Discussion forums—also called discussion boards or threaded discussions—are pages that allow multiple students to post messages on a specific topic. In most cases, all students in the course can read these messages. Discussion forums are used for asynchronous communication: Students do not have to be logged in to the discussion board at the same time to post or read comments.
Instructors set up discussion forums to take the place of key activities in traditional classrooms—discussion and question-and-answer sessions. Class discussions help students understand what is expected on assignments, and they help everyone understand the readings and other resources for the course.
If you are expected to contribute to a discussion forum, you are being asked to make thoughtful, well-considered posts that will be shared with everyone in the class. It’s like raising your hand in class. When you speak in class, you want to show that you are prepared, that you have thought through the question, and that you have something useful to contribute.
Instructors usually monitor discussion forums; some give credit for posts and some offer credit for strong posts but not weak ones. Discussion forums can be a bit more serious and get into more depth than classroom discussions. When you prepare a post, you have a chance to think things through, provide support for what you are saying, and review your post for clarity and quality of expression.
List of discussion forums in one course
Tips for participating in asynchronous discussions
Related topics:
Home page or welcome page
Course content units
Chat rooms, live chat, instant messaging
Course e-mail
Other tools
Syllabus
Assignments
Announcements