Goodreads Discussion

I have never started a discussion group before, and I was slightly hesitant to do so.  I tend to avoid conflict, which discussion groups often have a lot of.  This makes sense with so many people coming together with strong conviction about different issues and ideas, because we all come from different backgrounds and experiences.  My discussion group is just starting out, and I am hoping to gather some more opinions about the book Jane Eyre.  I am focusing the group on choice and independence, which are central themes in Jane Eyre.  So far, I have had people reply with different opinions than I have and some new insights have been brought into the discussion.  I am excited to see how the discussion continues to grow and develop.  Through my perspective of the book and the perspectives of the other members of the discussion group, we will be able to gain a better perspective of the work as a whole, each bringing our own piece of the Jane Eyre puzzle.  As I learn more about the book, I also hope to learn more about myself as a reader and scholar, especially on how to communicate my ideas more clearly in an online setting.  This discovery is going to take practice and research.  One article from IFHE discusses theories of the results of online discussion forums:

"The present study is significant in its attempts to draw on different theories to investigate the antecedents and outcomes of using ODFs along with classroom lectures. The findings indicate that facilitating discourse, reflective thinking, assessment and connectedness contribute to interactions in ODFs. From the practical perspective, the present study suggests that using multiple medium of instruction enriches the communication context and leads to enhanced learning."- M. S. Balaji, Diganta Chakrabarti, IBS Hyderabad, IFHE Universtiy, Hyderbad, India

I will discuss more about this article and others in my next blog post on how the results of different studies performed can help us, as information consumers, better share our own ideas with those around us, whether digitally or in the real world.