Ledges in Web 2.0 Learning
One of the assigned readings this week by Dr. Vanessa Dennen was a paper on using instructional design principles for social media lessons. One interesting topic was on the use of a "ledge" to provide a foundation students could launch their learning from.
It is true no writer likes staring at a blank page, and students equally can be confused and concerned if they feel they don't have a good idea of the direction and scope the professor is expecting for specific classwork. While I enjoy infusing as much creativity and individualism in my work, I, like many students, want to know I understand the parameters by which my work will be judged.
A great example was given that involved using a new social media tool for a class discussion. Providing no ledge is giving a link to the discussion page, and then have students decide all discussion topics/questions. Providing a general ledge would include having a welcoming post, and advising students they should create discussion topics they want. Lastly, a highly designed ledge would have several discussion topics already posted by the instructor which students can reply to, or create their own.
My impression is the "no ledge" creates unnecessary anxiety of what type of topic is preferred, and delays conversation because no one wants to go first. Conversely, the "highly designed ledge" is too much hand-holding, especially for a graduate class, and unless there is a specific learning goal tied to those topics, it diminishes the ownership students can take, both creatively and conceptually, in their work and the direction of their learning.
The happy medium is the "general ledge" which basically just erases the subconscious fear of the blank page, and all it represents, and instead replaces it with a simple greeting to the site, and the announcement that the students control the topics they want to post and discuss. As such, it releases fear of uncertainty and opens the gates for students to post about topics they care about.
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