Negotiating Paradise

By Author: Friendhdx
Total Articles: 47
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Excited but nervous about this challenging new work, students went online and began general discussions about their plans for creating a perfect society, coupled with discussions about what was happening in Lord of the Flies. Students were able to discuss their tribal paradise plans in class and online for two weeks. Although there was lively posting from home and during study halls, Jeff Omega Replica and I tried to provide as much in-class Web access as possible, since some students did not have home Internet access or were stymied by slow dial-up connections that are still somewhat common in the rural Nebraska areas where we teach.

On forum-focused days, students generally began the class by logging on and reading the new posts in their tribe, comparing their observations and opinions with their in-class tribe members, then responding or starting new discussion threads. Jeff and I—each in our own classroom—circulated among the groups, carefully read all of the tribes' online discussions, and spent a great deal of time emailing back ...
... and forth to compare notes. Sometimes we gently nudged groups to discuss threads that demanded attention or explained gaps in response time when students complained that the other school hadn't responded. Students often sat side by side at tables so that they could point to items on their screens, but some preferred to sprawl out on the floor or to sit with their screens back to back. Students present information about the Utopian society they created.

Slowly, consensus began emerging within tribes about what forms paradise would take on their islands. Some groups emphasized a "family friendly" environment, while others focused on creating societies devoted to ideals of serenity, luxury, simplicity, or community. It was interesting to watch how online dialogues happened alongside and in response to classroom dialogues. A few groups were initially slow in their cross-school interactions, having to work harder to elicit responses from each other. But some groups seemed to fall into easy conversation interspersed with friendly comments about sports rivalries or local issues. At least one cross-school romance sprung up, which became a subject of great interest, but there were also quite a few friendships formed.

During the last week of the Tribal Paradise discussion and planning, the project entered a frustrating phase that led Jeff and me to rethink how we were using the forums. The various discussion threads were starting to overlap and multiply chaotically, and students seemed overwhelmed with the number of decisions they had to make. We needed a way to move forward with the actual maps and brochures so that the tribes could present them at Tribal Council. Just as Selber had Tag Heuer Carrera Replica Watches urged, we wanted to "[s]caffold instruction that leverages well-known contexts and gradually releases certain responsibilities to technologically competent students" (186). To move toward this rhetorical computer literacy and to help the tribes manage the flow of information, we asked groups to designate a "Threadmeister" for each required topic. The Threadmeister's job was to:
1. Start and maintain a discussion thread devoted to that topic
2. Read and respond to all posts to encourage further discussion
3. Identify patterns of thought that might lead to consensus
4. Identify conflicts and work toward resolving them
5. Write and post a "Threadmeister Report" summarizing what issues had been discussed and what he or she felt that the group had decided regarding the topic.

Excited but nervous about this challenging new work, students went online and began general discussions about their plans for creating a perfect society, coupled with discussions about what was happening in Lord of the Flies. Students were able to discuss their tribal paradise plans in class and online for two weeks. Although there was lively posting from home and during study halls, Jeff Omega Replica and I tried to provide as much in-class Web access as possible, since some students did not have home Internet access or were stymied by slow dial-up connections that are still somewhat common in the rural Nebraska areas where we teach.

On forum-focused days, students generally began the class by logging on and reading the new posts in their tribe, comparing their observations and opinions with their in-class tribe members, then responding or starting new discussion threads. Jeff and I—each in our own classroom—circulated among the groups, carefully read all of the tribes' online discussions, and spent a great deal of time emailing back and forth to compare notes. Sometimes we gently nudged groups to discuss threads that demanded attention or explained gaps in response time when students complained that the other school hadn't responded. Students often sat side by side at tables so that they could point to items on their screens, but some preferred to sprawl out on the floor or to sit with their screens back to back. Students present information about the Utopian society they created.

Slowly, consensus began emerging within tribes about what forms paradise would take on their islands. Some groups emphasized a "family friendly" environment, while others focused on creating societies devoted to ideals of serenity, luxury, simplicity, or community. It was interesting to watch how online dialogues happened alongside and in response to classroom dialogues. A few groups were initially slow in their cross-school interactions, having to work harder to elicit responses from each other. But some groups seemed to fall into easy conversation interspersed with friendly comments about sports rivalries or local issues. At least one cross-school romance sprung up, which became a subject of great interest, but there were also quite a few friendships formed.

During the last week of the Tribal Paradise discussion and planning, the project entered a frustrating phase that led Jeff and me to rethink how we were using the forums. The various discussion threads were starting to overlap and multiply chaotically, and students seemed overwhelmed with the number of decisions they had to make. We needed a way to move forward with the actual maps and brochures so that the tribes could present them at Tribal Council. Just as Selber had Tag Heuer Carrera Replica Watches urged, we wanted to "[s]caffold instruction that leverages well-known contexts and gradually releases certain responsibilities to technologically competent students" (186). To move toward this rhetorical computer literacy and to help the tribes manage the flow of information, we asked groups to designate a "Threadmeister" for each required topic. The Threadmeister's job was to:
1. Start and maintain a discussion thread devoted to that topic
2. Read and respond to all posts to encourage further discussion
3. Identify patterns of thought that might lead to consensus
4. Identify conflicts and work toward resolving them
5. Write and post a "Threadmeister Report" summarizing what issues had been discussed and what he or she felt that the group had decided regarding the topic.