This is from Edutopia and offers some very well thought out/organised ways of managing or facilitating different types of online discussions. It provides strategies for certain types of objectives, as well as examples for different content areas.
Flickr Photo Courtesy Of: Eric Wignall Teaching Online Across Devices In online courses, discussion forums provide a place for student-to-student and instructor-to-student interaction. Within discussion forums, students share thoughts and review the ideas of others modeled through collegial, dialogic Read More >
Google Sites is a great tool but can seem a bit restrictive at times. Enter Google Gadgets - you can embed html, sound recordings, and much more - to make your site come alive! There is even a Discussion Board gadget for creating discussion threads in your site.
Digital tool to help students create audio and interact with each other - great option for personalizing discussion boards to promote community building