Going Blended with a Triple-Entry Activity: Students’ Online Discussions of Assigned Readings using Marginalia

• Main Authors: Lannie Kanevsky, Cindy Xin, Ilana Ram
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: University of Windsor 2016-06-01
• Series: Collected Essays on Learning and Teaching
• Subjects: online discussions; annotation tool; Marginalia; online interaction; blended; triple-entry
• Online Access: https://celt.uwindsor.ca/index.php/CELT/article/view/4436

In this paper, we describe and investigate small group discussions of assigned readings in an online version of a “triple-entry activity” in a blended course used an annotation tool, Marginalia. We wondered if students would interact in this structured, critical, reflective reading activity as effectively online as they had when the activity was undertaken on paper in face-to-face classes. We investigated what happened, why, and if successful, and how these findings might inform the use of annotated discussions in the future. We found 30% of comments acknowledged the value of ideas expressed in a group member’s response to a reading, 30% extended those ideas, 11% connected the reading to personal experience, 9% were questions, and 6% answers. Approximately 60% of the interactions were between one group member and the author of the response; 40% involved comments that were connected to each other as well as the author’s response to the reading. Students felt using Marginalia to comment on classmates’ responses and having classmates comment on their responses facilitated their learning from assigned readings. The instructor agreed and felt the online discussions also contributed to the development of a community of learners between face-to-face classes. In addition, reading students’ responses and discussions before each class informed the instructor’s preparation for in-class activities.