Discussion forums/Bulletin boards

Discussion forums or bulletin boards are an asynchronous communication mechanism that is nonsynchronous, meaning that participants make a contribution to a discussion independent of time and place, and feedback is not immediate. Discussion forums can be used to achieve many different goals.

For example, they can be used:

• For information and idea-sharing amongst students and between yourself and students
• For processing ideas that come up in lectures or readings
• As tutorials focused on tutorial questions and activities
• To increase team skills by working collaboratively on projects.
• As a student space for helping each other and discussing areas that may be difficult or confusing
• To provide feedback to students as a group
• For debates or lively discussions of issues
• For online conferences
• For assessment items where discussion, communication and interaction are key criteria.

Chat rooms
Chat rooms are a synchronous communication mechanism, meaning that to participate everyone needs to be online at the same time.They can be used for many of the same types of activities as discussion forums, except that feedback is in real time. If students are working on a collaborative project and don't usually see each other face-to-face, they can be a good tool for students to use to get decisions made quickly or for group brainstorming.

Email
Email is also a mode of asynchronous communication. Although you may send emails to the whole group, you are likely to receive individual emails from students. If they are all asking the same questions you may be better to get them to direct such enquiries to a discussion forum where you can answer to the whole group.

Listservs
A LISTSERV is a program that disseminates information via email to special interest and professional groups. Listservs can be an excellent way of locating information from communities of practice on a global basis. The way the listserv is set up is important so look at the options for managing your mail.

Blogs
A blog or 'weblog' is basically an online journal that a single or multiple participants contribute to, based around some kind of special interest or purpose. Blogs are useful for sharing information and options and can be incorporated into a range of educational activities.