- What role or purpose do discussion forums serve in the online classroom and are they effective?
Discussion forums can be the most effective part of an online classroom. Participants use the discussion prompts to reflect upon the content, expanding their own knowledge and the knowledge of others. Learners are able to post questions at the moment they think of them without the snickering of peers that could happen in a face-to-face classroom. Students who might not have a chance to speak out in other situations, are able to do so in an online forum.
- How do discussion forums function as a teaching tool?
Discussion forums allow students to solidify ideas about the content, to discuss their understanding with other participants and to reflect upon what they have learned. Misconceptions are often revealed in a discussion forum where they can be carefully addressed using evidence from the course. When the facilitator asks questions, learners are guided toward clarifying any ideas and understandings that are not clear.
- How could they be used effectively and ineffectively? Furthermore, what are some best practices for facilitating forums online?
Posts should always remain polite, considerate, and respectful. Use spellcheck and grammar check to be more easily understood. Those reading your writing cannot see you and will judge the value of what you are saying by the quality of you writing. Write your ideas concisely using only what is necessary for others to understand your point. If your post is lengthy with unnecessary language, the reader is likely to stop reading your posts. Stick to the topic of the discussion. Keep in mind participants will not see your
expressions or hear your tone of voice in your written posts. One will not see other participants' reactions to reading your posts, make sure you are respectful with both your posts and responses. Sarcasm and jokes must be avoided at all costs. Someone will be offended. Never post an address or phone number in a public forum. All posts should be read by the facilitator. Toward the end of a discussion, the teacher should provide a "landscape" post outlining ideas and concepts contained in the discussion forum. The facilitator should be actively involved without taking over the discussion.
Laycock, Nick. "Elearn Magazine: How to Build and Lead Successful Online Communities: Behaving Appropriately." ELearn Magazine, an ACM Publication. The Association for Computing Machinery, Inc., May 2012. Web. 07 Feb. 2016. <http://elearnmag.acm.org/featured.cfm?aid=2232816>.
expressions or hear your tone of voice in your written posts. One will not see other participants' reactions to reading your posts, make sure you are respectful with both your posts and responses. Sarcasm and jokes must be avoided at all costs. Someone will be offended. Never post an address or phone number in a public forum. All posts should be read by the facilitator. Toward the end of a discussion, the teacher should provide a "landscape" post outlining ideas and concepts contained in the discussion forum. The facilitator should be actively involved without taking over the discussion.
Laycock, Nick. "Elearn Magazine: How to Build and Lead Successful Online Communities: Behaving Appropriately." ELearn Magazine, an ACM Publication. The Association for Computing Machinery, Inc., May 2012. Web. 07 Feb. 2016. <http://elearnmag.acm.org/featured.cfm?aid=2232816>.
No comments:
Post a Comment