Online discussion forums are widely used asynchronous communication tools in learning management systems. However, teachers and students face various challenges and teachers lack guidance on strategies to use to create a more participatory forum environment. This document aims to identify the pros and cons of using online discussion forums from a trainer's perspective and provide a list of strategies and improvements that can alleviate the challenges and lead to a more participatory. We use coding techniques to analyze data collected through semi-structured interviews. The results of our exploratory analysis are relevant to the distance education community and can inform educators, developers, and researchers to help them improve the quality of forum delivery and use.
1 Introduction
Since interaction is a key part of quality online learning, learning management systems and MOOCs often use asynchronous online discussion forums to encourage interaction. Forums allow teachers to understand and participate in learning activities, and students have time to reflect and formulate responses. People gain knowledge together while collaborating in an asynchronous online environment. Therefore, a well-coordinated educational forum is a valuable tool for encouraging reflection on learning, sharing information and perspectives, and connecting students.
However, forums may experience periods of inactivity and intermittent bursts of messages. Without appropriate feedback, there is little cognitive engagement and students may feel isolated. Feeling isolated can lead to limited participation or a lack of depth and quality of discussion.
While previous literature has focused on specific improvements to online chat rooms or provided a list of benefits, pitfalls, and strategies along with their key findings, no study has primarily focused on identifying advantages, pitfalls, strategies and possible improvements from the trainer's point of view. See. It is important to understand trainers' perceptions as they work closely with a wide range of learners and have a holistic view of the tool they are using in multiple contexts.
Therefore, the objective of this work is to identify and categorize the advantages, difficulties, strategies and improvements of online discussion forums from the point of view of teachers with experience in information technology and/or or distance education over the Internet. Cataloging benefits and pitfalls is useful for novice educators to know what to expect or aim for when facilitating educational forums, while exploring strategies and improvements can help educators and designers. tools to eliminate pitfalls and improve the tool. To achieve this goal, we defined the following research questions:
2 Method
We conducted semi-structured interviews with 12 teachers who teach remotely using discussion forums. We used grounded theoretical methods for data analysis. Figure 1 shows the steps performed in our exploratory empirical study, which are detailed in the following subsections.
To conduct the interviews, we invited speakers from various institutions that teach distance education, use discussion forums, and have experience with distance education and/or computing. A total of 12 teachers participated in the interview. All participants signed the Free and Informed Consent condition Footnote 1 The interviewed professors, who were classified as "experienced professors", have at least five years of distance education experience.
Among the participating trainers, two have more than ten years of experience, as shown in Table 2. Their reports revealed needs that have existed for years and have not been met. For example, he has more than 10 years of experience and has already worked in correspondence courses as a coordinator, trainer and monitor. Moreover, I1 reported in the interview that he had taken correspondence courses during his studies as a student.
Teachers from Institutions “A” and “C” use the forum to encourage discussion of topics covered in the course and to encourage collaboration among students. Institution B instructors often use the forum to ask questions and to warn and remind students. In addition to using the forum for questions, I3 also uses it to discuss topics covered in the course.
Data collection
The questions in the interview script were divided into three categories: profile of the speaker, mediation and perception of the discussion forums. Categories should help and guide the interviewer; However, the interviews did not necessarily follow the order of the categories. Table 4 presents the questions that served as a guide for the profile category.
Table 5 contains questions about mediation practices in online forums, focusing on forum structure, mode of mediation, forum use, etc. on difficulties, advantages, strategies and improvements.
Read Also : Can I use a private viewer for Instagram from mobile?
White Clover Markets
Online discussion forums are widely used asynchronous communication tools in learning management systems. However, teachers and students face various challenges and teachers lack guidance on strategies to use to create a more participatory forum environment. This document aims to identify the pros and cons of using online discussion forums from a trainer's perspective and provide a list of strategies and improvements that can alleviate the challenges and lead to a more participatory. We use coding techniques to analyze data collected through semi-structured interviews. The results of our exploratory analysis are relevant to the distance education community and can inform educators, developers, and researchers to help them improve the quality of forum delivery and use.
1 Introduction
Since interaction is a key part of quality online learning, learning management systems and MOOCs often use asynchronous online discussion forums to encourage interaction. Forums allow teachers to understand and participate in learning activities, and students have time to reflect and formulate responses. People gain knowledge together while collaborating in an asynchronous online environment. Therefore, a well-coordinated educational forum is a valuable tool for encouraging reflection on learning, sharing information and perspectives, and connecting students.
However, forums may experience periods of inactivity and intermittent bursts of messages. Without appropriate feedback, there is little cognitive engagement and students may feel isolated. Feeling isolated can lead to limited participation or a lack of depth and quality of discussion.
While previous literature has focused on specific improvements to online chat rooms or provided a list of benefits, pitfalls, and strategies along with their key findings, no study has primarily focused on identifying advantages, pitfalls, strategies and possible improvements from the trainer's point of view. See. It is important to understand trainers' perceptions as they work closely with a wide range of learners and have a holistic view of the tool they are using in multiple contexts.
Therefore, the objective of this work is to identify and categorize the advantages, difficulties, strategies and improvements of online discussion forums from the point of view of teachers with experience in information technology and/or or distance education over the Internet. Cataloging benefits and pitfalls is useful for novice educators to know what to expect or aim for when facilitating educational forums, while exploring strategies and improvements can help educators and designers. tools to eliminate pitfalls and improve the tool. To achieve this goal, we defined the following research questions:
2 Method
We conducted semi-structured interviews with 12 teachers who teach remotely using discussion forums. We used grounded theoretical methods for data analysis. Figure 1 shows the steps performed in our exploratory empirical study, which are detailed in the following subsections.
To conduct the interviews, we invited speakers from various institutions that teach distance education, use discussion forums, and have experience with distance education and/or computing. A total of 12 teachers participated in the interview. All participants signed the Free and Informed Consent condition Footnote 1 The interviewed professors, who were classified as "experienced professors", have at least five years of distance education experience.
Among the participating trainers, two have more than ten years of experience, as shown in Table 2. Their reports revealed needs that have existed for years and have not been met. For example, he has more than 10 years of experience and has already worked in correspondence courses as a coordinator, trainer and monitor. Moreover, I1 reported in the interview that he had taken correspondence courses during his studies as a student.
Teachers from Institutions “A” and “C” use the forum to encourage discussion of topics covered in the course and to encourage collaboration among students. Institution B instructors often use the forum to ask questions and to warn and remind students. In addition to using the forum for questions, I3 also uses it to discuss topics covered in the course.
Data collection
The questions in the interview script were divided into three categories: profile of the speaker, mediation and perception of the discussion forums. Categories should help and guide the interviewer; However, the interviews did not necessarily follow the order of the categories. Table 4 presents the questions that served as a guide for the profile category.
Table 5 contains questions about mediation practices in online forums, focusing on forum structure, mode of mediation, forum use, etc. on difficulties, advantages, strategies and improvements.
Read Also : Can I use a private viewer for Instagram from mobile?