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online discussions

Whiteboards as an Alternative to Discussion Forums

Online teachers generally assume that student discussion and collaboration should occur in a learning management system’s (LMS’s) discussion forum. But for certain uses, online whiteboards work better than the LMS due to their fundamentally different design.

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Exploring the Dimensions of Online Discussion

Why is online discussion worth discussing? For starters, many conversations about this unique form of interaction have centered on its merits. Is it better or worse than face-to-face discussion? As interesting as those conversations have been, what merits analysis now are the implications of those

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What Is the Purpose of Online Discussion?

Nearly all online faculty use discussion in their courses, often simply because everyone else does or their institution’s course development model assumes they do. But like any course content or activity, we need to ask about its purpose. There is no law that all online

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Online Discussions: Five Kinds of Forums

Exchanging ideas, sharing information, and voicing opinions in an online course isn’t the same as doing so when the class meets face-to-face. Even so, some of the same problems emerge: not all students participate, and some offer observations unconnected to previous comments in the exchange.

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Chat as an Alternative to Videoconferencing and Discussion Forums

Faculty who move from face-to-face teaching to online teaching must decide how to facilitate student interaction in a web environment. Nearly all use the asynchronous threaded discussion forum that is a central feature of all learning management systems (LMSs). Some also use synchronous video conferencing,

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Many blank, pale blue speech bubbles forming a cloud

Online Discussions: Would Changing the Environment Help?

Online discussions aren’t a new thing anymore; they regularly occur in online courses and courses with online components. What we’ve learned for sure: they’re a mixed bag. On the plus side, they make participation safer. Students can make a post, walk away, and not worry

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Yellowdig engaging online students

Using Yellowdig to Boost Online Discussion, Simplify Grading

The limitations of traditional online discussion boards are well-known. Yellowdig is an alternative that I have used to simplify grading, encourage student-driven conversations, and engage students so that they consistently participate throughout the semester. With familiar, social media-like features, Yellowdig is an LMS-integrated discussion tool

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engaged-discussion-board

How Superheroes Can Bring Your Discussion Board to Life

Late last summer we set the goal to liven up our discussion boards. We wanted a forum that encouraged diverse points of view, student questioning, and respectful debate. We did so by creating the gamified discussion board called Discussion Hero. Discussion Hero has students adopt

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new twists for online discussions

Five New Twists for Online Discussions

Most online courses have what we call “traditional discussions,” which follow the read-write-post (and perhaps reply to a peer or two) pattern. Even if the discussion questions are interesting, both instructors and students can get tired of the same old routine. We recommend trying any

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facilitating effective online discussions

Seven Ways to Facilitate Effective Online Discussions

Unlike a lot of faculty teaching today, Brian Udermann learned about the potential of online discussion boards almost by accident. It all happened about 15 years ago when he noticed the online discussion forum feature in his institution’s new learning management system and decided to

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