Communication tool
Here’s the site I created: http://lmnorberg.vanillaforums.com/
Description:
Vanilla Forums is a web 2.0 tool that allows you to set up and manage forums for discussing any number of topics. This is an open-source software that allows you to create your own discussion forum for any reason you choose. This software can be used for businesses (large or small), personal websites, or educational purposes. The main purpose of using a discussion forum such as Vanilla Forums is to allow a number of people to communicate with each other about specific topics. If used for business, it allows customers to post and respond to issues they may be having and potential solutions based on experience. The possibilities for educational uses are endless. This would be ideal for group discussions when working on projects or even for student teacher interaction about assignments and parent teacher interactions about school activities or student projects.
The home page for this site is very user friendly and easy to navigate. I set up a forum in less than 5 minutes with relative ease. Upon creation of the forum, I received an email with the link to the forum. I tested the link from a couple different computers to make sure it worked, and it did without consequence. I posted a couple different topics and commented on them. One thing I did notice was when I was logged out and tried to comment as a guest, I was prompted to register for a vanilla forum account. This would have to be something to mention to potential participants. Also, it looks like if you want people to discuss topics, they would have to come to your forum site to do so, it’s not able to be embedded into your personal site. I know as a student, I would be less likely to want to visit another site in addition to the course website (on webct, blackboard, moodle). You could always include a link to the Vanilla Forum site on your course site, but having to visit another site could hinder participation.
Likes: Easy to use, set up, navigate, manage, free.
Dislikes: Additional website, few options for customization.
Skills Needed:
Basic internet navigation skills are needed to use this tool. I was really easy to use and didn’t require advanced knowledge or skills.
Resources Needed:
None
Using Vanilla Forums:
Setting up:
1. Go to www.vanillaforums.com
2. Click on plans and pricing
3. Sign up for account (I chose the free account)
4. Enter your information and choose your site’s name, now your site has been created
5. The dashboard is where you can adjust your plan, view your site, create, edit categories, and customize your site.
6. I first customized my site under appearances on the left-hand side of the site in the dashboard. You can choose from 4 different themes or create your own with html coding (optional).
7. You can also assign roles to different people (such as moderator, administrator, member, guest, banned).
8. To prevent spam on your forum, you can adjust how frequently a member or guest can post or the maximum length of the posts.
Using:
1. Sign in or apply for membership
2. Available discussions are on the homepage
3. By clicking on the discussion title, you can read the post and comment on it.
Educational Uses:
This tool would work well for initiating discussion among students in a class. This would be a great place to post a number of topics for students to respond to or for them to create topics that they want answers to such as homework assignments, projects, or questions about topics discussed in class.
I would use this tool in a teaching environment as a way of communicating thoughts about topics discussed in class. I’m not currently a classroom teacher, but I have taught before and know that during class topics come up that don’t get to be discussed in full detail. Due to the amount of content that has to be covered, when students bring up ideas or have questions that could spur another lecture all together, these topics don’t get to be addressed properly. Many of these ideas are thought provoking and are related to real-life situations that could help students apply the knowledge to their lives. In the past, I’ve tried to keep track of these questions and then address then when time permitted, usually during another class period, after the moment had passed for the student.
Had the topics been recorded and posted online within hours of class, I could provide answers, feedback, or suggest resources or websites to visit. Students could also follow up with their own thoughts which could provide direction for the next lecture or further class discussion. I think by allowing students to voice their thoughts or opinions on topics helps them learn and makes the topics more “real” to them. Also knowing what interests student can give the teacher an idea of what to include in a lecture. If you find out that in your biology class that a number of students are interested in marine biology, you can bring up examples that tie into the topic being studied with marine biology.
The forum could also be helpful for students who don’t like to speak up in class. This way their voices can still be heard but at their comfort, without risk of being embarrassed in class. Questions could be asked in class, then posted on the forum for student discussion. Also before beginning a new unit in class, I could ask questions to get an idea of the level of preexisting knowledge. If students indicate they know about certain concepts, then it would be redundant to cover them again. Introducing students to the next unit could also spark an interest in the topic and get them excited about what is coming up along with giving them an opportunity to think of questions they have about the topic. All of these discussions could be posted on the forum and discussed by other students and me as the teacher.
I feel by having a forum for students to discuss in their own time, they could gain a deeper knowledge of topics that may not be able to be discussed in class due to time restraints or other issues. A forum would also allow teachers to learn more about their students and their interests.
Advantages:
The advantages of using Vanilla Forums in a teaching environment would be the ability to support classroom topics with further discussion online that could improve comprehension and spark an interest in the topic for students. Teachers could also assess what students know and where to go with their lectures.
Disadvantages:
The greatest disadvantage of using any forum is students must have access to the internet outside of school, as most of the discussion would be conducted after classroom time. Another disadvantage is the forum only works if students are willing to participate. If students don’t participate, then the forum is dead.
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