Best Practices for Online Discussion Boards

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 Presenter

Julie Tedjeske Crane (LinkedIn)

Julie is a Reference Librarian and Professor of Legal Research at the H. Laddie Montague, Jr. Law Library at Penn State Dickinson Law. She completed her undergraduate education at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown and went on to earn a Master of Library Science, Master of Information Science, and Juris Doctorate, all from the University of Pittsburgh. 

Julie worked as an attorney for over 15 years, practicing general civil litigation. She has also been an academic librarian at La Roche College and the University of Pittsburgh and an academic law librarian at Duquesne University and Chicago-Kent School of Law.

Julie is interested in instructional design, UX design, institutional repositories, and promoting the use of OER. She has taught a variety of credit-bearing classes in J.D., paralegal, and pre-law programs. In addition to her library and law degrees, she has a Certificate in Instructional Design from Georgetown University, and she is a Certified Canvas Educator and Quality Matters Peer Reviewer. 

 Slides

Handout and Sample Prompts

• Handout

• Sample Discussion Board Prompts

Reference List

• Jillian Rubman, 4 Tips to Design an Engaging Discussion in Canvas, MIT Sloan Teaching & Learning Technologies (January 7, 2022).

• Jessica Erickson, Preparing for Fall Teaching – Discussion Boards in Physically Distanced, Hybrid, and Remote Courses, PrawfsBlawg (July 21, 2020).

• Editorial Team, Wharton Interactive, Running a Discussion Board, Learning Insights (April 2020).

• Mark Lieberman, Discussion Boards: Valuable? Overused? Discuss, Inside Higher Education (March 26, 2019).

• Taryn Marks & Rachel Purcell, Enhancing the Online Learning Environment: Strategies for Increasing Student Engagement, AALL Spectrum 21 (March-April 2018).

• Johns Hopkins, Discussions in Online Courses: Best Practices and Expectations.