December 2005

Using EPost to Fuel Student Writing and Discussions

North Kitsap PAL, George Ramsey, Teacher/Advisor

This year, George Ramsey is getting a lot more writing and discussion out of his high school students. He's creating discussion boards using EPost*, a Catalyst Tool offered through the DLC. Ramsey is a teacher/advisor at North Kitsap PAL (Parent Assisted Learning), an alternative program that supports independent study.

Whether you work with independent students or teach in the classroom setting, you'll find some practical ideas in this profile for using EPost Discussion Board to support student learning.

Asynchronous discussions give students time to think

With EPost, you can create a discussion board by posting an assignment. "I've created a couple of different discussion boards for different classes. I post study guides, which include assignments, and then students post their assignments and comment on each other's work," Ramsey explains.

Ramsey gives students articles to read, which fuel their essays and discussions on EPost. Since the discussions take place asynchronously, students have time to think before they post their responses. This type of platform often works well for students who don’t feel comfortable speaking up in class.

A recent discussion was on globalization. One of the students posted an essay titled "Globalization and Cultural Diversity," in which she argues that globalization is a good thing because providing the opportunity to modernize helps, rather than hurts, people around the world.

"One response to this essay was 'Theoretically we should be helping people, but instead we're marketing a lot of products, like deodorant, to people who can't afford them and we don't even provide clean water and access to health care'," Ramsey says. "I've been impressed by the complexity of their understanding of how globalization has positive and negative impacts around the world."

Examining ideas and justifying points of view

Ramsey also uses EPost for discussions of literature. Students access stories online. Ramsey links to literature in the English Server Fiction Collection, American Literature's 20 Great American Short Stories, and other online resources.

"The Most Dangerous Game" by Richard Connell was one of Ramsey’s recent literature assignments. Students are required to read the story, post an essay on a specific topic, and then respond to each other.

"I would never get this amount of writing out of them during the week. It motivates students to read other people's responses and respond to them," Ramsey reports. "EPost is alive, it's not just an assignment they're turning in every week. They realize that other people have different opinions, and it motivates students to examine their own ideas and justify their points of view. It has all kinds of benefits."

Ramsey likes tools such as EPost because they allow him and his colleagues to address a spectrum of learning needs: "Every kid is different, so it helps to differentiate instruction."

* EPost has transformed into GoPost.

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