Prospective online students should understand that discussion boards still require proper grammar, spelling and sentence structure. (Paul Bradbury/Getty Images)
I recently completed an online graduate certificate for my administrative job at SUNY Buffalo State. As with most online coursework, I was required to engage in a weekly discussion forum by posting my thoughts on topic prompts or articles and also respond to others in my class.
As an online professor, I often assign weekly discussion board assignments to encourage students to engage and learn about and from each other. Students considering online coursework should know that the online discussion forum isn't for texting or social media-type microposts but is designed so students can post and respond to their classmates, usually from a weekly prompt related to the course material. The writing style in a discussion forum is generally a bit more casual than in formal papers or weekly written assignments but should still maintain proper grammar, spelling, punctuation and sentence structure.
Online faculty assign discussion board questions because there is an overwhelming amount of research saying students deeply learn and grow through frequent conversations and debates on salient academic topics. Researchers say the online forum promotes deeper engagement with subject matter and gives a voice to those feeling stigmatized.
Some discussion forums are set up with no posting rules. When somebody posts a comment, everyone else can immediately see it, just like in an online chat room. Others are set up so that students can't see what others have posted until they first submit their own post for the week. Once a student posts, that unlocks the discussion. This type of forum is called a "post-first" discussion.
This was the case with my recent coursework. Until I submitted my post, I didn't know if I was posting first or last, and what others had said. I will admit that I found this unnerving at first.
It makes it impossible to gauge what others are thinking. In a physical classroom discussion, before students answer a question asked by the professor, they can scan for subtle nonverbal reactions of classmates. They can also wait to hear the opinions of the students who are confident enough in their own convictions to speak first.
In a post-first discussion forum, every student is speaking first without the ability to read the room and hear a student consensus on the topic, with the risk of being the only student with a certain opinion. While some students are comfortable holding outspoken positions, for others – including me – it is stressful.
[Learn how to choose an online program as an introvert or extrovert.]
To overcome the stress, online students should understand that this feature enables each student to express his or her reaction to a topic prompt without being swayed by others. There were several instances when I submitted my thoughts, and then read a classmate's response that was extremely similar to mine. Because of the post-first/read-second rule, I didn't feel like I was copying her, she didn't feel like I was copying her and the teacher didn't think we were copying each other. That's definitely a benefit. Otherwise, there would be many posts saying, "I think what Olivia thinks."
The post-first discussion forum allows introverted students who might have great ideas but are shy about expressing them to do so without feeling oppressed by the most vocal students in the class. As with face-to-face discussions, a good professor will always moderate the tone and civility of the discussion to ensure that when students disagree, all are treated with dignity.
The takeaway: Online discussions are a great way to think deeply about content by sharing ideas with classmates. In a post-first discussion, students can offer opinions free from the influence of classmates. Be bold, state and defend what you think, and you will enhance your learning experience.