Discussion Boards

The forum activity module enables participants to have asynchronous discussions i.e. discussions that take place over an extended period of time. The forum activity allows students and instructors to exchange ideas by posting comments as part of a 'thread.' Files such as images and media may be included in forum posts. The instructor can choose to grade and/or rate forum posts. Ratings can be aggregated to form a final grade which is recorded in the gradebook, or whole forum grading allows instructors to assess student forum postings from an intuitive grading interface that collects all of each student’s postings on one page. The grade is also available to record to the gradebook.

Online or face-to-face, in groups or as a full class, discussion is one of the key tools instructors have to determine how well and clearly students have understood course concepts.  It also provides a fertile ground for testing ideas, filling in gaps, and expanding the conversation and topic to address expressed needs and interest of the learners. 

 For face-to-face facilitation, developers can identify a series of possible questions to pose to the class that align with the course content.

NOTE: While courses that are developed for both face-to-face and IUOnline mastershell delivery need to have content that is consistent, it is likely not possible to use the same (or at least all of the same) discussion points online that are used in class.  A face-to-face class can include numerous group activities and discussions.  However, since online discussions require each person to post and then all to post at least two replies, there is a danger in exhausting students – and instructors – with too many discussion topics.  Best practices for online discussion boards suggest limiting substantive discussion boards to two a week.  

Discussions online, since they are developed and posted as part of the master, need to strike a balance between covering key content areas and being flexible enough and provocative enough to engage learners in a protracted discussion.  Case studies, multi-part questions, personal application of content (real life examples) and the like often make for the best approach.  Discussion Board best practices and grading criteria are located in both the Faculty and Student Hubs under Academic Resources. Students should be regularly encouraged to view this content.  

Refer to the Discussion Board Best Practices in the Immaculata Faculty Resource Center, in particular the Discussion Board Policy