One of the most frequently asked questions from veteran and novice online faculty alike is, "How many weekly discussion posts should I contribute?" The reality is, there is an intricate balancing act to achieve the coveted "guide on the side" role in discussion forum facilitation.

Millennials live and breathe on social media, so teachers are learning how to incorporate the medium into the classroom successfully. In doing so, teachers not only encourage students to engage actively in the material, but they also provide online communities for students that might not exist for them in real life.

Suggestions include: having students use Twitter, Facebook and Flickr to share work, using hashtags to live tweet, requiring students to blog, using LinkedIn to reach out to experts, using Google Hangouts for virtual office hours, post assignments and messages in Edmondo, conducting class in Second Life.