Communicate 4.2.3 Discussions Quest
What role or purpose do discussion forums serve in the online classroom and are they effective? Discussion forums allow students the opportunity to "raise their hand" in the virtual world. Students can ask questions and teachers can provide feedback to specific questions. The beauty of this platform is that students can benefit from each other's questions.
How do discussion forums function as a teaching tool? Teachers are able to pick up on areas of difficulty that students are having. For students, it creates an area of "class discussion". Students can share ideas and thoughts, while teachers can add to the discussion. This also serves as a good way to have students be involved in their online learning. It provides a sense of community and classmates can learn to work together.
How could they be used effectively and ineffectively? Furthermore, what are some best practices for facilitating forums online? If online discussions are not attended to or validated by the instructor then it will not be a useful tool for students. Often times, students have questions about assignments and need timely feedback to continue working on assignments. If teachers and students don't check the discussion board often, it is not useful. Also, discussion boards can seem like "busy work" to students if they are not addressing useful ideas and subjects.
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