Tips for Managing Open Network Discussions

In our class, we integrate open network discussion board as our lesson discussion rather than CMS' discussion boards, such as BBLearn. Why do we integrate open network discussion board, such as Nabble? It is because open network discussion board supports the concepts of open, network, individualized to align to Connectivism, ONLE, and PLE. In other words, to be effectively engaging open network discussions, we must have the skills to customize and individualize the discussions. If we do not manage open network discussions or using traditional online discussion board methods to participate in discussions, we will be frustrated by open network format and seeing it as one more place to visit and participate.

Here are a few tips for you to manage your ONLE and PLE so your participation in discussions would be more effective. With these methods, you do not need to visit Nabble discussion board every time you intend to participate. You can monitor the discussion board activities and/or participate/respond the discussion postings without visit Nabble discussion board.

Add Nabble discussion to PLE RSS Feeds

  • Monitor the Nabble discussion activities on your PLE

    • Add a RSS gadget to your PLE. There are many RSS gadgets you can select from.

    • Obtain the RSS feed for the course Nabble discussion board and/or he RSS feed from Lesson discussion board.

      • You can subscribe each lesson RSS feed or the course discussion RSS feed.

      • Where to locate the RSS feed?

        • Nabble's RSS feed locates on the lower left corner of the lesson discussion board or the course discussion board.

        • The feed looks like: http://etc647-fall-2011-discussion-boards.1062160.n5.nabble.com/Lesson-2-f4745244.xml or http://etc647-fall-2011-discussion-boards.1062160.n5.nabble.com/ETC647-Fall-2011-Discussion-Boards-f4713638.xml (Be sure to obtain the RSS feeds you prefer. These two example URLs may not meet your needs.)

Add Nabble discussion RSS feeds to your favorite feed organizer

  • Monitor the Nabble discussion activities on any RSS organizer, such as Internet browsers, Firefox, Chrome, Safari, or IE

    • See your browser for the instructions.

Subscribe Nabble discussion's E-Mail notification

  • Monitor the Nabble discussion activities & respond to the discussion postings from your e-mail

    • Subscribe via E-Mail for the course discussion board or each Lesson discussion board.

    • When a new posting posted to the discussion board, you will receive an e-mail and you can reply the posting by responding the e-mail without visiting the Nabble.

Subscribe Nabble discussion RSS feed to MS Outlook

  • Monitor the Nabble discussion activities & respond to the discussion postings from your MS Outlook

    • Click RSS Feed on Nabble

    • Select either"Topics only" or "Topics and replies"

    • Select "Microsoft Outlook" & Click "Subscribe Now"

Subscribe the Nabble RSS feeds on your mobile devices

  • Monitor the Nabble discussion activities & respond to the discussion postings from your mobile devices

    • Either via e-mail or RSS apps on your mobile devices.

    • If you use Netvibes, download Netvibes onto your mobile devices. The Nabble discussion feeds will show on your Netvibes app.