This document discusses three tools for online collaboration and discussion: discussion boards, blogs, and wikis. It provides examples of how each tool can be used, such as using discussion boards for online discussions divided by topic, using blogs for student journaling or critiques of photos, and using wikis for collaborative note-taking or project work. The document also includes brief instructions on setting up and using each tool.

1. Michael Edwards 2008
Asynchronous Collaboration and Discussion: Using
Discussion Boards, Blogs, and Wikis to Facilitate
Learning Online
This presentation will cover 3 tools useful for online collaboration, discussion, and
student generated content.
Discussion Boards:
Discussion Boards are great for managing a large number of discussions, divided by
topic or content area. The instructor can pose an idea and ask the class to discuss it
in various capacities.
Potential uses:
All manners of online discussion where responses become multi‐layered or
complex. Discussion boards are typically set up to easily collapse various
responses and see a hierarchy as students interact with each other.
Responses to a topic can split off spontaneously to various other topics and
this can be represented visually.
Training: Setting up a discussion board in Blackboard
1.) Forums vs. Threads
a. A forum contains threads.
2.) Creating a forum
a. Name & Description
b. Forum settings
3.) Posting to a thread
4.) Replying to a thread
Blogs:
Blogs are also great for discussions, but in particular work well for journaling
situations. Blogs have a lot in common with discussion boards, but are designed less
as a forum and more as a chronologically sequenced series of posts. Same goes for
blog comments, which are almost invariably presented chronologically, without
showing any hierarchy as to who is responding to who (which you would find in a
more typical discussion board).
Potential uses:
1.) The instructor posts an audio podcast or an article, students respond in
the comments.
2.) Students create a journal response to a topic, article, or lesson. If it was a
literature class, perhaps the student could post reflections after each
chapter of a book.

2. Michael Edwards 2008
3.) Students post pictures they’ve taken in a photography class; other
students respond with critiques and feedback.
Blog Training: Creating a blog and posting content to it.
1.) Blogs can be easily obtained from sources such as Wordpress and
Blogspot.
2.) Posting an entry / Editing an entry
3.) Uploading a picture or an other file
4.) Various settings: access, users, comments, sidebar links
Wikis:
Like Wikipedia, host pages whose content is designed to be revisable, edited,
expanded upon, and interlinked with other Wiki pages. Since wiki pages can be
dynamically added and edited on‐the‐fly, learning can be more spontaneous.
Potential uses:
1.) Lesson summaries
a. When the student has completed a lesson, they are asked to
summarize it in a wiki post. After all the students have
accomplished this, they could optionally be combined into one
large compendium of information.
2.) Collaboration of notes
a. Students could, of their own initiative or not, work alone or
together in the creation of notes to make sense out of large
amounts of course information. While some students may
contribute little (i.e. “bottom feeders”) they will never retain as
much as the students that put in the work editing and adding to
the page.
b. You might describe this as creating a “little wikipedia.”
3.) Concept introduction and exploratory projects
a. If the class encounters a topic that interests them, or a concept
they don’t fully understand, they can immediately create a wiki
page for it as they explore. The wiki page will then house all the
information they gather and compile.
b. Example: What is a mashup?
http://westwood.wikispaces.com/Mashup+Madness
4.) Dissemination of important classroom information
a. FAQ guides regarding various important topics could be put
together as‐a‐class or ahead of time for the class.
b. http://westwood.wikispaces.com/Chapter+1+‐
+Security+and+Privacy
5.) Individual Assessment Projects
a. Assign students an assignment that will encompass a variety of
information gathering and analysis. For example, suppose they

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were to research and advise a relative on a computer purchase,
considering various topics.
b. http://westwood.wikispaces.com/Scenario+1
Wiki Training: Creating a wiki: http://demonstrationclass.pbwiki.com/
1.) Creating an education wiki from pbwiki.com
2.) Editing the front page
3.) Adding other pages
4.) Editing the sidebar
5.) Uploading pictures and other files
Which tool should I use?
Most of these tools are variations on a theme. Certain users (sometimes all) are able
to variably create or edit chunks of text and possibly adding comments about that
text. Users might be able to re‐organize these chunks, determine access to them, and
more.
Source: http://www.tltgroup.org/OLI/blogworkshop/FirstQuestions.htm
Cognitive learning principles encompassed in this training session, if properly
given in a computer lab with hands­on potential for the audience:
1.) Content. Teach both heuristic (“tacit”) knowledge as well as textbook
knowledge. It’s easy to take tacit knowledge for granted.
2.) Situated learning. Teaching knowledge and skills in a way that reflects how
it will be used in real life.
3.) Modeling and explaining. Show how a process unfolds and tell why it
happens so.
4.) Coaching and feedback. Observe students as they try tasks and provide
hints and help when needed. This helps personalize attention to
performance.
5.) Scaffolding and fading. Start out by demonstrating tasks, but gradually fade
out the demonstrations as students take initiative to learn for themselves
how things work.
6.) Sequence. Proceed in order from simple to complex.
Source: http://carbon.cudenver.edu/~bwilson/training.html