discussionboards

toc Use this framework of discussion activities to engage students with course content and each other in ways that do not require the instructor to be the "primary inititator of knowledge generation and interaction" (Conrad & Donaldson, 2004). These have designed for threaded discussions but can be adapted to blogs, wikis and journals. Text in italics is the actual prompt, copy and paste it.
 * Engaging Discussion Board Prompts* **

Intros & Icebreakers

 * Purpose:** Encourage learners to participate in their course online community and get to know each other
 * Key features:** Use in first few weeks of course -- Fun and nonthreatening - Focuses on people not content - Requires learners to read and respond each other's posts - Requires learners to be imaginative or express themselves

**Examples**

 * **Classmate Quiz**: //Please post personal introductions to this forum during the first week of class. You are expected to read through each classmate's posting. An online quiz will be held the second week of class to see what you've learned about your classmates. The quiz will count towards class participation."//
 * **Paired Interviews:**Create two forums for this activity, one for interviews and one for introductions. Identify the pairs in the subject line of the interview forum threads. Have the students prepare about five questions such as:
 * //What experience do you have as an online learner?//
 * //What expectations do you have for the course?//
 * //How will you apply what you learn in the course?//
 * //What is your favorite website? Why?//
 * //What about you would your peers in this course find interesting?//
 * **Two Truths and A Lie**
 * 1) //Post 2 truths about yourself and one lie. Do this by clicking "Add New Thread."//
 * 2) //Respond to two other student postings with a guess which item is a lie. Do this by clicking "Reply" while highlighting the posting you wish to respond to.//
 * 3) //Later we'll find out what is true and what is false.//
 * **Your Experience and Expectations**
 * 1) //Please introduce yourself to your classmates by clicking "Add New Thread" and doing the following://
 * 2) //Write about a highlight in your prior academic or work experience. Make sure to give reasons why this was a significant experience.//
 * 3) //Write at least 3 sentences regarding what you expect to get out of this class.//
 * 4) //Next, find at least two classmates who have similar experiences and/or expectations as you, and click "Reply" to give them some affirming feedback.//
 * 5) //Finally, find at least two classmates who have very different experience and/or expectations as you, and click "Reply" to give them some feedback and/or to ask some questions to help you better understand their perspective.//

Peer Partners

 * Purpose:** Nurture academic peer-partner interactions.
 * Key features:** Prepare learners to work in larger groups -- Activity is academically-oriented and content-focused -- Requires learners to evaluate partner's works -- Requires learners to provide constructive and useful feedback to their their partner.

**Examples**

 * **Contest of the Week**
 * //Contest #1: With your partner, find a web site for a national organization that relates to course topics. Post the URL and a very brief description of the organization.//
 * //Contest #2: With your partner, identify a person who has some relationship to the topic of the week. Briefly explain the relevance.//
 * Don't allow duplicates which necessitates that students read all contributions. Have students rate the relevance and quality of each site or person and the quality of the description. Contest winners receive bonus points.
 * **Dyad Debate**
 * Objective: To introduce students to the idea of exchanging oppositional thoughts online
 * Provide students with several content-related issues to debate. Have then choose one or two of the issues and once they've debated them, have them share a summary of the debate with the rest of the class. Ask them to look for commonalities among the issues.
 * **Progressive Debate**
 * Provide topics for debate. Have students work in pairs. One partner writes three pro arguments and the supporting points for the argument. The other partner writes three con arguments and the supporting points. Have other students rate the arguments of other pairs.

Team Activity

 * Purpose:** Promote team-building and increase comfort using discussion board
 * Key features:** Involves more than just questions and answers -- C ontent-focused -- Requires learners to write responses which build on each another's thoughts -- Enables the team to produce a synthesized response or end product -- Enables individual team members to be individually accountable for their contributions

**Examples**

 * **Group Contract**
 * Objective: To determine the code of conduct for a team
 * //A good group contract may include the following://
 * 1) //How will you communicate? Online, in person, or both?//
 * 2) //How often will you check for updates from group members?//
 * 3) //Will there be a permanent or rotating team leader? How will the various roles be determined?//
 * 4) //Who will post the final product for the group?//
 * 5) //What will be the policy for absences from group work sessions?//
 * 6) //What policy will be in place for group conflicts that might arise?//
 * **Formative Course Evaluation**
 * //In groups of four or five, collaborate and create a summary that provides specific feedback on what you like or do not like about this course, including what you feel needs improvement and your ideas on how to carry out the improvement.//
 * //Spend the next week discussing and formulating your thoughts. Appoint someone in your group to post a 300-to-400 word summary. During the following week, each of you should then respond to at least two other groups' summaries.//
 * Assign points for completing the activity to each team member. The intent is to encourage substantive feedback and therefore a grade for actual content would be inappropriate.

