How the Visual Rhetoric of Online Discussions Enables and Constrains Students’ Participation

Abstract

Attention to visual rhetoric can help teachers evaluate online discussion forums and use them in ways that promote better dialogue among students.

Maintaining rich dialogic interactions in the transition to synchronous online learning

“…Though rooted in face-to-face classroom studies, analyses of communication patterns have also appeared in the research on online discussions (Sherry, 2017). Similar to in-class discussions, the quality of students' online learning is highly dependent on the types of questions teachers ask (Zhu, 2006).…”

“…Most previous studies focus on online learning that foregrounds a written modality (Groenke, 2008;Kim and Bateman, 2010;Sherry, 2017). Further research is needed to study features of real-time interactions online that promote the focus pattern.…”

“…Similar to in-class discussions, the quality of students' online learning is highly dependent on the types of questions teachers ask (Zhu, 2006). When asked open-ended questions, students tend to express higher-order thinking, whereas with closed-ended questions, they are likely to show lowerorder thinking (Sherry, 2017). Studies of discussions in online forums also present the potential strengths and limitations of discourse in online learning environments as opposed to in-person settings.…”

“…Interaction patterns in face-to-face and online discussions The importance of dialogic interactions (Bakhtin, 1984) in classrooms has been reported across disciplines (Sherry, 2017;Wertsch and Toma, 1995). While monologic discourse is described as the transmission of information from a teacher to students, dialogic discourse serves as a thinking opportunity for students to generate new meanings for themselves through communication (Wood, 1998).…”

Formation of Information and Communication Competence of Future Teachers

“…• To know the possibilities computer for training and development • To master the methods of using a computer in organizing training of disciplines • To use computer for organizing evaluation and self-control of pupils mastering the studied material • To be able to combine computer and traditional learning technologies; • To use new information technologies in order to organize pupil' creative activities in the classroom [28,31,34].…”