Follow Up Friday

January 20, 2023

Build presence in your online course through discussion boards.

From the Archives:

Monday’s blog introduced the importance of building cognitive, social, and teaching presence in your online course. Discussion boards are another great way to contribute to your students’ sense of presence in the community.

Online Community Building through Discussions

Discussion boards are a great way to build a sense of community in an online classroom. Learners learn in a number of ways but one of the most impactful is from social interaction. Read on to learn more about how to provide this space for community in various ways.

Introductions
- Provide an introductions board for yourself and for your learners. You should start it by posting a brief video of yourself introducing who you are, your professional expertise, and your personal interests. Have your learners follow suit! If your learners are graduate students or are working professionals, then it would make sense for them to share their professional background or expertise. If your learners are undergraduates, then consider asking them to discuss their field of study or academic interests.
- This can provide connection opportunities and allows your learners to put a name to face for their peers. Be sure to require that they reply to at least two other classmates’ introduction videos with a message.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
- Provide a discussion board for FAQs related to the course. You can provide a list of questions that you know learners often have and preemptively address them. Additionally, direct learners to post questions related to the course that would be beneficial for all participants to see and know about if their question is not already answered in the initial FAQ list. Be sure to direct learners to check the board before sending you an email.
- This can help learners practice active learning by seeking out the answer to their question, which is also an exercise in developing agency.

The original post from August also gives suggestions for using discussion boards as assignments.

Upcoming Opportunities

QM Cohort

If you are seeking professional development for your tenure or promotion file and you have taught a course either fully online or hybrid at least once, consider applying for the Spring 2023 QM Cohort. Applications will close on January 30th, 2023.

Quick Hits: Intro to Kaltura – Thursday, January 26th

Join this Quick Hits session for a demonstration of the basics of Kaltura. You will learn how to upload videos to your Kaltura account, how to edit the details of a video, and how to embed a Kaltura video into Canvas.

Facilitated by Gray Jackson, Learning Technology Specialist.

A Zoom link will be emailed to registered participants, at least 24 – 48 hours prior to the day of the event. This session will be recorded and all registered participants will receive a link to the recording.