Theory
Practice
Course websites can expand your classroom. The faculty at the University of Oklahoma have assembled this tutorial, a series of readings and exercises that explore what a Domain site can do.
Many instructors look to Dr. Michael Wesch’s idea of shifting from information literacy to digital citizenship:
“One of Wesch’s key messages is that when we help students become information media literate, we give them tools that can help them shape their lives and their world in a meaningful way.”
Syllabus integration and assessment are a major discussion for Domains. One student asks, “Do I own my domain if you grade it?”
“The domains project isn’t revolutionary to the traditional classroom, but it is revolutionary to a classroom reimagined around public scholarship, student agency and experimentation.”
How important is it to have a domain? One UWM student discusses the value of student domain ownership:
“The importance of giving students responsibility for their own domain cannot be overstated. This can be a way to track growth and demonstrate new learning over the course of a student’s school career — something that they themselves can reflect upon, not simply grades and assignments that are locked away in a proprietary system controlled by the school.”
Making coursework public allows outside feedback and interaction with a larger learning community. Researcher Danah Boyd suggests what your students should know and do.
“But above all else, seriously, create a public Internet identity, maintain it, link to it, build it, love it, hug it, and call it George. I can’t tell you how important this is.”
Create a learning community for your students with these websites. In the video below, Young Adult author John Green discusses the value of learning communities, and how they are being recreated in online spaces.
More readings and resources are available at the CNDLS Teaching Commons.
