Online discussions can be one of the richest elements of your online experience. Electronic discussions offer a unique opportunity to be “ heard. ” You don ’ t need to raise your hand and wait to be called on. You can think carefully about what you want to say and look it over before you post it. You can consider the contribu- tions of your peers more thoughtfully and go back to comments again when a second reading offers clarifica- tion and a deeper understanding. Students in this course will engage in online discussions, both as participants and as moderators.

1. TECH TUESDAY
Engaging Discussion Boards
Presented by: Marcia D. Mallory

2. Organizational Tip: Create a “Discussion Board Ideas” folder in My Favorites so online resources can be quickly added
and organized for easy reference later.
“How can I create engaging and
interactive discussion boards?”

3. Important to know…
A synchronous online discussion forum is similar to a face-
to-face live seminar in that participants access the online
discussion forum at the same time. Such a discussion
forum provides instantaneous feedback to one’s
contributions and is a good learning experience. However,
the disadvantage is that it is difficult to find a time which
suits all participants.
Asynchronous
Discussion Forums
The asynchronous online discussion forum enables all
participants to contribute to the forum at a time
convenient to them.
Synchronous
Discussion Forums
Synchronous
Vs
Asynchronous

4. What are the benefits?

5. 1. Builds class community by promoting
discussion on course topics
Sample Activities
 Brainstorming - Students set forth a series of ideas on a given
topic without evaluation.
 Problem-Solving - Small groups work out a solution to a
problem.

6. 2. Allows time for in-depth reflection. Students have
more time to reflect, research, and compose their
thoughts before participating in the discussion.
Sample Activity
 Case Analysis - Students work independent on a common
case followed by group analysis in the discussion board.

7. 3. Facilitates learning by allowing students to view and
respond to the work of others.
Sample Activities
 Writing Groups - Students work together in groups of four or five to share
drafts and provide peer-response and peer-editing.
 Collaborative Writing - Workgroups work together to create a single document
- proposals and analytical reports work well - which they then post to the larger
group for critique.
 Cooperative Debate - Workgroups present perspectives on a particular issue,
followed by a whole-group consensus-building discussion.

8. How can you effectively manage
a discussion board?
Organizational Tip: Create a “Discussion Board Ideas” folder in My Favorites so online resources can be quickly added
and organized for easy reference later.

9. Invest in the introduction in the syllabus.
• Research shows that students are often
uncertain about the mechanics of posting on a
discussion forum (Mason, 2011).
• There is a need for explicit instructions about
how to use discussion boards along with an
explanation of the relevance of these
discussions to face-to-face classes.
Assessing Participation
This course is a “blended” course. Students in this class are 2Ls and 3Ls. The
discussion board participation is 40% of the final grade.
Participation
The board is graded on a weekly basis, and your overall discussion board grade is
an average of the individual grades you receive for the board. Each week’s grade
represents activity in the current lesson’s threads only.
Each lesson contains two or three prompts that are connected to that lesson’s
learning outcomes. In addition to responding to these prompts, you should engage
in the board by initiating posts and responding to the posts of others in ways that
advance the conversation You might, for instance:
• Post an opinion based on reading/research you do on the topic.
• Respond thoughtfully to a topic from your own experience.
• Provide links and resources related to the topic that would be of interest
to other participants.
• Pose a thought-provoking question related to the topic.
• Collect multiple perspectives on a topic or provide an alternate
perspective to the one currently dominating the discussion.
• Thoughtfully rebut another participant’s comments.
• Synthesize the current class discussion by summing up arguments or
discussion points.
Syllabus Example

10. Create an integrated lesson to motivate
engagement
• Integrate online and classroom discussions by
using forums as a space for further practice of
important skills or clarifying key concepts
(Dengier 2008).
• Use forums to recommend further resources
for extension of learning (Lim & Cheah 2003).
Designing Activities
Course: Contracts
Unit: Rental Leases
The Parole Evidence Rule UCC § 2-202 covers parallel and
interpretation rule. Read the statute and answer the questions below
then respond to two classmates’ post:
1. What is the integration statement?
2. Can written agreements be contradicted? Why?
3. Can written agreements be supplemented or explained?
Example 1
Example 2
Read the Parole Evidence Rule (UCC § 2-202). What is the
meaning of extrinsic evidence and what is its role? In the case of
Nelson v. Elway – buy/sell agreements – was it malpractice?
Analyze the case. Was extrinsic evidence an issue? Timing?
Integrated A? Consistent term? Respond to at least 2 classmates’
post.

11. Create a clear and structured
environment for students and create
tasks/topics which facilitate discussion
and collaboration.
• Use workgroups.
• Use open-ended questions targeted toward
higher-order thinking skills.
• Structure discussion topics by “lesson” or
“module,” and articulate start and end dates
for discussions.
• Consider the discussion board a resource.
• Allow for some flexibility in student-generated
topics.
Designing Activities
Using workgroups
Divide your students into small groups of 4-6 to make it easy for all
to participate. Instruct them to conduct their own in-depth discussion
of a part of a class-wide topic or a topic in its entirety, and then post a
synthesized response to the discussion board that is open to the whole
class.
Example 1
Example 2
Consider the discussion board a resource
Have students draw from the discussion board as a pool of
references for an assignment – one that enforces skills for
summary, synthesis, and analysis for instance – incorporating
(and citing) their peers’ comments as illustrations or examples.

12. • Teacher-student interactions
have been shown to predict
student motivation, academic
self-concept, and GPA
(Komarraju, Musulkin &
Bhattacharya, 2010).
Actively Facilitate

13. • Teacher-student interactions
have been shown to predict
student motivation, academic
self-concept, and GPA
(Komarraju, Musulkin &
Bhattacharya, 2010).
Provide feedback on posts

14. References
Mastering Online Discussion Board Facilitation Resource Guide
https://www.edutopia.org/pdfs/stw/edutopia-onlinelearning-mastering-online-discussion-board-facilitation.pdf
Strategies for engaging students in online discussions (https://sydney.edu.au/education-
portfolio/ei/programs/teaching_insights/pdf/insight13-strategies-for-engaging-students-in-online-
discussions.pdf )
Using iCollege
Discussion Board
 Further information on iCollege Discussion Overview can be viewed at:
http://technology.gsu.edu/2012/12/14/desire2learn-discussion-overview/
Support
 Support Documents & Training Videos
 For Faculty
 For Students
 Integrated iCollege Tools