Using Electronic Discussion Boards To Help Foster Class Discussion

by Ann Bomberger

Overview
Study questions and journal writing have long been a staple in many college courses and will likely remain a key component in many classes. An electronic discussion board-- a web site that allows participants easily to post questions and commentary-- pedagogically takes features from both study questions and journal writing, while adding an interactive component.

The technology puts few restrictions on how it can be used, but I'll detail here how I have used electronic discussion boards in my classes in order to give some specific examples as to how it can help foster class discussions.

Professor provides the questions
Generally, I post several broad questions two or three days before the reading assignment will be discussed in class. It's important to stress to students that they should read all of their fellow students postings before they make their own responses, so that they don't simply repeat what's already been said. Encourage students to digress as they see fit and to post their own questions in the discussion. If questions are too narrow or factual, then a real "conversation" can't progress and too much repetition ensues.

I also set some minimum standards for number of postings because, alas, students' hectic schedules often preclude them from having an electronic discussion solely for the love of learning (although spontaneous conversations do sometimes arise). I usually require a minimum of two postings, with each response needing to be at least two paragraphs in length. One posting is due by 4 p.m. the day before we will discuss the reading assignment in class and the second posting by midnight. Both the paragraph requirements and times of postings obviously can be altered by professors to better suit their workload and schedules.

The success of a discussion board depends on integrating it smoothly into the class and in setting high standards for discussion. If students do not feel that it relates to the class, they tend to view it as "busy work." To encourage thoughtful, insightful posts, I bring examples of strong student postings to start discussions about what constitutes excellence in informal writing. This has the added benefit of drawing shier students into the discussion. I also generally give a mid-term and semester grade based on the level of insight and frequency of postings.

Students provide the questions
Sometimes I don't post any questions at all and have the students come up with their own analytical questions. Since the discussion becomes thinned out because of the sheer number of questions, I make a point to select strong questions to structure the class discussion the next day (I also mention the people who posted the questions we're using by name in order to praise their contribution and to draw them into the discussion). Having students create their own questions spurs them to think analytically about the text with no guidance.

Clearly, repetition again needs to be strongly discouraged. When I have them post their own questions, I tell them well in advance that they will have to do so in order to allow them the chance to look for questions as they are reading the assignments for the day. One warning: in my experience, students tend to complain about coming up with their own question more than they do for other kinds of assignments. In general, I try to vary the kinds of electronic discussions I set up from week to week.

Electronic group work
Particularly in large classes, too many participants answering the same question sometimes resembles the experience of being at a very large, loud party trying to carry on a subtle conversation. Therefore, on occasion I divide students into small groups and assign them a particular topic. This kind of structure works much like the free-for-all questioning format, but is easier to follow and encourages students to respond in more depth to a particular question.

Peer reviews
To encourage lengthier, more substantive peer reviews, I have students deposit their rough drafts in WebCT and write their commentary in WebCT.. I post several questions for them to consider as they evaluate their peer's paper and ask students to pose three of their own questions about their draft. Giving students a few minutes to discuss the peer reviews face to face helps to clear up miscommunications and makes students feel more comfortable sharing their writing with others.

Allegheny's electronic discussion boards
Allegheny uses two kinds of electronic discussion boards, WebCT and eRoom. These programs for the most part resemble one another; they both have discussion boards, are password protected, and can be used to post assignments and link to other websites. However, they do differ in some notable ways. WebCT, having more features, is more complicated for faculty to learn to use (workshops are provided by ECS). Students tend to like it better than eRoom, primarily because eRoom can take a long time to access if the student logs on from an older computer. WebCT also does not allow a user to drag files into the program, unlike eRoom, making it a bit more cumbersome to use.

WebCT
This program provides

• threaded discussion board
• calendar, quizzes, live chat, area to post assignments
• a feature that allows you to link to other web sites
• easy accessibility from any computer with a web connection

eRoom
This program provides

• threaded discussion board
• the ability to drag files into discussion rooms-- a feature helpful for online peer review and one that makes it easy to keep a current syllabus and all assignments in eRoom
• color coding that signals when a post has been recently added
• a feature that allows you to easily link to other web sites
  

Signing up for an electronic discussion board
Allegheny faculty members interested in using an electronic discussion board should contact their Educational Computing Services coordinator (Susan Fenton, Karen Stone, or James Fadden).