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Despite the basic learning curve into knowing how to post into these groups using Moodle, it was a good experience overall.

I don't know if it really added anything to the discussion, butif this type of interaction was expected at the beginning of the semester or if we were required to produce something or fulfill some roles instead of a basic discussion, we could have really gotten into some more in-depth conversations. As it stands, the small groups allowed a more concentrated focus on a few topics while still giving enough of a spectrum to make it interesting.

Also, I like this discussion layout here in Padlet. It's something different in contrast to scrolling and typing.

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A few of the students were confused with the forum numbering system, and didn't submit their initial posts until much later, so who I could choose to comment on became even smaller. The two I selected I think were the only two possible.

There's really two ways to look at this small group forum: on the one hand, the less students' posts to read through or guess who to comment on, the less overwhelming for me. On the other hand, if something unexpected happens, like what I encountered with this small group forum, then that problem becomes more pronounced. I also didn't feel any closer bonding with those in the small group, than with the class as a whole.

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The small group discussion was a nice way to change things up and another opportunity to interact with each other. I always appreciate opportunities to get know my classmates a little better. The small group discussion allowed me to focus on just a few ideas instead of a wide range like with our large group discussions. The smaller group forced me to consider each post a little deeper to understand what exactly my group member wanted me to know.

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I enjoyed having a small group because it centralized the conversation but it also limited it. i also enjoyed the chance to get to work with people that I don't typically converse with on the discussion boards and it was easier to work with, but once we all had a response in, the conversation stopped.

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Small group discussion last week was interesting, because it was something different from what we've done all along in the program.

Pros= I think the format for the discussions was a lot more manageable and a lot less overwhelming. I actually had time to sit and read everyone's thoughts without feeling bad about skipping people's posts like I do during regular discussions because there's just too much to read.

I also liked that I was able to reply to everyone. I know that during regular discussion weeks, there are some posts that draw more attention than others for one reason or another and some people's posts get no replies at all. This way everyone's thoughts and ideas were at least "used".

Cons= I don't necessarily think there were any cons to doing the discussions this way, just maybe some things that we lost. For example, we usually get a nice array of points of view, as we have people in our cohort who work in education, and business, and sales, etc. This format of discussions narrows the point of view.

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I think that the timing of last weeks small group discussion was somewhat disadvantageous for many in the cohort. It was in between a trifecta of two separate assignments and a heavier load of reading which made for a more "fast food" discussion experience. On the other hand, I did think about using small groups in situations where the goals are more task orientated rather than a conference of ideas or meeting of the minds.

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Changing the dynamics for the discussion board was interesting. Just like writing on this padlet - it is fun to explore different avenues for communication. Having a limited group for a discussion made it easier to manage and follow. But, it also made the conversations go in a circle!

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The small group discussion forum was in fact a nice change up last week. It gave us the chance to see how different structures of discussion have both pros and cons.

Pros
1. We were able to focus on less posts, giving us the time to read them more thoroughly.

2. I could reply to each person in my group as it did not feel overwhelming to read through a large number of posts.

Cons
1. I usually enjoy looking through multiple posts, although I may not comment on all of them. Larger discussions allows you to engage with more points of views, more stories, more examples, etc.

2. Waiting for others to post so that I could reply

3. I feel like I could have missed out on an awesome post that I could really relate to.

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I like working in groups, too. So scaling a whole class down to a group of a few people helps to make conversations more meaningful. It also makes for a more thorough coverage of feedback. I missed out on my group, though, coming in late. One thing I would have liked to do since it was a smaller group was have more of a debate style topic so that we could struggle or agree or make suggestions for each other.

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Last night I told my small group, from 535,” I hate working in small groups, but I really like working with you guys!” I think because I have been an online student for so much of my college career, I have grown very used to doing my work independently. I know my rhythms and how to best go about getting things done –to be honest, I like the sense of control. That said, I have really enjoyed working in the small groups with this cohort. I have been fortunate to work with students who really want to help each other and who seem to be able to keep a sense of humor about it.

