What Are Three Proven Ways to Manage My Online Discussion Board and Actively Engage Students?

The discussion board is one of the key areas in any online classroom where truly active learning can take place. But it can be a struggle for students and teachers alike to connect—both in terms of logistical day-to-day tasks, and in terms of higher levels of engagement. So how can we avoid burnout and make the discussion board a place where students are eager to go?

This 20-Minute Mentor offers three strategies to help ensure that instructors are modeling high engagement and expectations, making fruitful connections, and sharing expertise on the discussion board to ensure that the content pushes the conversation further.

Learning Goals

After viewing this Magna 20-Minute Mentor, participants will be able to:

• Develop a clear strategy for modeling and tracking interactions on the discussion board
• Create connections on the discussion board through explicit and implicit bridges
• Learn strategies for using the discussion board to share your expertise

Topics Covered

• The engagement you model: Create a schedule for workflow to ensure that you are modeling active participation and recognizing engagement opportunities
• The community you foster: Make fruitful connections between students and signal the larger community of inquiry to produce deeper engagement
• The expertise you share: Share your expertise in the discussion forum, not just in lecture materials, and ensure that your responses are rich with content knowledge and enriched by multimedia connections

Audience

This program will benefit:

• Faculty of all kinds

Product Code: QM20MA