Do an Internet search for "Icebreaker History" and you'll find yourself reading about ocean going vessels that cut paths through ice-covered seas to create safe passage shipping lanes. It's easy to see where the getting-to-know-you icebreaker metaphor came from because that's just what they do, too. Icebreakers in the classroom help create safe environments where learners and facilitators can begin to navigate new and uncertain waters by getting to know each other.

The Center for Teaching Excellence at Lansing Community College explains that icebreakers reduce both student and instructor anxiety; foster both student-student and faculty-student interactions; create an environment where the learner is expected to participate, the instructor is willing to listen, and where learners are actively engaged from the onset; convey the message that the instructor cares about getting to know the students; and, make it easier for students to form relationships early in the semester so they can work together, both in and out of class.

Building a sense of safe community is especially important in E-Learning environments. Some of your learners may have never been in the virtual classroom before. Learners and course facilitators who begin a dialog, whether live or virtual, establish connections. When icebreakers are successful, learners discover interesting facts about their classmates that prompt questions and open the channels of discussion. They'll also discover connections and similarities of interests and experience between themselves and those they've begun the educational journey with, initiating the community building necessary for online learning success.

The classroom icebreaker is the perfect way to begin creating a fun, safe learning environment. Check out the Icebreaker Resources below for interactive ideas to introduce into your own classroom.

Keep the Ice Melting by Growing the Learning Community

Successful collaborative, constructivist online learning requires that the classroom be a safe place for learners to explore and journey through the learning process. Icebreakers are a starting point for creating that essential environment.

The Corporation for Community & National Service's Resource Center explains that good icebreakers encourage trust, challenge learners, involve everyone, initiate conversations and interactions, increases group member respect, reflect the group's diverse needs, and tie the activity to the course topic.

Once your learning community begins to establish itself through the icebreaker exercise keep the momentum going by encouraging and modeling continued individual and group participation.

Icebreaker Resources

Icebreakers, Games, and Fun Group Activities at http://tinyurl.com/336tr2 offers an extensive list of icebreaker possibilities.

Dave's ESL Café has a super list of icebreaker ideas at http://tinyurl.com/37hta4. These aren't just for the second language crowd.

Education World: The Educators Best Friend offers an icebreaker discussion board (http://tinyurl.com/37yymo) and an icebreaker archive (http://tinyurl.com/9me4y) with more than 150 icebreaker ideas.

Honolulu Community College's Faculty Development Guidebook has a "Break the Ice" section (http://tinyurl.com/4zd7v) with ten classic icebreakes.

University of South Alabama's "Using Online Icebreakers to Promote Student/Teacher Interaction" at http://tinyurl.com/2a9kdg.

The Top 10 Icebreakers for Meetings and Training Seminars by Janice LaVore, Director of Customer Care for Fortune 100 Company (http://tinyurl.com/2avauj).