Students hate discussion boards and mostly feel like they don't get anything out of them. They go into check box mode and real dialogue is lost. How can we fix them?
I agree we need to improve discussion boards. I like smaller groups. I have also found in my courses that the students usually are more engaged when I am engaged with them first.
I also struggle keeping students engaged in discussion boards. I think allowing them some autonomy on choosing their selected topic and/or allowing the post to be completed in various ways helps.
The article title made me do a double-take! The links for article that provide more direction for improving discussion boards are great! Discussion boards can be so useful, but if not done properly can definitely lead to frustration and/or poor quality of postings by students. Examples and rubrics really help to clarify expectations. I would love to find a way to create a discussion board that helps students feel more connected to me and their peers.
Glad you all got some use from it. It's a sensationalistic title, but it's something I thought about often as a student. We don't discuss in discussion boards - we write polite, well cited essays and respond to other essays. I'm definitely in favor of rethinking how we do student engagement - discussion boards really could be wonderful, but in most of my experiences as a student they were really lack luster. As an instructor, I'm not sure mine are really much better! I keep tinkering trying to do better.
I used discussion board for 2 full semesters. I received feedback from my students in both ways: course reflection and my performance evaluation. The feedback was very positive. The assignment for the discussion boards would include an actual company with specific operations (inventory, quality, process design, etc.). Students were free to answer any questions and required provide a feedback to at least one of the classmates answer. Students felt connected to their classmates, shared different views, had an opportunity to learn from each other.
The title is a bit misleading but some of the recommendations discussed can definitely spark some life into DBs. DBs are a good way to foster engagement but unless properly done can mostly be seen by students as a one and done exercise.
I was taking a look at "free tech tools" and came across this video. Much of it not relevant in my teaching, as it is specifically designed for K-12 educators, but it does offer links to the various tools they mention. The link at the end to acquire the pdf with the various sites is still alive and active (as of 6/8/20).
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