QUESTION: I'm looking for examples of icebreakers for online learners. Do you have any ideas?

Icebreaker activities are a great way to encourage communication, draw out lurkers, loosen inhibitions, and help people get to know the features of an online environment in a relaxed fashion. We all need time to learn how technology works--that's why we have Solitaire on our computers!

The type of icebreaker you use will depend on how learners are interacting. For example, if you are facilitating a live event via the phone and a Web collaboration tool, you can direct everyone to take a minute on the phone to introduce themselves at the start of the session. You can do the same for a synchronous event conducted by text chat. In both cases, guidelines for participating in the live environment should be laid out ahead of time.

For online discussion boards, you can designate a thread for participants to post such general information as name, department or areas of expertise, and title. Asynchronous trainers often request that people also post their interests in and expectations for the course. In addition to serving as an icebreaker, this information can enable an informal evaluation at the end of the program, if you also request follow-up comments.

If you're facilitating a course held in an asynchronous environment, you can still enjoy the get-to-know-you advantages of live events by holding several online "office hour" or "hello day" activities. Scheduling them on different days and at different times will accommodate learners with varying schedules. Although some people still may not be able to participate, most learners will appreciate the opportunity to practice using the software in an optional, non-threatening, ungraded activity.

Other ideas for icebreakers include encouraging those who are more familiar with the online environment to provide help to others either on- or offline, and playing a get-to-know-you game, such as "Truth or Lie." To play, participants post three true statements about themselves and one lie; people then must guess which statement is the lie.

In one course Aina took for her online master's degree, participants were asked to interview another student by phone or email and then post a short biography of him or her. Each person was both an interviewer and an interviewee.

About.com offers a good list of icebreaker ideas, and this Webpage for teachers in North Wales provides additional ideas for online activities.

For general information about online communities, check out research firm Ultralab's helpful article. You can read more about interaction in "The Learning Community and Online Instruction." A search on "building online communities" or "facilitating communication" in your favorite search engine should also yield many good hits.

Published: July 2001