Skip to main content

Learning Online: 17. Communicating in Online Discussion Forums

Learning Online
17. Communicating in Online Discussion Forums

  • Show the following:

    Annotations
    Resources

  • Adjust appearance:

    Font
    Font style
    Color Scheme
    Light
    Dark
    Annotation contrast
    Low
    High
    Margins
  • Search within:
    • Notifications
    • Privacy
  • Project HomeLearning Online
  • Learn more about Manifold

Notes

table of contents
  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright Page
  4. Contents
  5. Acknowledgements
  6. Welcome to Learning Online
  7. Part 1. Who Am I as an Online Learner?
    1. 1. Identifying Skills for Self-Directed Learning
    2. 2. Applying the Plan-Monitor-Evaluate Model for Assessing Your Learning Progress
    3. 3. Using Critical Questioning to Support Your Learning
    4. 4. Managing Information for Online Learning
  8. Part 2. Who Am I with on My Learning Journey?
    1. 5. Defining Your Learning Community
    2. 6. Understanding the Principles of Effective Teamwork
    3. 7. Planning for Successful Teamwork
    4. 8. Progressing Through the Stages of Team Development
    5. 9. Making Commitments That Support Teamwork
  9. Part 3. Who Are My Instructors? What Is Their Role?
    1. 10. Describing the Role of an Online Instructor
    2. 11. Developing an Effective Student-Instructor Connection
  10. Part 4. Learning to Manage Your Time
    1. 12. Using Your Course Schedules to Organize Your Learning
    2. 13. Developing a Weekly Schedule That Works for You
    3. 14. Managing Daily Tasks
    4. 15. Making Use of Small Blocks of Time
  11. Part 5. Professional Communication
    1. 16. Communicating by Email in the Online Learning Environment
    2. 17. Communicating in Online Discussion Forums
    3. 18. Giving and Receiving Feedback
  12. Part 6. Analyzing Online Assignments
    1. 19. Identifying Learning Goals for Assignments
    2. 20. Using a Rubric / Marking Guide to Structure Your Work
    3. 21. Creating an Assignment Plan
    4. 22. Using Feedback to Move Forward
  13. Part 7. Strategic Reading
    1. 23. Understanding the Emphasis of Reading in Your Online Learning Journey
    2. 24. Evaluating Your Reading Skills
    3. 25. Strategic Reading with the SQ3R Method
    4. 26. Identifying the Purpose of SQ3R Steps
    5. 27. Applying the SQ3R Method
    6. 28. Reading Journal Articles Strategically
    7. 29. Taking Effective Notes
    8. 30. Reviewing Your Learning
  14. Downloadable Resources
    1. Resource 2.1: Key Questions to Improve Your Learning
    2. Resource 2.2: Planning-Monitoring-Evaluation Cycle Activity
    3. Resource 3.1: Create Study Questions Using Bloom’s Cognitive Taxonomy
    4. Resource 11.1: Developing Instructor Relationships Online
    5. Resource 12.1: Master Schedule Template
    6. Resource 13.1: Weekly Schedule Template
    7. Resource 20.1: Use a Rubric / Marking Guide
    8. Resource 21.1: Create an Assignment Planner
    9. Resource 22.1: Use Evaluation to Support Planning
  15. References
  16. Congratulations

17 Communicating in Online Discussion Forums

Many online courses include discussion forums either as a required assignment or to support your learning process. How can you use discussion forums to support your learning in the best way possible?

In chapter 5, you were introduced to social presence and cognitive presence, elements of the community of inquiry you are building in your course. Forums are a tool for creating collaborative learning relationships. They can also be a low-stakes way to express your developing ideas and get feedback on how you are learning the course material as you work toward development and completion of larger assignments.

The rubric in table 17.1 outlines what distinguishes unsuccessful, successful, and the most successful discussion forum posts. What do you notice in the rubric? If your instructor has provided a rubric for online posts, read the rubric and identify the criteria for successful discussion forum posts.

Table 17.1: What Makes a Good Discussion Forum Post?

Level

Criteria

3—Most successful

• Postings demonstrate that you have completed and reflected well on course readings.

• Postings demonstrate that you have read and reflected on colleagues’ postings before posting a response.

• Postings contribute to the class’s understanding of the course content.

• Posting is very regular and consistent throughout the whole course.

• Writing style is engaging, well organized, and professional.

2—Successful

• Postings generally incorporate ideas from course readings.

• Postings usually show reflection on and response to others’ ideas and questions.

• Postings are usually relevant to the current discussion.

• Postings usually help others understand class content.

• Postings are posted to the forum somewhat consistently.

• Writing quality is sufficiently clear and professional to be easily understood by others.

1—Unsuccessful

• Postings do not demonstrate an understanding of course readings.

• Postings fail to engage with other classmates’ postings.

• Postings are not relevant to course learning outcomes.

• Postings do not help others learn.

• Posting is inconsistent throughout the course.

• Postings contain multiple writing errors or are poorly structured.

Tips for Participating in Discussion Forums

  1. 1. Develop a clear understanding of the expectations and ground rules for the forum. Review your course outline for guidance on how often to post, the type of content to include in each post, and the best way to respond to others’ posts.
  2. 2. Make connections between your posts and the content you are learning in the course. A forum post is often an excellent place to engage in critical reflection. Make connections between the course content and the ways your growing understanding is shaping your present and future practice.
  3. 3. Set a regular schedule for posting and commenting on forums. This prevents the amount of content from becoming overwhelming and allows you to develop stronger relationships in the course by regularly engaging with classmates.
  4. 4. Include resources that might be useful to other classmates or your instructor in your posts.
  5. 5. Use language that is appropriate for an academic environment. Avoid writing in a way that is too informal (i.e., writing that resembles a text message).
  6. 6. Make sure that each post is clearly written and well structured. Take time to clarify the message you want to communicate in your post and organize your content into clear and concise paragraphs. This is easier for your reader than a long or disorganized post.
  7. 7. Respond to others’ posts in a supportive and challenging way. In writing, messages may be unintentionally misinterpreted. Be sure that your responses to others are respectful, are positive in tone, and do not appear angry, even when you wish to disagree or present an alternative viewpoint.
  8. 8. Participate in the community discussion by furthering, not repeating, ideas. To do this, read others’ comments before posting, and connect your ideas with what you are hearing from your classmates.1

  1. 1 C. Pappas, “10 Netiquette Tips for Online Discussions,” eLearning Industry, June 6, 2015, accessed August 7, 2018, https://elearningindustry.com/10-netiquette-tips-online-discussions; C. Pappas, “7 Tips on How to Use Forums in eLearning,” eLearning Industry, August 16, 2015, accessed August 7, 2018, https://elearningindustry.com/7-tips-use-forums-in-elearning.

Annotate

Next Chapter
18. Giving and Receiving Feedback
PreviousNext
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0), except where otherwise noted. This license allows users to copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format and to remix, transform, and build upon the material as long as the original source is properly credited, the work is not used for commercial purposes, and the new creation is licensed under the same terms.
Powered by Manifold Scholarship. Learn more at
Opens in new tab or windowmanifoldapp.org