My cheese was moved! Believe it or not, I allowed something in my current class that I had never allowed in my 6 years of teaching. No, nothing as daring as student photos... I added a STUDENT TOPICS discussion thread. The thread isn't a CHAT ROOM - found in the online formats of some universities. Instead, it's a professional forum for students to post their own topics of interest -- to initiate discussions on matters tangential to the course and step beyond the prescribed boundaries of the instructor-posted threads. It's empowerment - that's what it is! The thread is present the duration of the course. It's maintained by students. I credit posts and responses to the thread towards course participation. So far, the new discussions have remained aligned with the course - and there isn't a siphoning effect from the traditional threads. There's been no need to govern the thread - to jump in and say, "Hey, no more NCAA tournament Pick 'Em threads!" However, as I finished 398/500 in my tourny pool, perhaps I should have sought the advice of others - or outsourced my picks altogether...hey...isn't my Fantasy Football Draft coming up? Here' an idea for a new thread..."Who would you draft in the first round?"
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