Home > Development > Web-based Discussion

• Begin each content module with a question that students can respond to, in a "discussion forum" on your electronic bulletin board.
• Provide a daily question on the bulletin board for student response.
• Use a chat room to lead students in a debate of an assigned topic. Before the online, real-time debate, divide students into "pro" and "con" groups.
• Invite an expert guest to the chat room and have students interact with that person through questions and comments.

• Dr. Mickie Swisher discusses why chat is critical to a Web-based course. 
   Watch Video(1 min. 20sec.)
   
• Here's how Dr. Rick Rudd organizes his chat sessions.
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(49sec.)
 
• Swisher discusses how she starts a class chat session.
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(35sec.)
 
• Dr. Dori Comer discusses one of the "downsides" to chat.  
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• How do you keep a chat focused on your discussion topic?
  Here's how Rudd keeps his class on-target.  
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E-mail sometimes is not thought about as a distance education delivery method. Dr. John Zenger sees e-mail as the most effective form of electronic communication. 
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With the primary technology you're planning to use for your distance education course, list some interactive strategies you could use to involve students.