Fostering Online Discussion and Communication

Discussion in an online learning environment can be a powerful and engaging teaching strategy on the part of the instructor and learning strategy on the part of the student. However, facilitating discussion online is somewhat different than in a traditional face-to-face classroom. Additionally, there are numerous teaching strategies and activities that can serve as the basis for online discussion. This course discusses how to develop and implement several of these activities. In addition, there are many other ways to communicate with learners online to create community and meet instructional communication needs.

After completing this course, you'll be able to:

• Describe the goals of online discussion and communication
• Identify common communication tools in the online learning environment
• Identify ways to integrate discussion into the online learning environment
• Explain and demonstrate ways to effectively facilitate online discussion

This course is 1 of 6 titles offered under the Developing Online Content and Instruction program.