Online Discussion Guidelines

 

Online discussions (“Forums” in Sakai) are topically organized dialogs or conversations that take place in Sakai. The Forums enable MATUL students and faculty to link messages in order to exchange project-related insights from geographically dispersed locations.

 

During discussions, students interact with content (e.g. assigned readings and videos), their classmates (via discussion, peer review), and with the instructor (as they seek to instruct, guide, correct, and support learners). Messages in a given thread share a common topic and are linked to each other in the order of their creation. All students have a “voice” in the discussions; no one—not even the instructor—is able to dominate or control the conversation. Because the course is available asynchronously (i.e. at any time and from any location with an Internet connection), online discussions enable participants to reflect on each other’s contributions, as well as their own, prior to posting. As “iron sharpens iron,” each student’s contribution enhances the learning of all other students, and feeds back into our life within our host communities.

 

To make this process work for all, “posts” must be made during specified time periods (as specified under each project). This means that you will have to finish processing any assigned reading and/or other project-related work within those same time periods. To write substantive posts, you will need to stay healthy, focused, and organized.

 

Procedure

• Begin a particular project within the specified time period.
• Wait for the instructor to pose a topic-related query.
• Each student responds with an initial, substantive post.
• Students respond to each other’s posts.
• Instructor interacts with student responses, redirecting the discussion when necessary to improve participation, while also encouraging the exploration of topic-related issues
  

Guidelines for participation

• Students adhere to specific timeframes for discussion and reflection.
• For each topical thread, each student contributes at least three (3) posts.
• Students pay attention to the quantity/timeliness and quality of their postings (see rubric below)

 

Assessment rubric

	1	2	3	4
Quantity and timeliness of post	Does not respond to most postings; rarely participates freely Appears indifferent to learning community	Responds to most postings several days after initial (scheduled) discussion; Takes limited initiative	Responds to most postings within a 24-hour period; Rarely requires prompting to post	Consistently responds to posting in less than 24 hours Shows initiative in motivating group discussion’
Quality of post	Posts topics unrelated to discussion topic; Appears “rushed” with poor spelling/ grammar and unclear expression	Occasionally posts off topic; offers short posts with limited insight on the topic; Difficulty in expressing ideas clearly	Frequently posts topics related to discussion topic States opinions and ideas clearly; contributes insights to topic	Consistently posts topics related to discussion topic Clear, creative expression of ideas and opinions