In the worlds of online classes, online discussions are a great way for students to get the most out of every class. Online discussions are not usually “chat rooms” that take place “live,” but rather discussion boards and forums where students can respond to a question posed by the instructor, a reading assignment and each others’ comments. However, in order to make online discussions truly valuable for the students, there are a number of things which can be done. All of the following tips will help motivate students to participate in the online discussions and thus increase the overall opportunities for learning.

1. Make participation a grade requirement

In a perfect world, all students would participate in the online discussions simply because they were asked to do so on a volunteer-only basis. This will not happen for most classes, however, and one of the best ways to motivate students to participate is to make their comments and participation efforts a significant part of their final grade. Requiring that students reply with a paragraph to the main question and at least two other student responses is one way to get the discussions started.

2. Make the discussions interesting!

Don’t ask the students about a topic that was discussed in great depth already in class; instead, try to pose an interesting spin on the topic. “What if” questions are a great place to start. Also, try to pose questions that are not black and white in terms of answers; open-ended questions that have no one “right” answer are better for encouraging students to participate.

3. Respond to posts – but don’t dominate the discussion

Responding to students’ posts and comments is a great way to keep them motivated, as it makes them feel as though their work is being read and appreciated. However, it’s best to not leave too many long comments; the discussion forum is a great way for the students to get their own ides out and to share them with others. Too many comments from an instructor might make students feel as though their own comments are not valued – or that there is one correct answer which must be reached.

4. Consider planning a project around the discussions

If students have to complete a project that’s based on information contained within the discussion boards, then they will be much more likely to actively participate. This is also a great way to help students learn to synthesize information from a large variety of sources.

Tags: Learning Technologies, Online Education