson learnt.
Another interesting take-away from the second week of reading for the Blendkit2014 course is the suggestion to allocate roles in the online discussions. I consider role allocation very important in group work but I have to say that I have never really thought of extending it to online discussions and interactions in general. I love the idea. I can really see how that would work.
BlendKit2014 Reflections