This week begins the start of a new semester term for my online courses. Ice breaking activities, as Conrad and Donaldson (2004) would refer to them, are in full swing. Ice breakers in online learning environments are central to the establishment of a positive learning environment in which students “feel accepted, respected, and supported” (Knowles, 1980, p. 47). The set a friendly tone for the course as presence is established and communication is open.
Many online instructors simply ask students to introduce themselves; however, I believe that an ice breaker or introductory activity that is effective in opening communication and establishing presence has 3 elements: (a) focuses on “getting to know” one another, and not content, (b) requires interaction and response throughout the week or module, and (c) is fun and creative.
This week my educational technology course is video blogging. Their instructions are to: “Create a video blog. Take one to two minutes to introduce yourself. Then, make state three statements about yourself – two that are true and one that is not. Visit your peers’ blogs throughout the module. In text form, respond to your peers’ introduction and post your guesses as to which statement each classmate made was false. By end of the module, return to your blog and provide the correct answer.”
The latter activity is what is referred to as Two Truths and a Lie. It is an example of an effective ice breaker and is one of my favorites.
Here are my 2 truths and a lie:
- I have been Skydiving
- I will appear on a TV sitcom this Fall
- I got married at Disney World
Any guesses as to which two are true?