Topic outline

  • COMPETENCE 1.1: ORGANISATIONAL COMMUNICATION



    • This Section's work
      When mastering this competence by doing the work in the lab, you should be able to say: The tools and resources we will explore are: The experiments we will attempt are:
      I make use of digital technologies for communication e.g. with learners, parents, colleagues, or support staff.
      • A youtube video on good communication skills
      • Links to Moodle manuals on how to use some of the technologies provided by Moodle.
      		Quiz to test communication concepts
      I use different digital communication channels and tools, depending on the communication purpose and context.
      • Announcements; Forums; Moodle's messaging; Chat activity.
      		 Experiments to try out some messaging.
      I communicate responsibly and ethically with digital technologies, e.g. respecting netiquette and acceptable use policies (AUP).
      • Reading assignment on AUP
      		 Quiz
      I select the most appropriate channel, format and style for a given communication purpose and context. Experimental message via the Course announcement; e.g. to advise learners to read additional material on a given topic.
      I adapt my communication strategies to the specific audience. Included in above
      We will explore various tools that allow digital educators to communicate more effectively in a digital environment.
      		Experiment to announce a new course
      In this Lab we will also:
      • Evaluate, reflect on and collaboratively discuss how digital technologies are used effectively for organisational and individual communication.
      • discuss digital technologies to make administrative procedures more transparent for learners and/or parents and to allow them to make informed choices on future learning priorities.
      		 Participants will be asked to reflect on these matters.


    • Forum icon
      What would you like to see and do in this section on competence 1.1 (organizational Communication)? Forum
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      Please share with us: What would you like to learn here?

    • Let's start!


      Degrees are awarded in Organizational Communication.

      We will try and cover some of the basics of the topic here.

      Think about the following as you work through this article, What is communication?

      How do we communicate?

      What should we communicate?

      As competent Organizational Communicators, we should be able to:

      • Use a variety of digital technologies for communication effectively and responsibly.
      • Use digital technologies for communication in a structured and responsive way.
      • Evaluate and discuss communication strategies.
      What digital technologies are available to us to communicate effectively and responsively? Later in this topic we will experiment with three tools available in Moodle. The "Chat" activity; the "announcements" activity and the "Big Blue Button" activity.

      Communicate responsibly

      Read this  article on responsible communication . Note your responsibilities to your audience:

      • Be clear
      • Be punctual
      • Be organized
      • Be prepared

      Communicate ethically

      From the above article, also note your responsibilities as an ethical communicator:

      • Be equal
      • Be respectful
      • Be trustworthy
      • Follow the golden rule by treating others the way you want to be treated.

      Netiquette

      Please read this  article on Netiquette .

      You'll note the dos and don'ts of online communication.

      • There is a human at the other end
      • The same standards as in real life apply
      • Know where you are
      • Respect other's time and bandwidth
      • Make yourself look good online
      • Share expertise
      • Put fires out
      • Respect privacy
      • Don't abuse the limited power that you have
      • Be forgiving

      Acceptable use policy (AUP)

      Acceptable use policies are required to guide the usage of digital communication devices and networks in an education setting.

      Go to this site  to learn about the six elements of an Acceptable Use Policy (AUP). The key to an AUP is to be clear on what is acceptable use, what is unacceptable use, and what are the consequences that can be expected when the policy is violated.


    • Forum icon
      Please share your views Forum
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      Please share your views on what is important for effective organisational communication in your context.

    • Quiz icon
      Organizational Communication Quiz
      Receive a grade Receive a passing grade

      Ten questions that are covered in the content to this point... (you need six correct to pass, you can have as many attempts as you want. You will get feedback on each question after you have answered all 10 and submitted it).


    • Basic LMS Communication tools

      Learning Management Systems (LMS), usually offer a rich set of communication tools. Moodle is no exception and in this topic, we will explore the following tools:

      • Moodle's message facility
      • The Chat activity
      • Various types of Forums including the Announcement's forum

      The Moodle Messaging system

      Please read the Moodle manual on this page, bearing in mind that our user interface is a little bit different from the one used here. (We are using a Moodle 3.9 installation which is similar to the 3.7 installation referred to here.) The Moodle messaging system is very sophisticated; on our site it has been set up so that e-mails are also sent out when messages are done in Moodle. Please look at the message facility and try and set some of the user preferences so that the system works for you. As a teacher, you will be able to send messages to groups of learners that are enrolled in your courses. (By now you should have a course and at least some dummy participants - or real ones.)

      Getting a practice course

      Reaching out to others to  invite other people to become participants in your practice course

      Enrolling others on your practice course. (They should be able to self-enroll. Refer back to the orientation course to see how you should set up your participation course to enable self-enrollment.) 

      Message preferences

      Adding another Moodle user to your contacts. Please search for "Admin" and add me as a contact.

      Searching for contacts. 


    • Chat icon
      Into the chat room!
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      The chat activity module enables participants to have text-based, real-time synchronous discussions.

      The chat may be a one-time activity or it may be repeated at the same time each day or each week. Chat sessions are saved and can be made available for everyone to view or restricted to users with the capability to view chat session logs.

      Chats are especially useful when the group chatting is not able to meet face-to-face, such as

      • Regular meetings of students participating in online courses to enable them to share experiences with others in the same course but in a different location
      • A student temporarily unable to attend in person chatting with their teacher to catch up with work
      • Students out on work experience getting together to discuss their experiences with each other and their teacher
      • Younger children using the chat at home in the evenings as a controlled (monitored) introduction to the world of social networking
      • A question and answer session with an invited speaker in a different location
      • Sessions to help students prepare for tests where the teacher, or other students, would pose sample questions.

      (Bear in mind that our interface to Moodle looks different from the one used in the video below. For example, if you want to edit your course, you can "Turn Edit On" by clicking here....)

      Turn Edit On

       

       

    • The Moodle Forum Activity

      Moodle Forums are a focused way of communication with students. Read all about the Forum activity here. The videos are helpful as well. 

      Below are examples of all the forum types available on Moodle. Go into each and try them all out. (Please bear in mind acceptable use and netiquette.)

    • Forum icon
      A single simple discussion forum

      Explore this single simple discussion forum that everybody can reply to. This is the type of forum most often used in this course.

    • Forum icon
      Each person posts one discusssion Forum

      In this type of forum, each participant posts only one discussion and everybody can respond to it.

    • Forum icon
      Question and Answer Forum

      In this type of forum (the Question and Answer Forum), the participant must first give his or her view on the question posed by the teacher, before allowed to see the views of others. 

    • Forum icon
      Standard forum for general use

      The Standard forum for general use is the default type of forum. Participants will see an introduction text in a separate space above the list of discussions. Participants see a button to start a new discussion (thread).


    • Forum icon
      Blog-Like forum

      The Standard forum displayed in a blog-like format works like the standard forum for general use, but the first post of each discussion is displayed (as in a blog) so that users can read it and then choose to respond by clicking the "Discuss this topic" button bottom right of the post.

      See the Moodle documents on this activity here as well...

    • Now for this section's experiment. Please follow the link below to see the assignment...

    • Forum icon
      Assignment 1.1 Organisational Communication Forum
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    • Conclusion

      This concludes this section on Organisational Communication. We covered the following:

      • The basics of communication
      • The content of Acceptable Use Policies (Don't worry the one for this site is being developed.)
      • Netiquette
      • The Message facility available in Moodle
      • The Chat Activity in Moodle
      • The Announcement Activity in Moodle

      In the process, we also learned how to export and download evidence of our actions in Moodle for our portfolios.


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