Tips for lecturers using discussion boards
A discussion board
Introduction
A discussion board is an asynchronous communication tool which can be used for online learning. It allows participants to carry out online conversations. Participants can respond and post messages at any time.
It is a powerful tool for both distance and blended learning (a mix of distance and face to face learning). However, lecturers need to understand how discussion boards can be used in the most efficient way.
The following tasks aim to provide some useful tips for lecturers.
Objectives
After completing the tasks provided, lecturers should:
- Have a better understanding of what a discussion board is
- Increase their confidence in setting up a discussion board
- Improve their skills in designing tasks for discussion boards
Activity 1: Discussion boards and their features
Lecturers need to understand how discussion boards and their features work to optimise their usage in online learning. A good example is that they need to be used in a structured way, so that it is easy to read and respond to messages.
Instruction
Decide if the following statements about discussion boards and their features are true or false:
1. In discussion boards participants post and are responded to in real time.
2. A thread is an initial message and its responses.
3. Threads cannot usually be compiled into a single document for easier reading or printing.
4. A topic folder is where all the messages relating to a specific topic are sent.
Activity 2: Setting up the discussion board
It is important to set up the discussion board with a pre-task that finds out background information about the students which will help them get to know each other. These should be published or sent as soon as the VLE is made available to the students and before the course has started.
Instruction
Choose from the list below the tasks that would be suitable for setting up discussion boards.
Write, in the box below, three tasks for setting up the discussion board that you could use in your course.
Activity 3: Setting the optimal attendance criteria
It is essential to set an attendance criteria when using discussion boards, so that every student takes part in discussions.
Instruction
Decide if the following statements about attendance criteria are true or false:
1. In online learning there is no need to set an attendance criteria, distance learning is about flexibility.
2. In online learning setting an attendance criteria is essential, otherwise most students will not participate in online tasks.
3. Responding to someone's task is a good way of creating discussion within a group.
4. In online learning it is up to the lecturer whether to set up attendance criteria or not. This will depend on student needs.
Using the box below write attendance criteria that will be suitable for your online course.
Activity 4: Optimal group size
When setting up discussion boards, lecturers have to make sure that the groups are neither too large nor too small. This is the only way to create the right amount of interaction within a discussion board. If the groups are too large, the amount of messages increases and people will not be able to read or respond to the messages, whereas if the group is too small, the interaction might decrease so much that students will lose interest in the topics discussed.
Instruction
Choose the best answer from the drop down lists to the following questions regarding the optimal group size for discussion boards:
An optimal group size should be:
Activity within a group can be measured by the number of:
When there is too much activity within the group:
When there is not enough activity within the group:
If the group is too active:
Activity 5: Task design principles
When designing tasks for online education, there are certain principles that need to be followed by the lecturer.
Instruction
Decide which of the following statements regarding task design principles are true or false by choosing 'tick' for true and 'cross' for false:
1. It is useful to ask yes/no questions.
2. Tasks should aim at engaging students with other students.
3. Factual questions are essential in online learning.
4. Students should be encouraged to answer questions by copying and pasting large amounts of text.
5. Tasks should aim at not only connecting current materials but past and future ones.
6. Problem solving tasks make students reflect on learning issues.
7. Personal opinions should be avoided in online tasks.
8. Analysis and reflection tasks help to create interesting threads.
Write, in the box below, three tasks following the principles studied that you could use in your course.
Activity 6: Designing individual and group tasks
Both individual and group tasks should take place in online environments to create a sense of community within the group. Individual tasks should be different for each participant, so there is a variety of threads on different topics. Group tasks are carried out collaboratively. Although the tasks might or might not be the same for each group, the end result will be different.
Instruction
Decide if the following statements about task design are true or false:
1. Tasks should be different for most students.
2. Summaries of topic discussions produced by the students are useful.
3. Groups should be gathered at random.
4. Tasks instructions should be clear.
5. Students should be encouraged to get to the point.
For additional information click on the links below:
Using a discussion board
Powerpoint 1: Tips for lecturers using communication tools: discussion boards & chat rooms
Would you like to review the main points?
© Marga Navarrete / Imperial College /2008