Communicate 2 - Discussions

Communicate 2 - Discussions

Answer in your blog:

1) What role or purpose do discussion forums serve in the online classroom and are they effective? 

They can be an assignment.
They are a way to get to know the students espiecally at the beginning of the course.
They are a way for student to get to know each other.
They can include topics that need to be cited thus have student practice their citation and copyright ethics.

2) How do discussion forums function as a teaching tool?

The teacher can start a discussion on a topic in which everyone has to answer. Students then see others response and have the AHA moments.
The teacher can then require a number of responses to other students.
Students can piggyback off each other
Teacher can then interject

3) How could they be used effectively and ineffectively?

Ineffective:
The could be ineffective if the students go off in a tangent that is not productive to the discussion.
Flaming could happen which would be ineffective.

4) What are some best practices for facilitating forums online?
Go over rules before posting the first Discussion.
Be specific about what you want.
Be specific about the topic.
Watch the Discussion and remove any insulting posts - contact user.
Do not allow attachments unless it is specific to the topic.