Last week’s discussion was a perfect example of working with other students who want to help each other. I had checked the class early in the week, looking for a DB 7 and saw nothing… so I just continued to work on my essay. A member of my discussion group emailed me and let me know that there was DB due—but it was labeled as forum #8. I was so happy that someone could see that maybe I had missed something and took the time to let me know. That was so considerate.

I really like the feeling of being in a small group because I think people reach out to each other with less apprehension. I also think the small group produced a more focused discussion. On the other hand, there is a sense that you might be missing out on something when you are not participating with all the members of the cohort.

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Last week’s discussion was an enjoyable experience. It was nice to be able to focus on just few thoughts and not the whole classes.

Pros:

o   It was easier to follow along.

o   It was more personal.

o   Focus was narrowed in.

o   More manageable.

Cons:

o   Limited point-of-view.

o   The motivation to read other groups’ comments was not as high.

o   Possibility on missing out on interesting insight from other groups.

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The small group discussion was a different experience from our normal discussion, and it was fun to try the DB group set-up. In some ways, it was easier than our normal DB forum, as the focus was narrowed to just a few people and their posts. There were fewer choices regarding responding to posts. With a smaller group, it is more likely that all participants will receive at least one response. However, I think our cohort has been excellent about being inclusive and everyone getting/giving thorough feedback through the forums — so whether the group is large or small doesn’t seem that different of an experience to me. Additionally, since there were different groups, and the threads were not all in one place, it was easy to miss interesting discussions in other groups.

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The small group discussion forum felt a little more familiar, and the postings were easier to process (not feeling the rush to read through each and every post). And, it felt as though you could take you time and process what the other students were communicating.

The class discussions forums are very engaging because you get the opportunity to read everyone’s post, and the diversity of opinions and experiences are intriguing to read. I have enjoyed both discussion forums (small and large); however, for this type of instructional program I think the large forum is best suited to facilitate our class discussions.

Pros:
-    Having fewer post made it easier to read and process content

-    The experience felt friendlier

-    You can respond to each post if want too

-    It nice to have a periodic change of interacting in both the large and small

groups

Cons:
-    You can be overwhelmed by having so many posting to read

-    It can be frustrating not to have any comments on your post when the entire

the class has posted on the forum

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I thought that it was really neat to experience a small group discussion because we were learning about it in our readings and because we have yet to experience this type of setting in a DB assignment.

The advantages I found for small group discussions was I did not feel as overwhelmed by having to read and digest so many different trains of thoughts by multiple people posting.  To an extent, there was less to read, (even though you had the opportunity to read other groups postings), thus more thought and consideration can be given to your teammates who are posting.

As far as the downsides to small group discussions, I realized that the discussion can only be as good as the type of responses and feedback coming back.  With less people involved, it is important to keep the momentum going or the discussion can’t evolve to it’s potential. Overall, I prefer large group discussions.  I find more value and gather much more insight in being able to read a variety of posts and responses.

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I enjoyed mixing it up this week with a small group discussion rather than the full class discussion. The pros of the small group discussion I feel was the fact that we could focus on just a couple of people and not have to worry about reading every ones posts,  yet we could still read the other groups discussion as well. The con was that we could not respond to those group discussions even if we felt the need or want to respond. I feel like overall I appreciate the full class discussion. I feel that if each small group is answering the same questions, I want to respond to others outside my group, if each small group was answering different questions I wouldn't have felt as if I wanted to respond to the other groups.

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I thought the small group discussion had some pros and cons.

Pros:

The ability to view and respond to only a few people was a lot more manageable

Still able to view other members posts, just not respond

Cons:

There didn't seem to be any additional value in terms of collaboration with a small group versus a large group

I didn't feel a need to read others posts or comment on anyone's post other than my own groups

Overall, I think it breaks up the discussion forum to be more manageable and not so overwhelming. I originally thought that there was going to be some need to collaborate with the small group, but it was a regular discussion forum just on a smaller scale. Depending on the intended objective of having small vs. large group discussion, it was a nice change of pace.

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Please post your thoughts about participating in a small group forum, vs a large whole class forum.