Tips for participating in asynchronous discussions

The following tips will help you participate productively in discussion forums, discussion boards, and threaded discussions.

Read other entries before posting. You might need to scroll to the bottom of the page to see new messages, or you might need to click the title to expand the comments.

Pay attention to how your post fits the discussion. Are you replying to a particular individual or responding to a particular question? Are you contributing to an existing thread or starting a new one? You want your post to fit in the right place.

Title your post appropriately. Try to provide a brief but meaningful label for what your message contains. Check for specific requirements. Some instructors, for example, require that titles of posts include particular words or elements.

Keep the discussion going. When you respond to a post, be sure to advance the discussion in a meaningful way. If you agree or disagree with a previous post, explain why. If you ask a question, try to ask one that calls for more than a one-word response from other students.

Use detail. Avoid posting short comments (like “Good job!” or “Ditto”) that don’t add substance to the discussion or invite responses. When agreeing with or praising another classmate’s comment, explain in detail what you like about the comment.

Help your readers understand your ideas. To provide appropriate context, you may need to start your post by copying and pasting a relevant section of someone else’s post. (Be sure to identify the author of the original post.) You may need to cite a passage from a reading or refer to something the instructor mentioned. Take the time to give all readers the information they need to understand your posts.

Stay on topic. As much as possible, stick to the topic of the discussion. If you want to take the conversation in a different direction, give your post a new title so that other students will know you have changed topics.

Proofread before posting. To avoid confusing readers, write complete ideas in complete sentences without errors. Carefully proofread your message before you post it for the class.

Post only what you want the whole class to see. Save personal messages for e-mail. Remember that discussion boards are public and available to the whole class. As with all of your classroom communication, use courtesy and respect.