EdTech Tools

Tip Sheet: Designing Dynamic Discussion Boards

Online educators who use discussion boards successfully estimate that their interaction with students can be as much as three times the interaction with face-to-face students, and that peer-to-peer interaction is even many times more than that.

For instructors facilitating a robust discussion board, the fervor of activity may prove overwhelming. How do you make the most of this new form of learning experience? And what if your discussion board is more like a ghost town than a boom town? How can you get students to participate thoughtfully and frequently?

Face-to-face discussion basically never happens in online courses. Here are five ways to start communicating whether you're a teacher or student.