Extend Student Learning With Digital Discussion Forums

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As learning with mobile technology becomes more commonplace in our k-12 learning spaces, digital discussion forums are expanding opportunities for our students to share and communicate. There are several benefits for using this platform in place of, or in addition to, a traditional classroom discussion:

• gives all students a voice, even those intimidated or unmotivated by a traditional classroom discussion
• discussions are not limited by time or length---set up properly, they encourage students to continue conversations beyond the walls of the classroom 
• encourages critical thinking skills- fosters the organization of thoughts around a topic before responding  
• delivers content from another perspective
• students gain experience using a professional communication practice
• students practice writing short, meaningful posts

In addition to the traditional question/answer prompted discussion, there are several additional ways to use this tool:

• at the start of a unit or concept, use a discussion forum to assess pre-existing knowledge and misconceptions
• have students summarize points of a reading
• share opinions on a topic
• use as an exit ticket or formative assessment tool
• collaborative research- students each post 1-2 applicable links to share with class
• pose a discussion with an outside mentor or expert

Some best practices to consider when designing a discussion forum:

• plan your forum to last at least one week to allow for flexibility in both reading and responding
• include multi-media to increase engagement (video, powerpoints, links, images, audio, etc.)
• model how to cite sources and give credit
• teach students expectations of a quality response--this is not social media, but an academic forum (proper grammar, academic conversation, on-task posts and comments)
• be involved--the teacher should comment and model proper digital citizenship
• avoid public praise or corrrection

*There are many platforms today that allow for these digital discussion forums. In our district, we use Schoology. Google Classroom and Edmodo are additional options for a k-12 classroom.

Have you used a digital discussion forum with your class? Share your thoughts and questions in the comments below.