A person who facilitates an online discussion is known as an ‘E-moderator’. Your role as an E-moderator involves:

• Stating the goals of the discussion, your expectations and any ground rules
• Making sure students are aware of your participation level in the discussion
• Engaging students in the discussion by using strategies such as presenting conflicting opinions, basing the discussion on controversial papers or opinions, using authentic Learning contexts, using questioning and counterfactuals
• Refocussing the discussion if it gets off topic.

Don’t

• Become the gatekeeper – aim for discussions that will require less input from you over time and more interaction amongst students
• Over contribute – let the students answer questions from others
• Tolerate any behavior that you feel is inappropriate.