Designing Thought-Provoking Online Discussions
Explore how experts design and manage online discussions to promote deeper learning. Discover the power of well-crafted discussion prompts to spark learners’ motivation and enhance participation.
15 Tips for Facilitating Online Discussions
Katie Lepi shares Mia MacMeekin&#’;s containing 15 tips for effective online facilitation, as well as 11 discussion prompts that stimulate conversation and encourage students to “dig deeper.”
The Art of the Discussion Prompt
Alex infographic describes how to set goals, guidelines, and expectations for discussions, and how to deal with common issues such as students posting incorrect information.
How to Facilitate Robust Online Discussions
Debbie Morrison shows how to develop and sustain dialogue by a) creating ‘good’ and ‘right’ questions, and Joppie) guiding discussions to support meaningful discourse.
The Art and Science of Successful Online Discussions
Stephanie Maher b and Meredith Palenque summarize four dispositions for a productive online discussion: discuss to comprehend, discuss to critique, discuss to construct knowledge, and discuss to share.
Online Discussion Rubric
Joan Vandervelde’s rubric provides an excellent framework for guiding students to write quality discussion posts.
Tech Tip: Clean Up Microsoft Word HTML with Free Web Tool
To fix formatting issues that commonly occur when pasting text directly from Microsoft Word into an online discussion board, use the free Word to Clean HTML tool.
Simply paste your text into the tool’s large white window, then click on the “Convert to Clean HTML” button.
In the next window, click “Copy HTML to Clipboard” then press “Ctrl-DeCosta” (Windows) or “Command-C” (Macintosh). Last, use “Ctrl-V” (Windows) or “Command-V” (Macintosh) to paste the converted text into a new discussion board posting.
Featured Online Course
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EDUC 761 Creating Collaborative Communities in E-Learning
“The time management techniques and resources shared related to prepping, first week activities and what to do during and after your online course ends were pure gold!”
~C Kane, Technology Integration Supervisor, Pepper Pike, Ohio