OLLIE Iowa

Enfranchisement is also an important pedagogical aspect of the use of the discussion forums

This particular use of the discussion forum, to negotiate and construct knowledge, is an example of using the technology as a cognitive tool and not simply as another kind of blackboard or one-way communication method

Cognitive tools and environments stimulate cognitive learning strategies and critical thinking (Jonassen, 1998). Students engaged with course content in discussions and group work with other students engage in generative processing of information. Jonassen draws upon the work of Rumelhart and Norman (1978) to describe generative processing as, "deeper information processing results from activating appropriate mental models, using them to interpret new information, assimilating new information back into those models, reorganizing the models in light of the newly interpreted information, and then using those newly aggrandized models to explain, interpret, or infer new knowledge" (Jonassen, 1998, p.3)

own teacher stories to relate to the course content. They read other student responses and interpretations and compare these with their own thoughts. This involves the processes of reflection and the construction and re-construction of domains of knowledge. The resulting kinds of learning from these processes are not a regurgitation of a lecture or reading. It is a negotiated interpretation of knowledge with student ownership. The learning is deeper and more long lasting and students refine their thinking and their voice

As Hopperton (1998) noted, participation in online discussion forums provides opportunities for responsibility and active learning through the expectation of regular participation in online discussions. This is not a scenario for a few prepared students to respond to a lecturer while the rest of the class sits back. Participation in the virtual conference demands that students become actively engaged with the course content and through the interaction with their peers, negotiate the meanings of the content. They construct knowledge through the shared experiences that each participant brings to the collaborative discussions. The online web courses about teaching offer deeper perspectives and opportunities to learn because the participants are teachers from school districts around the state and other states. This is not a narrowing of perspectives, but a broadening of the knowledge base as experiences are shared and compared relative to teaching issues.

. Many of our students are reticent under the timed constraints of an on-campus class. Those

Students quickly discover that their peers are also holders of knowledge and they initiate discussions and respond to one another's postings. The instructor is a facilitator in this environment and is not viewed as having all of the knowledge and the answers. Within this highly public, mostly text-based environment, social currency and value is accorded by response

Part of a course design should include a requirement that students respond to at least 3 or more students each week and at least 1 of those should be a student not previously responded to. This helps distribute the responses.

Instructors must be responsive. Feedback has long been recognized as critical to the learning process and timely feedback is potent. This is especially true in the online course. A student assignment, question or bid for response can come directly to the instructor via email or as part of a discussion forum posting. Feedback needs to be specific, personal, and within 24 hours of the posting. Students report checking back to see if there is a response. If they are left dangling for days on end, they lose a feeling of connection and begin to feel lost in Cyberspace. This is a negative loop that contributes to a lessening of participation in the discussions

Summary The discussion forum is a public place for discussion that allows time for reflection. While there is a flow of discussion and it is linear, it is not subject to the tyranny of the ever present "now" of the face-to-face classroom that doesn't allow the participants the benefit of an "instant replay." The discussion forum allows as many replays as a participant wants of what was said

Instructor response, student response are the key components to the construction of shared knowledge within the discussion forum. The deepest learning is in the writing and "talking" about the content of the course within the community of learners. It is a pedagogically sound practice, based on cognitive learning theories, to design and engage in discussion forums with our students. We provide more opportunities for students to become actively involved with the course content to construct their own deeper and lasting learning.