Setting up a Comment Functionality and Managing an Online Discussion (April 11-17, 2016)
An online discussion or forum enables a group of people to use a website in discussing a topic. In Google Sites, this is implemented by inserting a comment functionality in a webpage.
In an online discussion:
Each group member can post a question, answer a question, post a comment or suggestion, or otherwise participate in a discussion at any time. Participants does not need to connect to the Internet at the same time; in other words, the communication mode is asynchronous.
Postings are accumulated into a series of comments and replies; this serves as the archive or record of discussions. This enables anyone to come back to the online discussion page and browse what had transpired in forum, who said what and who reacted to whom.
Discussion should be organized into threads or thematic areas. A separate discussion page should be created for a specific or important topic (we will do this in Lesson 3). Postings, messages or pages should have brief, appropriate subject headings.
Email is an inefficient and disorganized way of communication between people who are collaborating on a common task. Emails exist in multiple isolated units that are very difficult to follow and mixed with your many other emails. The better solution is an online forum where discussions can be organized.
In a group collaborative work such as this online course, we shall refrain from using email and instead use the comment functionality to conduct our online discussions. Our communications will thereby be more organized:
If you wish to communicate with a classmate, post your message as a Comment in your classmate's webpage and he or she will answer you as a Reply under your original Comment. A further reply is again posted under the same Comment. The result is a threaded discussion on the same topic as the original comment.
If you wish to communicate with the course mentor, do not email him but post it in the appropriate page relevant to the topic of your message. If your question or comment is about Lesson 1, then post your comment in the Lesson 1 page, etc.
Messages are thereby visible to everyone, and organized by pages according to topics or themes as well as according to recipient.
What to do:
Download, print and study the instruction "2- How to set up a comment functionality" (click the downward pointing arrow to the right of the file name at the bottom of this lesson).
Follow and practice the instructions there. Do NOT edit or add comment functionality to this page; go to your own or dedicated practice webpage and add the comment functionality there.
Go to your classmates' individual practice webpages and study their profiles. If something interesting or curious struck you, feel free to give a comment, question, affirmation or encouragement. Enter your message in the Comment box and click "Comment" to post or send your message. If you wish to follow up a classmate's reply, you can post a message using the Reply box under the earlier reply.
A new idea or comment unrelated to a previous comment or reply should not be posted using a Reply box; use a new Comment box the new idea or comment.
Because comments in Google Sites do not have a subject heading, you can type the subject matter in big or capital letters before you enter your comment.
If another classmate posts a comment or question about your own profile in your individual practice page, you can send them .a reply (use the Reply box under his or her comment). Go back to your individual practice page several times this week to check if someone had commented about your profile, so you can respond to it if you wish.
Once posting a comment, you can return to edit or delete your comment by clicking the small triangle at the right of your comment. You can also edit or delete your reply by moving the cursor over your reply in order to show up the edit or delete links.
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Did you encounter any difficulty in practicing this skill? What insights or observations did you gain? Any questions or any thoughts on this practice session? Or, do you have any reaction or contribution to any comment below from a classmate? Post your comment or question in the "Comments" box below. If you are answering another's question or reacting to another's comment, use "Reply" under that comment. Clarification: posting comments or replies is not considered as editing because you do not change the texts, layout or functionalities of a webpage.