Blended Learning, Discussion Forums, Wiki, Pedagogy, Terrorism
Delivered in both the 2009/2010 and 2010/2011 academic years, James Fitzgerald (Dublin City University, Ireland) and Professor Anthony F. Lemieux (Purchase College, State University of New York, USA) have been responsible for the development and delivery of ‘Political Terrorism/Psychology of Terrorism: A Collaborative Approach’, a unique module which enables cross-cultural and interdisciplinary interaction for advanced-stage undergraduates from both institutions (see Fitzgerald and Lemieux, 2010). The course operates within a blended-learning environment which, most broadly, combines in-class and online elements towards enhanced student learning (Osguthorpe and Graham, 2003). As part of this course, students engage with each other through online discussion forums each week and collaborate on a wiki group project, as part of the course assessment. Student feedback on this course has been extremely positive and, as it stands, this course operates as the only one of its kind on the study of terrorism. In the following piece, we wish to reflect on some practical issues surrounding the incorporation of discussion forums and wikis as pedagogical tools for enhanced learning.