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Discussion Management Tips for Online Educators

By Jo Macek / September 2009

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Comments (15) Instapaper
I started teaching online classes more than 10 years ago. My training with Davenport University in 1998 consisted of five weeks of online and on-campus "how-to" workshops about using the technology. A few years later, the six-week online training at Franklin University still focused on software navigation but included rubrics for student participation.

Comments

  • Thu, 18 Sep 2014
    Post by Amirta John

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  • Fri, 29 Aug 2014
    Post by alex

    I am also a school teacher and I was teaching start when I am in college and doing studies to gather as well but now I am professional teacher and I agree your point of views. http://www.click2assignment.co.uk/assignment-services.php

  • Mon, 02 Dec 2013
    Post by quarry operations

    A fascinating discussion is worth comment. I feel that you should write extra on this subject, it may not be a taboo subject but typically individuals are not sufficient to talk on such topics. quarry operations

  • Thu, 14 Oct 2010
    Post by dev@online mba

    This is really a very informative and educative post, but i want to know discussion question for small business management.

  • Wed, 06 Oct 2010
    Post by flora

    well you give a best tips to all the future people like most of people think that just to study a short time schooling and college or doing some courses then we are becoming the teacher but the can not thing that because of that bashing and misbehaving they can make a child stubborn and because of stubborn may be the children left study and because of an un trained teacher the whole future is finished of that boy!

  • Wed, 01 Sep 2010
    Post by Jeanna Bailey

    Great reading material. Kept my attention.

  • Tue, 29 Jun 2010
    Post by Tareq Beck

    Well Done! Best Tareq

  • Thu, 24 Jun 2010
    Post by Brandon Avants

    I have never taught an online course. reading this article opened my eyes and answered some of the questions that I had. It is easy to stand in front of a class and engage the students. Learning how to engage them in an online manner would be much more difficult.

    Using current topics for class, even from the evening news is a great idea.

    Thanks for your insight!

    Brandon Avants

  • Fri, 11 Jun 2010
    Post by Gregory Whitfield

    These are all valid points. I have taken numerous online courses and the instructors' comments were more meaningful when I noticed that he/she had not responded to every post.

  • Thu, 10 Jun 2010
    Post by patricia barnett

    Hello All: Substantive posts show how much and how deep the students understand the material. All learners are interested in "how long the paper needs to be", so a minimal word count for discussion questions is great!

  • Tue, 08 Dec 2009
    Post by Michelle Everson

    I can relate to so much of what you write about, Jo. I've been teaching online for six years and discussions are big parts of all of my online courses. I was especially interested in your "Don't always reply" tip. This is still something I struggle with. I end up feeling like I want every student to know I've read what he/she has to say and that I value it, but you are correct in that it can get overwhelming if you attempt to do this (especially this semester when I am teaching three online courses, one of which has 44 students!).

  • Thu, 15 Oct 2009
    Post by clintonette garrison

    Thanks, this is helpful. This is my first time teaching an on-line course and I really appreciate the tips.

  • Tue, 13 Oct 2009
    Post by Bill Osborne

    Classic learning model. Particularly like the "Big Questions" (#10)& the grounding in reality.

    Well Done! Best Bill

  • Tue, 13 Oct 2009
    Post by Leah MacVie

    This article had so many great ideas that I can't wait to share. My favorite, as a student, always was: 4. Recommend Extra Stuff. I gobbled that information up! as do students still.

  • Wed, 30 Sep 2009
    Post by Renee Hochstetler

    Thanks for sharing these helpful tips. When it comes down to teaching online, it's important to have conventions in mind that will engage students and facilitate discussion. While content is important, it's the instructor's approach that engages the class.