Guest Author - Gregory A. Kompes

1. Classic Bio
A simple and classic icebreaker is the personal biography. Personal information helps learners attach names to concepts, creating a connection that helps them know the person posting isn't just a name, but real. Recommendation: when using the classic bio as an icebreaker, post your own bio as an example and give your learners a word count (brevity can inspire creativity).

2. Questions
Some learners are intimidated or shy when asked to post a biography. One way to help them is by asking questions, which act as prompts. (i.e., why they're taking the course, where they grew up, what they're learning space looks like, etc.) For more "Getting-to-know you question" inspiration, download these PDF file lists from Vineyard Church (http://tinyurl.com/224u8o) and Be a Mentor (http://tinyurl.com/2az3kh).

Katy J. Vopal's "The ABCs of Me," is a fun spin on the traditional getting-to-know-you questions (A – Age you got your first kiss; B – Band, the best one you ever saw in concert; C- Crush, past or present; D – Dad's name; etc.) See Vopal's entire list at http://tinyurl.com/34rwhj or follow her concept and create an A-Z list of your own questions. Depending on the course and the material, you might take this idea a step further and have students pair off, exchange surveys, and have them introduce each other to the class by writing an introductory bio. Vopal also uses the ABCs as prompts in creative writing and poetry classes.

3. Quizzes
The use of quiz-style icebreakers is another fun choice. In one of the California State University Online Teaching and Learning (CSU-OTL) courses I attended recently, the VARK questionnaire was used as an icebreaker. Learners read about learning styles, took the online VARK questionnaire at http://tinyurl.com/3dgmm, and posted our learning type in the classroom discussion forum along with an answer to the question "Do you think the VARK assessment is accurate?" This icebreaker not only creates a prompt for learners to share with their classmates, but also provides course facilitators with a better understanding of the current classroom's learning style mix.

Recommendation: don't use quizzes that only require true/false or polls that have learners click bubbles. While gathering data can be helpful for facilitators, remember that learner interaction and sharing are an important goal of icebreakers.

4. Compare, Contrast, Connect
By encouraging learners to compare and contrast themselves and their experiences with those of their classmates during an icebreaker, connections will be created. One way to do this is create a two part icebreaker where an initial response is posted (i.e., learners post their bio, ABCs, answer a question, etc.) and then are further required to respond to their classmates posts by finding a similarity or difference.

5. Collaboration
Forming pairs and teams for icebreaker exercises is a good tool if collaboration and smaller group work are part of your course design. In a recent CSU-OTL course, learners paired into teams, interviewed each other, and posted introductions for one another in the icebreaker discussion forum. Next, two pairs combined to form the learning teams for the class collaborative project.

Another effective early collaboration icebreaker project for online learning is using a class wiki or wisiwig site (try Wikispaces for Teachers at http://tinyurl.com/293h9a for a free classroom wiki) where everyone can contribute content. Subjects might include creating a "Once upon a time…" story where each learner adds the next sentence or paragraph of the story, line up by distance from school, etc. Recommendation: when using wikis for collaborative class participation, ask learners to include their name or initials after a post.

6. Hybrids
Many traditional, face-to-face (F2F) classrooms are adding online elements to break down the classroom walls and keep the conversation and learning growing. One great advantage to this addition is that students you might not hear from in person may be more apt to participate in the online environment. As you hybrid your traditional classroom activities, consider using an icebreaker than also extends from the F2F environment to your virtual classroom space. One example of hybrid icebreaker crossover would be having learners post their ABCs responses online and then pairing students to do a F2F class introduction of their partner.