I chose to create a messages board on my home page on the Moodle Platform to facilitate real-time communication in the course. It can be used for short conversations and inquiries such as asking the instructor (myself) questions or communicating with classmates. it is for short conversations as it does not allow for an attachment. This is similar to IM or instant messaging. It could also be used to:

• notify students of upcoming assignments
• notify students of feedback for assessment
• remind students to provide feedback
• notify when a post has been submitted to the discussion forum

The activity I am going to create would be to fill in the blanks in the following sentence:

A great app to try in your classroom  is ____________ because …

This type of communication will provide communication among students and learning opportunities at the same time. In addition it is meant to be a short message and therefore would work in the IM communication tool. This supports my instructional goals because in my course I am hoping that the students leave the course with some tools (apps) that they can use to support their teaching.  Sharing favourite apps could spark new discussions and allow the students to learn from one another in a safe and non-threatening way. Tracking this activity can be done through the messaging board which allows the user (instructor or student) to read posted messages.

The messages board can help to meet the goals of “The Community of Inquiry Model”. Participants are engaged,  it supports discourse and it sets a relaxed and open climate for sharing. The goals of the course are supported through this sharing platform and the learning is regulated through the settings in the massages board. The instructor can track the students to ensure they are participating.