My reflection on MM4 - Online Interviews for Active Online Learning

MM4: Online Interviews for Active Online Learning with Janet Salmons was presented by Dr. Janet Salmons on Saturday, June 07 2014

I could not attend the live class, but watched the recording and heard Dr. Nellie Deutch's comments

Description of the content of the session

Once again, I have not had the chance to attend the live session, so I watched the recording (this time on You tube (link). I do not know whether there were interferences or sound problems during the class, but the recorded session on You Tube has come out with some problems. The beginning of the recording (and onwards) includes chunks where it is difficult to hear what the lecturer says because there is much overlapping with Nellie’s voice. I Take it that this has to do with the possibility that the lecturer’s voie could not be recorded well. Whatever the reason, I  will not deal with this any more, but focus on what I could make up following what I could hear and what I saw.

This session focused on use of online interviews in e-courses, discussing how they can be adapted for teaching and learning. Accordingly, I could learn why as a teacher I may want to use e-interviews, how I might get ready to conduct them, what students may kearn in the process, etc.

Nellie discussed tools that could be used to communicate / connect with people (for example, a video conferencing tool such as Hangout, a learning environment / platform such as Wiziq, or

a virtual reality environment such as Second Life.

Nellie stressed that we teachers have a lot of choices on the level of preparation for the e-interview we make. This means that the interviews themselves may have different levels of structuring, from very carefully prepared ones to a loose interview with very little stucturing and / or preparing in advance..

Another point that came up had to do with the fact that questions may be posted in advanced or asked as the interview evolves.

The interview then may ve viewed as a learning experience.

When discussing the stages related to an online interview, these stages were dealt with:

i. Preparation, Designing and Planning Stage (choice of technology / tools to be used)

ii. Practice Stage (using also the chat so as to  to be an active listener)

iii. Reflecting and analyzing what I as teacher and my students have done in the e-interview.

Nellie also discussed how instructors might  fit online interviews into a course, stressing that they should fit in the course program and not as something to be done just because one feels like doing it. Teachers then have to think of what students might achieve by interviewing each other in class, or other people out in the world, who may be considered “experts: in their subject.

Interviews can help students in an online course to get acquainted so as to build a sense of community, or as a practice stage for some project, or as a way to explore local issues, talking to “experts” who may have practical knowledge on what people are exploring. etc.

Nellie focused on the idea that we may have both a structured and an unstructured interview, having first one type and then the other on the same interview. Having established some rapport, the conversation may the open up.

Nellie also focused

Looking at the kinds of technology we would like to use, a video conference is the closest to a F2F interview, whereas a Text-based interview is fairly different from a F2F interview. Thinking about the technology is important when deciding what you want to do.

My thoughts on the topic

Once again, I am sorry that I could not attend the live session, because am not sure what happened then and what the lecturer herself focused on. In spite of this, the recorded session provided me with ideas related to using e-intervies

What I am going to do as a result of what I have heard.

I have a group of 11th grade students who. haveing been divided into groups of up to three members,  are doing a project on Children’s Rights and Responsibility. Thy will write the project during the summer break. my idea is then to ask students to interview “experts” on the subject. I hope to be able to arrange an e-interview to be carried out in class, or a recorded one to show pupils. I also hope to ask each group to carry out an e-interview and record it, too.

My reflection on the presentation.

I believe that in order to be more comfortable with the use of e-interviews for teaching / learning, I have to learn more about how to plan and dsign them. Technology is not  a problem, but structuring is because I may end up wasting valuable class time if I am not ready.