How Student Anonymity Boosts Classroom Engagement
…and the Productivity Benefits for Faculty!
It sounds a little backwards, right? How can students be more engaged when they’re hiding behind a computer and anonymous screen name? Believe it or not, there are considerable benefits to allowing anonymous student participation in an online classroom. Not only can it improve learning, but it can also improve YOUR productivity as a faculty member. Here’s why.
Students Feel More Comfortable Asking Questions
Think about the last time you were at a large lecture, a conference with other faculty, or even at your last staff meeting. Did you want to ask a question, but second guessed yourself for fear of “sounding stupid?” When you felt your face start to turn red, you stalled. Unfortunately, it’s likely that the question you were too afraid to ask was also on the minds of others in the audience.
Rather than risk embarrassment, you held your question. The saying, “No question is a dumb question,” may ring true, but easier said than done when you’re the one at risk of sounding “dumb.” This is exactly how students feel. You can alleviate this feeling by allowing them to post a question anonymously to the group. See the image below for how this can look in Notebowl’s social learning platform.
Eliminate Email and Inbox Overload
Piggybacking off of the previous example, when students are afraid to ask a “dumb question” they’ll email you directly. Multiply that same question by 20 or more students, and your inbox can become unruly. Allowing students to participate and ask questions anonymously boosts your productivity and the rest of the class. All students can see the anonymous (or identified) student’s question posed and your response. This eliminates redundancy and cuts down on the one-off emails flooding your inbox.
Promote Peer Engagement Among Classmates
Introverts, rejoice! When the pressure of having to identify themselves is alleviated, students feel more comfortable engaging in discussions with their peers. This prompts dialogue and gets students talking. They’ll feel more comfortable sharing and applying their own personal experiences to the lecture or topic discussion at hand
Any Drawbacks to Student Anonymity?
Glad you asked. You may be wondering how you can track classroom participation if you don’t know who’s actually engaging in the classroom discourse. With Notebowl, faculty members can still see who’s asking questions and engaging in discussion. While the name is blind to others in the class, faculty can still identify who’s participating. Also, with Notebowl, students have the ability to reveal their names or be anonymous with every post.
So here’s the thing. Classrooms are supposed to be all about collaboration and engagement. Whether it’s an in-person class in a lecture hall with 100 students or an online classroom with 10. Faculty should welcome student engagement in any form. And with a social learning platform that engagement can sometimes come without a face and a name.
