Quad Blogging

[GraphDesProject]

I’m not sure if this is perhaps the right forum for this but I think people will be interested anyway:- I read a report on Quad Blogging in a MOOC which was really interesting and useful for peer support.

 

Link: http://elearningeuropa.info/en/article/Quad-blogging:-Promoting-Peer-to–Peer-Learning-in-a-MOOC

 

The idea was to form the learners into groups of four to move through the MOOC with a smaller, supportive group. Each week one learner blogged and the other three started discussions in the blog to help construction of knowledge. Each week the roles swapped round. The report seems to think it worked really well with learners engaging in their blogs more than without Quad Blogging.

 

Has anyone done anything like this? Would it work with quad groups in a smaller course or with f2f groups?

 

I was in a previous MOOC where we were asked to voluntarily form groups to design a course together, but these never really got off the ground, for me anyway. I would have liked a small group for discussions though.

 

Sancha (@GraphDesProject)

 

[James Kerr]

In another MOOC I participated in, the first week’s “assignment” was a solo task.  The second week’s assignment was a small group project, where the groups were assembled algorithmically.  This did not seem to work very well, as the pool of potential participants in a MOOC represents a spectrum of activity levels.  It really was the luck of the draw, to see if one was partnered with some active participants.  The following week, we were to form into small groups based on interests and project ideas.  Self-identifying groups came together much more easily, as the active MOOCers were already engaged and looking for groups to form.

[Roger Harrison]

Hi James, this is very useful and thanks for posting – an idea I’d had for my course.  As for the self identifying groups etc – was there any evidence/experience that forcing people into fixed groups might encourage people who otherwise would not have posted/taken part? Also, where any time scales fixed to when people had to have the initial post up? On my international course unit, some students have problems of access to the internet etc at times.

I suppose I could try it and see what happens anyway.

 

thanks

Roger

 

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