Discussion Boards

Common Uses of Asynchronous Discussion Boards (Used on LMS’ such as Blackboard, Ecollege, Mypath, Sakai, etc.)

• Virtual Classroom
• Debate
• Role Play
• Simulation
• Knowledge base construction
• Long distance Learning/e-learning
• Social learning
• Collaborative learning/communication
• Active learning
• Responding to messages
• Problem solving
• Analytical thinking/ Higher Order Thinking

Problems with Discussion Boards:

    Lack of engagement: Students need clear expectations and grading rubrics.

    Expectations might include:

        Number of posts
        Frequency of posts
        Minimum word count for posts
        Examples of expected post content.

Below is an example of how an instructor might lay out expectations for a structured discussion. This is an example from a course I recently taught online. The expectations and the Rubric are created by and used in Baker College’s online General Education classes. It includes content and writing expectations along with examples.

Basic participation requirements are that you will make no fewer than two substantive posts per day, five days a week. To maximize your participation, remember the usual policies for discussion, including use of proper labeling and quoting from the post you are responding to.
Even though the post you are responding to shows up in your response window if you hit "Reply," that post doesn't "copy over" into your response. You must use the quote button or manually copy and paste it into the response.

Posts can count for 0-3 points, and up to 6 points per day are possible. No more than 30 points per Seminar are available.

Basic expectations for participation posts:

• Write original thoughts not already contained in the threaded discussion;
• Cite examples/ideas from the Internet or other sources. Please cite the URL or source referenced;
• Include a strong reason why when agreeing or disagreeing with other posts;
• Copy relevant part of previous message being responded to.
• Interact well with others by asking questions and keep the discussion going by helping your peers elaborate to keep the discussion going.

Participation post mistakes to avoid:
"I agree/disagree" with no reason or explanation/etc.
“Good job!” is not a substantive response.
Appropriate part of message being responded to is not copied into post.
Minimum content quality is not met.




For example.

	Excellent	Good	Acceptable	Less than acceptable	No Credit
Grade	A	B	C	D	F
Points	3-2.7	2.69-2.4	2.39-2.1	2.09-	0
Content	Post uses course concepts by referring to textbooks or resources and applying the information to an example. New information or question introduced.	Post uses course concepts by referring to textbooks or resources. New information or question introduced.	New information or question introduced.	New information or question introduced. It may be irrelevant to discussion or of poor quality.	Post does not contain new question or information.
Writing	Writing is clear and mechanically accurate.	Writing is clear and mechanically accurate.	Writing is clear and mechanically accurate.	Writing might contain mechanical mistakes but clarity is not affected.	Post might be poorly written.
Example	On page 30 of our text there’s a really interesting quiz on writing that really made me think about things in a different way.  I hadn’t stopped before to think about whether using company emails or computers for my own purposes might be bad.  Sure, I realized that taking office supplies from my employer is wrong, but I always assumed using my work email was fine.  I notice in Activity 1.13 that 34% of people who took the quiz said using company email for personal reasons is wrong. The other percentages in the responses on page 31 also made me wonder if I’m mis-using office resources.  I reviewed the employee information I was given when I was hired, but it doesn’t fully cover situations like email and general computer use. How can I be sure I’m not violating the ethics of my workplace?	On page 30 of our text , there’s a really interesting quiz on workplace ethics that really made me think about things in a different way.  I never stopped to think about how using company computers for personal business might not be acceptable.  How can I be sure I’m not violating the ethics of my workplace?	I use my work email all the time, and no one has ever said anything to me about it.  I figure if they expect me to be there eight hours a day, they should let me use my work email however I like.	I just finished reading the textbook and don't get it.	Whassup? When you think this week thought, want til next one.

Another possible problem is in the assigned task, topic or question. Instructors must design specific tasks, ask open ended questions that promote the type of thinking or learning required.

Possible approaches:

1. Require students post specifics questions  for classmates (similar to the HOTS             questions we have been posting to team maps).

2. Set up a debate format over one controversial issue. Require students to take a             position, support their position, post evidence to support their position, defend             their position against counterargument. From this structured debate learners can             identify strong vs weak arguments, fallacies, assess evidence and credibility of             sources, evaluate the     strength or weakness of their own and other’s arguments.

3. Problem/solution: Jonassen recommends setting up a problem that requires                 leaner collaboration to solve.