Use the discussion tool as a text or video discussion board

By Stacey M. Johnson, CFT Assistant Director, Vanderbilt

Edited for McNeese Faculty, Dr. Wendi Prater, Director of eLearning, McNeese State University

For anyone trying to move course content online, it can be challenging to translate what they already do well in a face-to-face classroom into an online classroom environment. The most important thing to consider is how to clearly communicate with students about expectations and course requirements.

Use the Discussion Tool as a Text or Video Discussion Board. Some courses just need more extended time for discussion. Consider using a discussion board to get students communicating asynchronously. You can set up a discussion board to be a large group discussion, you can put students in smaller discussion groups in BigBlueButton for a more manageable experience, or you can even give students an individual space for journaling or one-on-one communication with the instructor. One of the coolest features of the Discussion tool is how instructors and students can use text, audio, video, images, and web links in their posts. For a video discussion board, participants click to post, then instead of typing text into the text box, they record and add a Video Note to the Discussion text box. The result is a nice change from a text-heavy online course but doesn’t require students to all meet at the same time like a virtual classroom meeting.