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online tasks. Access by others online means that
they can be designed to allow peers or mentors to
make comments on a student's entries. Blogs can
be used in online role-play activities as a means
for students to reflect on the role-play experience
following completion of the role-play.
attending weekly classes can discuss the on-line
role-play in class and canvass any difficulties that
are occurring online. McLaughlan and Kirkpatrick
(2008), developers of the role-play environmental
simulation entitled eSim, have raised concerns
relating to the difficulties of assisting students to
develop practice skills from the online experience.
To address this concern in our design face-to-face
class time can be used to build understandings of
reflexive practice through dialogue concerning
insights developed online. McLaughlan and Kirk-
patrick (2008, p 307) note that the skills set that
students bring to the role-play simulation may not
be sufficient to engage fully with the online tasks
in a design. In the context of this chapter's focus
upon reflexive practice skills such as interviewing,
counselling and facilitation, we argue that these
skills can be built up in the face-to-face classes.
After mastering such skills in face-to-face role-
plays students can then transfer these skills to the
online environment. McLaughlan and Kirkpatrick
(2008, p 308) also note that in their experience it
is sometimes problematic to build relationships
between students online and that a lack of student
relationships can negatively impact upon a simu-
lation. The blending of the two modes can deal
with this issue by building student relationships
in the classroom so that these relationships can
be drawn upon in the online environment. Due to
the time spent on online interactions through the
role-play a reduction in face-to-face class time
is desirable.
In the second approach a substantive amount
of a course can be taught by day-long classes for
example for three to six days. Where this approach
is adopted the online component may begin after
the first two or three days of the intensive mode
and continue for the rest of the teaching period.
The advantages of this approach are that theoretical
issues can be canvassed and assessed in the online
environment and the focus of the face-to-face
classes can be largely upon skills development.
In the later part of the intensive mode classes
Pod-Casting
A pod-cast is an oral piece that is broadcast online
but is able to be accessed at any time. Commonly
used by radio programs, pod-casting also offers op-
portunities for online role-plays. The use of audio
online can increase the authenticity of a service
user character and literally give them a voice (West,
2008). A recorded account of a service user char-
acter talking about their life circumstances could
be used as a basis for a role-play scenario. Some
pod-casts include visual material. For example,
after listening (and possibly viewing) a pod-cast
for initial background information students could
work together to develop the character and scenario
on a wiki in preparation for the role-play.
blending the task
The degree to which the role-play activity is run
between the online and face-to-face environments
is a strategy to be decided when designing the
activity. As noted earlier in this chapter, the online
role-play is not intended to replace face-to-face
teaching, but rather offers learning opportuni-
ties through combining the two learning modes.
Blending options include:
(i) online learning in tandem with weekly face-
to-face classes;
(ii) online learning in between two intensive
periods of a course; and
(iii) online learning after an intensive.
The first option allows for the blending of the
two modes of learning on a weekly basis. Students
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