Discussion Board or Blog?
Before you can begin to use blogs with students, teachers need to make sure they understand what differentiates a blog from a discussion board. Many so called "bloggers" have used the blogging tool to really conduct discussions with their students. Both tools are valid in the classroom we need to make sure the objective we are trying to achieve is reflected in the digital tool we select.
Discussion Tool
A discussion board allows authors to create questions and solicit answers and/or comments from their students. Students will respond to the teachers prompt and will have the opportunity to respond to the teacher and/or a fellow student's comment. The discussion thread will allow you to see who has responded to certain posts. Discussion boards have a very logical approach to dialog. They are great to use if you are looking to get a variety of answers/comments from a group of people. It is more efficient than email because it follows a natural conversation flow.
Instructionally discussion boards allow for students to reflect on questions they may not have been able to answer in class. They provide the non-verbal student an opportunity to have his/her thoughts heard and they allow students to work with each other and the teacher after school hours. I have been told by teachers they have learned a great deal about how serious students are about topics in class by reading the date and time discussions are taking place. The virtual board allows for conversations and learning to take place before and after the school day.
An example of a professional discussion board can be found at Education World. The forum topic is reading. Explore the posts and get a feel for how instructors are using this technology to share and learn. Another message board could be Craig's List- an online environment for sharing information, products etc. People that post have the option to decide whether they can open up a dialog for outside viewers. So my questions for you are:
- Have you ever participated in a discussion board?
- If you found this technology useful how do you see this being implemented in your ELA classroom?