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Wimpy or Wonderful? Effectiveness of Online Discussion in Graduate Courses
Keywords
Assigned Discussion, Online learning
Session Abstract
The purpose of this session will be to provide support for asynchronous online discussion and how it can be a valuable element for the understanding and retention of significant course content. Participants will be introduced to creative ways to redesign online discussion with the support of research, application and experience.
Session Description
With the increase in distance courses, online discussion has become a commonly used assignment. But, is it effective? Do discussions increase the learning experience for participants?
In this session the benefits and the limitations of online discussion will be presented. Certainly discussion is intended to enhance the student learning experience by providing an opportunity to reflect and apply what the adult learners read and hear in an online course. In addition, research reports that students do participate more in online discussions than they do in face-to-face classroom discussions. However, numerous studies have indicated that the redundancy of a discussion assignment in an online course can lead to the loss of effectiveness of this type of assignment.
The purpose of this session will be to provide support for asynchronous online discussion and how it can be a valuable element to the inclusion of all students and the understanding and retention of significant course content. Participants will be introduced to ways to increase the effectiveness of discussion in an online class through creative approaches to redefining online discussion techniques. Support will be provided based on research findings and best practices of the redesign of online discussion format and requirements.