Creating Community in the Classroom: Effective Strategies and Digital Tools

Social work programs across the country are offering a variety of online and digital learning opportunities and utilizing online tools to deliver course content. While these tools enhance in and out of classroom instruction and learning and remove barriers to access due to proximity and scheduling, many online course components are not utilized effectively to promote student collaboration. Also, lack of face to face time with teachers can leave online student learners feeling disconnected from the university community. Presenters will 1) outline the principles of Bloom's taxonomy (Huitt, 2001) and the Community of Inquiry Model (Shea & Bidjerano, 2011) to establish the building blocks for maximizing use of teacher presence for learning. 2) Through use of examples and active participation panel members will present a variety of techniques for creating meaningful spaces for group participation and personalized experiences for learners online and in the classroom. 3) Common pitfalls and problems associated with use of enhanced digital materials and forums will be discussed. 4) Panel members will demonstrate use and effective implementation of an array of digital tools such as blogs, Voicethread, Zoom, etc., and guided classroom discussion scripts to enhance participant teaching techniques. 4) Review and presentation of online resources with teaching materials, videos, etc. for enhancing course curriculum and classroom discussion. Throughout the workshop, panelists will answer participant questions, utilize polling and other tools to explore participant opinions and knowledge of content and at conclusion of presentation will lead group discussion.