Using a discussion board homework assignment is a great way to create an interactive classroom atmosphere where students can discuss their work with others. You can also encourage students to engage in conversation with one another, as well as respond to each other’s work with fervor.
Create an environment for others to look at your work and respond to it with fervor
Creating an environment for others to look at your work and respond with fervor on discussion board homework is no small feat. Luckily, you don’t have to be a web guru to make the most of it. For example, a single question per person can be addressed in the form of a forum whereby other students can post their write my paper tidbits. A well-organized wiki can help keep the proceedings on track. You can even have your instructor check on the goings-on from time to time.
If you’re going to hand out the kudos, you should consider a more organized approach. In the same fashion as a topic forum, you can create topic threads or open discussion opps. It’s also a good idea to set aside a block of time for jotting down notes on a notepad. This way, you can get to know your classmates better while doing your own thing at the same time. And if you’re in a hurry, you can always post an ephemeral message and hit the ground running.
Of course, it’s a good idea to get a head start on your class before the competition takes the cake. And the best way to do it is to get a head start on your fellow elitists.
Enable grading options in discussion board forums
Using grading options for discussion board forums allows instructors to grade discussion topics and assess student participation in class topics. This grade assessment can be based on student performance in each thread or a combination of these factors.
You can enable grading options for discussion board forums by setting the appropriate settings. For example, disallowing students to create new threads ensures that students can only respond to threads created by their instructors. This also prevents students from posting anonymously.
Once you enable grading options for discussion board forums, you will be presented with a list of available options. If you do not see the option you are looking for, you may need to enable it by navigating to the Advanced settings. The following table lists suggested settings for different types of forums.
If you choose to grade individual threads, you can create a column in the Grade Center. If you choose to grade the whole forum, the column is created automatically when the forum is created.
You can also grade forums using a point system. This option is available only to users with an institutional license. If you choose this option, you can specify the number of points possible and the word count of each post. You can also choose whether or not students can subscribe to new posts.
Encourage students to engage in conversation in their responses
Getting students to engage in discussion board responses requires more than simply posing questions. There are several instructional best practices that can help you get the most out of your student’s participation. Whether you use an LMS or a traditional classroom, you’ll need to set realistic expectations and establish discussion board norms. Those norms will help you retrain students from old habits and foster the development of new ones.
The best discussions build on ideas. If students are encouraged to think of new ideas, they will have more enjoyable discussions. The best discussions also promote student engagement.
Another good way to promote student engagement is to encourage students to use their classmates’ names. Students who do not speak up in class may volunteer more often if they feel appreciated. You may want to make sure you’re paying attention to their body language.
If you have a large class, consider dividing your students into small groups. Each group should have a clear objective and a time limit. Make sure you have a list of questions you want to ask in each discussion. You can also ask each group to write a few statements on the board.
For instance, you can ask each group to write a one minute paper on how the discussion fits into the larger context. Or, you can ask students to write two arguments that support their position.
