BLOG PROMOTING SOCIAL PRESENCE BETWEEN STUDENTS AND THEIR FACULTY
Rationale/Background: When analyzing the Integrative Practicum (IP) course for opportunities to enlarge the student/faculty, student/student interactions, as well as to increase the student investment in actively participating in substantive online discussions, use of a weekly blog was identified. The blog was a strategy to allow for a confidential and collegial exchange between student and faculty that could lead to more current clinical experiences being brought forward into discussions. There were two main concerns about how students and faculty interacted in the online course that led to creation of the blog activity. First, faculty and students felt that there were some missed learning opportunities in the more public asynchronous forums where the postings were generally required to be formally written. Secondly, the open platform of the forum discussion presented an obstacle to some students’ sharing and reflecting on some of their more personal and sensitive practice experiences. Lack of sharing can represent missed opportunities for learning. Further, students may feel isolated after having a significant experience without a confidential venue to process and discuss the situation. These types of events often need coaching from faculty for the student to appreciate the learning that has taken place.
Approach: Our blog was created to provide students a place to discuss clinical events with their faculty member. The format was narrative and did not require formal writing conventions generally required in papers or group discussions. Setting up the blog in the more informal way allowed students the freedom to focus on their thoughts and observations, rather than syntax and evidence. Opportunities were built into the course where students were asked to bring forward items of their choice from their blog to the forum discussion at least twice per term. These posts spurred dialogue among forum members relating to clinical events specific to each student.
Outcomes Achieved: Students and faculty had increased one-to-one virtual interaction during the course. Both the student and faculty had a better understanding of the learning taking place in clinical. There was the additional benefit related to students bringing forward more personal clinical experiences for their peers to learn from.
Conclusion: A blog used as a communication device between faculty and each student can lead to a discussion that is rich in student-directed learning and interactive dialogue based on clinical interests of students and course materials. The safety in processing the learning with the faculty alone then allowed the student to bring forward items they wanted to share with academic peers. This increased the inclusion of poignant first-hand learned experiences in the online forum discussions.