Blogs and discussion boards both provide opportunities for interaction in online courses, but there are instances when one is more appropriate than the other, says Matt Crosslin, instructional designer at the University of Texas at Arlington’s Center for Distance Education.

The main difference between the two is focus. Blogs are typically organized in reverse-chronological order and focus on the most recent input, whereas discussion boards focus on the feedback to an initial prompt.

Blog entries are typically longer than discussion board prompts and can include multimedia. These blog entries are excellent places to complement the content in the rest of the course by providing current information on a topic culled from the Web. (Some instructors have taken to using blogs exclusively.) “When you’ve got five, six, or ten paragraphs of initial stuff to comment on versus one question, it does give the students a lot more to base their response on,” Crosslin says.

Often the prompt for commenting on blogs is simply a comment button. With discussion boards, since there is usually just a short introduction, the prompts tend to be more specific. “A discussion board can have a broader range of questions, more than just ‘what are your comments?’” Crosslin says.

“So far, what I’ve seen is that there are higher expectations [from instructors] for blogs. But a lot of teachers who are using blogs are those teachers who are more into interactive learning, and so they probably have higher expectations in general,” Crosslin says.

Pros and cons of blogs

As with all tools, there are positive and negative aspects of blogs in an online course.

According to Crosslin, blogs have the following pros:
• Blogs generally have an interface that is intuitive to use.
• Blogs present content in reverse chronological order, which makes it easy to follow.
• Blogs enable instructors to add current content to their courses.
• Blog platforms have tools that enable live chat and the viewing of content by date or topic.

Crosslin also cites the following cons:
• Most course management systems do not feature blogs, and so blogs are often hosted by external websites, which brings up the issue of support and ownership.
• One downside of keeping one’s course up to date is that there are fewer opportunities to proofread this content before posting it.

Advice for using blogs

Crosslin offers the following advice for those considering using blogs in their online courses:
• Use blogs for a specific pedagogical purpose.
• Don’t duplicate content from the main part of the course.
• Provide a rubric to help students know what is expected of them.
• If possible, host the blog within the course management system so you won’t have to depend on an external host. (Some course management systems have begun experimenting with this, but it is far from widespread.)

Uses for discussion boards

Discussion boards will continue to have a place in the online classroom, Crosslin says. “Some instructors just want the questions up there and the student responses. That’s their focus. I still think there’s a great use for discussion boards, especially for feedback forums, to ask questions. If you don’t have a news or announcement function, a discussion board can be a great place to put news and announcements, and students can ask questions if they need clarification.”

Contact Matt Crosslin at matt@edugeekjournal.com.

 

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