Guiding Students to Productive and Polite Online Discourse

In a sidebar of an interview by Jan Umphrey in Principal Leadership, Catlin Tucker suggests the following do’s and don’ts for students’ online discussions:

• Address peers by name to create a friendly online tone.
• Avoid slang and jargon; it may be familiar to you but not to others.
• Don’t use all capitals. It comes across as yelling.
• Avoid emotional punctuation like exclamation points unless you’re complimenting someone’s idea.
• Read questions and conversation postings carefully (don’t skim), listen to all ideas presented, and ask questions if something is unclear. 
• Compliment peers when they post strong responses or contribute original ideas.
• Be respectful and considerate; remember that your peers can’t see your body language or hear your tone of voice.
• Critique the content, not the person. Focus on what’s said, not the person who said it.
• Respond rather than reacting. Don’t write a response if you are angry. Read over your posts before sending: are your ideas clear and supported?
• Avoid sarcasm, which can lead to tensions and hurt feelings.
• Don’t present your personal opinions as fact. Back up ideas with details, evidence, and examples.
• When disagreeing, use “I statements” and present ideas in a constructive manner that encourages further dialogue.
• Remember that there are no right or wrong answers in a discussion; a variety of perspectives is helpful.

Tucker also suggests sharing the following sentence starters as models for students:

• Rebecca’s comment made me think about ______________.
• Although Rio made a strong point that _______________, I think _____________.
• I respectfully disagree with Zach’s assertion that ____________ because __________.
• I had not thought about Leigh’s point that ______________.
• Even through Dalia’s point is valid, I tend to ________________.
• In contrast to Michelle’s point, ________________.
• Bradley highlighted some key ideas when he said _____________.
• Lulu, can you clarify your statement that ______________.
• Carmen, your posting reminded me of ______________.
• Nadya’s observation that ______________ reflects _______________.
• Marcella, do you agree (or disagree) with _____________?
• Robin, how would you define _______________?
• Like Amaya, I also connected _____________ to _______________.

“Blended Learning”: An Interview of Catlin Tucker by Jan Umphrey in Principal Leadership, September 2013 (Vol. 14, #1, p. 36-41), www.nassp.org; these are excerpted from Tucker’s book, Blended Learning in Grades 4-12 (Corwin, 2012, p. 63-65). 

From the Marshall Memo #500