Evolving as a digital teacher: Tools of the trade (Part 5)

 

For us in PNG, online teaching may already be complementing face-to-face classes for some while others may be still planning on implementing it. We at DWU have already begun preparing and others have started teaching online. Among the plethora of tech tools available to achieve this you also have the pedagogy, one of them being the use of online discussion forums. Made even more popular through the many groups and pages on social media platforms that encourage this.

 

Leading an effective discussion in an online forum is a skill you can learn, much as you learned how to lead class discussions in person. An interesting article here on “The Chronicle of Higher Education” titled The Secret Weapon of Good Online Teaching: Discussion Forums

 

Flower Darby, the author, highlights six simple ways to foster meaningful conversations in an online forum:

1. Take part in the discussion.
2. But be strategic about your participation.
3. The better the question, the better the debate.
4. Ask students to write about something they find naturally interesting — like themselves.
5. Structure the online conversation.
6. Aim for organic, authentic conversation.

Read the article to find out more.

 

I really do not use discussion forums a lot in my online classes however when I do use them the participation in the conversation is not very encouraging in my opinion. Not a lot of my students respond to the discussion question. Even if they respond, the response is light and does not carry much thought in it to further discuss the point. Perhaps I too need to take into consideration a few of this pointers.

 

What is your take on this and how do you use discussion forums?