Conversation

What is it?

Conversation is a technique, that allows students to construct their own learning and is especially appropriate for cultural and social learning. Discussion can take place across time zones and without geographical or other physical barriers. It can enhance deeper understanding and empathy with others and is also able to provide immediate feedback or clarification of topics and issues. Group conversation is also an effective way to get different perspectives on, or compare different experiences around, a topic.

Conversation in a social software environment means structured or informal discussion, either verbal or text based. By this means a dialogue can evolve in real time (using synchronous communication tools) or over a period of time (using asynchronous tools) without participants needing to be present at the same time. Popular real time, conversation tools include text chat or talk, for example within a virtual conferencing space. Conversation over a period of time, with comments and replies built up asynchronously, can be achieved using tools such as discussion forums in wikis and blogs. Podcasting can also be used as a way to capture verbal conversation and share conversations with others.

Pros and cons

Allows for personal, deep connection with learning, a technique that often leads to better retention of information.
Generates multiple perspectives demonstrating how people may react differently to the same thing.
Can lead to more collaborative work practices and may help to develop support networks that can last well beyond the immediate learning experience.
When used in creative fields especially, conversation frequently leads to a more stimulating connection with the learning process and can lead to greater creativity.
Can deviate from the desired learning outcomes if conversation is unguided. Teachers can overcome this by providing suggested topics or a structure for discussion, integrating online conversation at regular intervals, and following up the conversation with activities designed to cement the learning.
It can be easier for less confident students to express their opinion online rather than face-to-face as it can give them more time to consider how and what contribution they would like to make.
For conversation to act as an effective learning tool, you need to ensure that the contribution to group discussions is relatively evenly distributed across the group of participants. In practice it can be difficult to ensure that discussions are not dominated by more keen, or more opinionated, members of the group or that shy or less motivated students avoid active involvement.

Fit for purpose?

Students could have individual blogs where they post their own work for constructive comment by other students, leading to in-depth discussions. Alternatively, a central blog can be used for gathering examples of concepts of everyday use. Once posted to the blog the students can discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the example.

Talking online requires appropriate hardware, software and high-speed internet access. Sending and receiving audio and visual information across the internet simultaneously requires a high bandwidth causing (at times) the quality of the received information to be compromised.

A good technique for logging the progression of learning – especially for major works – is for students to outline their plans for the work and discuss them with others. They can record and post their own progress as well as raise issues they have encountered. The conversations and/or log can form part of the final assessment of their work.

Online conversation is appropriate for engendering cultural or social learning. For example, students working in the same industries in different countries can compare practices, processes and or current issues.

Find out more

For more ideas of how this strategy can work in practice, go to the following case studies:

Blogs – Connecting with blogs, Rosa Ochoa
Blogs – Gathering evidence and conversation with moblogs, Gary Lienert
Podcasting – Oral history with podcasts, Phil Wood
Virtual conferencing –Increasing student engagement with virtual conferencing, Vanessa Marsh.