Reflective Activity

 * Purpose:** Use for private exchanges between student and instructor or shared with groups or the entire class.
 * Key features:** Enables learners to synthesize what they've learned -- Enables learners to share their experiences openly -- Requires learner to provide helpful feedback to the instructor, for course improvements -- Insightful and nonthreatening -- Activity completed over several days or weeks.

**Examples**

 * **Critical Insight on Course Readings**
 * Objective: Promotes active reading of course materials and provide an opportunity for them to explore an area of interest in more depth
 * //Instructions://
 * 1) // Choose one chapter of the textbook that interests you. //
 * 2) // Choose one article from a newspaper, journal or other periodical that represents the concepts of that chapter (or a portion of the chapter). //
 * 3) // Write three to five paragraphs that describe why you chose that chapter and the article and the web sites to represent that chapter. //
 * 4) // Write one question that came to our mind as you were completing this assignment. //
 * 5) // Post your assignment summary and your question to the discussion board. //
 * 6) // The written material must meet the criteria specified for grammar and spelling and critical thinking. //
 * **I didn't know that . . .**
 * Objective: Promotes deeper thinking and contributions to class discussions.
 * //Using this forum, post something new that you've learned this week, either from another student, from the text, or from class discussions. Indicate how you will use the new information or skill.This posting will count towards your minimum number of discussion contributions.//
 * **Insights, Resource Sharing and Applications**
 * Objective: Encourages students to learn actively and to share their insights and knowledge.
 * //Instructions: Before each class session, post the following in this forum://
 * //3 Insights: create 3 bullet points from the readings for the week (about 1 sentence each). Take notes while you read so that you can post these summary points.//
 * //1 Resource: Share one resource that amplifies the theme(s) from the assigned reading. Mention a book, article, news item, web site, or movie with similar themes, ideas or thoughts. Cite your resource in , format and give a sentence or two summary of how the resource is relevant to the assigned reading.//
 * //1 Application: Give an example from your experience (about a paragraph). Share how the reading is related to something that is currently happening or that happened in the past. Does the reading validate your insights about a particular event or situation or help to clarify what a different approach may have looked like?//
 * **Reflective Journal**(Blackboard has a journal tool)
 * //This journal is about your own experiences, attitudes, opinions and feelings in relation to this course. You should make entries throughout each week as your thoughts develop.// //Random journal checks will be done throughout the semester.//

Authentic Activity

 * Purpose:** Use for providing opportunities for learning that go beyond the learning environment.
 * Key features:** Activity is authentic to content domain -- Enables learners to collaborate -- Enables learners to build on real-world skills and apply them in real world contexts

**Examples**

 * **Preparation for Expert Chat**
 * Objective: To provide an alternative way for students to understand course content from an expert
 * //Instructions: An individual who is recognized as an expert in the course focus or current topic's content has agreed to be a guest.Your group will work on developing three questions for the guest. A week before the guest arrives, post your three questions separately to the appropriate thread for your group. Rate the other groups' questions and the top questions will be posed to the guest expert. Further instructions on the live chat with the expert follow://
 * //On the eve of the chat, plan to log in at the specified time. The first fifteen minutes are devoted to group chat and preparation for the guest.//
 * //Our guest will join us for 45 minutes. We need to use the time wisely. Each group in turn will post their most highly rated question. Pay close attention so that if your question is already responded to you don't ask it again. After the guest expert leaves the chat, we will continue the discussion for 30 minutes. We will focus on how the guest's input supported previous course instruction. Be prepared to share how any of the guest's responses surprised you.//
 * **Field of Study Interview**
 * Objective: To provide an innovative way for students to learn more about their field of study from a practicing professional
 * //Instructions: Contact an individual in your field of study (by email, phone or in person). Post to the forum the following://
 * //The interviewee's job title and function//
 * //List the three things they value the most from their education or work experience//
 * //Have them list three words that describe them//
 * //Have them describe their educational or vocational background//
 * //Have them identify three qualities they look for in an employee//
 * //Have them identify three qualities they expect from a supervisor//
 * //Have them describe the transitions they went through to achieve their current position//
 * //Have them describe the final situation that led them to their current position//
 * //Find commonalities among your classmate's posts and comment on at least one.//
 * ** Social Responsibility  **
 * Objective: To emphasize the importance of community and social responsibility
 * //Instructions: With your group, complete the following tasks://
 * //Determine a problem in your community//
 * //State the characteristics of targeted community members//
 * //Define short-term and long-term solutions//
 * //Provide a method for evaluation//
 * //Document your efforts Essential data gathering should include interviews of key individuals, existing reports, newspaper articles, and primary sources of information. Document any previous attempts to solve the problem.//
 * //Post a summary of your findings to the forum.//

* Adapted from Conrad, R., & Donaldson, J. A. (2004). Engaging the online learner: Activities and resources for creative instruction (1st ed.). San Francisco, Calif.: Jossey-Bass.