Ice Breaker Activities: Personal Introductions

ICE BREAKER ACTIVITIES
Continuing Education, Outreach & E-Learning
INTRODUCTION
Establishing a welcoming classroom in the online environment allows students to settle in and adjust to this form of
instructional delivery. In collaborative settings, there is a unique sharing of ideas and perspectives among students.
There is a freedom to express ideas, create new products, share inventions, and, in general, make significant
learning contributions in the classroom. Incorporating ice breaker activities into the first week of an online course
helps to establish a positive tone and social climate for the course.
A CLOSER LOOK
Social ice breaker activities set the stage for many later course activities. Many of the activities suggested here
utilize online discussion forums. In such forums, students and
instructors can make introductions, form relationships, share personal
and professional information and experiences, and generally learn more
about each other. This is just a sampling of ideas. Use your imagination Tips for Using Ice Breaker
to expand upon or add variation to these or to add more to this list. Activities:
• Use during first week of
Personal Introductions semester-based online
Many online instructors prefer to create a discussion thread for learners course
to make introductions. Instructors could structure the introduction
• Instructor should be the
activity by asking for specific items or characteristics. For instance,
first to participate
ask learners to list their professional interests, goals for the course,
or jobs they’ve held. In addition, ask about personal interests such as • Refer back to student-
hobbies or favorite places to visit or vacation. The most interesting and generated information
useful posts are those that combine personal as well as professional throughout the course
information. Most commonly, questions are based on the course
textbook or other readings. Switch things up by including questions
based on your students’ experience or ones that have a direct relation to their lives.
Eight Nouns
In this activity, learners are required to post to a discussion forum eight nouns that best describe themselves.
Everyone should also describe why each particular noun selected is representative of who he or she is. Such
descriptions can be short or longer, depending on instructor preferences.
Five Pictures
This is a slight variation on the above activity. In this activity, learners create a collage of five pictures or images that
best describe themselves. These can be pictures they have already taken or images from other sources. Make sure
to have learners cite the sources for images that are not their own. Learners should also describe how the pictures
represent who they are.
Two Truths and One Lie

This activity is fun but can sometimes be challenging. Learners must post two truths about themselves and one
statement that is a lie. Fellow class members must attempt to determine which piece of given information is false.
They can guess this after asking questions of the individual or exploring other information, as this might be used in
combination with another activity.
© 2015 Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System 1

Continuing Education, Outreach & E-Learning
Online Cafe
An online cafe can be created as a special place and social space for learners to “hang out” informally. Here,
learners can post questions and comments on personal interests, pertinent items in the news, and so on. The
online cafe is a safe haven that operates within as well as outside of the course. The online cafe is a place to get
to know peers and perhaps the instructor without worrying about the degree to which each comment relates to
the topics of the course. As such, this technique helps to personalize the course and establish a learner-centered
EXAMPLE
Below is an example of how to begin the five pictures ice breaker activity.
Ice Breaker Discussion

Instructions
Let’s get to know each other better.
A. Create a single-page document or graphic (.gif, .jpeg, or .png) file that contains
five still (not animated) images that visually describe yourself to us. Your
description must also contain an explanation of each image’s source. If the
images are not your own, you need to state the source of the images. Any
program capable of inserting and editing graphics may be used. In the past,
students have created their assignment in programs such as Adobe Photoshop,
Microsoft Word or PowerPoint, Picasa.google.com (free download), and Gimp.org
(free download).
B. Post your file to the Module 1 Ice Breaker discussion area as an attachment
to a message. The message’s Subject should be “Introducing Yourfirstname
Yoursurname” (e.g., “Introducing Jane Smith”).
C. Read at least two other students’ postings and respond to them.
Purpose
• Students provide background information and emails for instructors and other participants.
• Students practice searching the Web for graphic images and downloading them.
• Students practice inserting graphic images into a document.
• Students cite references or images used that are not their own.
• Students become acquainted with posting discussion messages and responding to other
students’ messages.
Assessment
Up to 35 points possible. The Discussion Board Rubric will be used to assess this activity. Please
review the rubric to understand the performance levels expected.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCE
Bonk, C. J., & Khoo, E. (2014). Adding some TEC-VARIETY: 100+ activities for motivating and retaining learners online.
Bloomington, IN: Open World Books.
© 2015 Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System 2

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ICE BREAKER ACTIVITIES

Continuing Education, Outreach & E-Learning

Two Truths and One Lie

© 2015 Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System 1

Ice Breaker Discussion

© 2015 Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System 2

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