1. Are electronic
discussion boards an effective way of communicating with people in your
company?
Yes. They
indeed are an effective way of communicating in a group. People from different
backgrounds and age groups can provide their viewpoints, discuss and learn from
each other and build a community. Critical thinking and writing skills are
developed, people are encouraged to reflect on their posts before posting
something and it specially helps with asynchronous discussions. Leadership
skills are developed, people learn to respect others’ view points and also get
to learn and share a great deal in the process.
However,
it does have its own drawbacks because sometimes people tend to go off-track,
misunderstand a post/ thought, feel a lack of connection or simply cut off from
the conversation midway. Sometimes, disinterested or disrespectful posts are
also uploaded which may not go down well with others. But a few smart ideas and
tips, if followed, can help the moderator manage the board well.
2. When might it be
best NOT to use an electronic discussion board?
It is better to avoid electronic discussion
boards if the said group is pretty huge since it will be difficult to track
everyone’s participation and posts. It will be difficult for the people to get
connected to each other. Also, I feel that it will be a good idea to avoid
including like-minded people or folks having very similar credentials and
backgrounds in the discussion board since the group wouldn’t be able to learn
different perspectives because of similar thoughts/ideas. But that said, it is
also important to ensure some consistency in the group.
3. How can such a
discussion board be made to be more useful over time?
Discussion boards
will be useful only when people participate. It is of no use having the best of
topics if people are not even looking at them. Hence it is very important to
encourage participation by encouraging students to share their interest areas
so topics can be designed accordingly. Also, net etiquettes should be laid down
clearly so no rules are broken.
Moderators should
provide structures, guidelines and rubrics so people know how their posts will
be judged. It will also act as a guide to help them improve their posts. Peer
reviews should also be encouraged so healthy discussions can take place. The
discussion board can be combined with other activities like debates, polling, virtual
field trips, role play, online video review etc. Once the people go through
these activities, the further discussion can be continued in the discussion
board.
Taking a survey
on a regular interval will ensure that pain points are highlighted and topics
are improved over a period of time to be with the changing times and needs.
4. How can you tell
if a discussion member is stating fact or opinion?
An opinion will
be just a view point of the member and might be accompanied by various examples
from his/her personal and/or professional life. A fact, on the other hand, will
be accompanied by figures and statistics. Numbers will be present to back up a
fact. Also, members will post the references or online resources which will
explain the fact in more detail.
5. How can you
encourage a non-participating discussion board member to take an active part in
the conversation at hand?
Discussion boards can be made more useful by
posting interesting and motivating topics, asking people for opinions and
encouraging people to participate by providing certain incentives. People can
themselves be asked to come up with ideas/ topics for discussions. This would
help since if people are interested in a topic, they will be more likely to
respond to questions.
It is also a good idea to remind people about
their lack of participation in a subtle manner by emailing them. This is
because sometimes people might be too busy to participate and an email might be
all that is required to get them back on track. The moderator can also lay down
the rules in terms of any minimum posting requirements which can ensure that
people at least post X number of posts.
Non-participation can have many reasons. A
survey or a small questionnaire asking for these people’s views will provide a
clearer idea of any issues which might be stopping them from posting. Some
might not be posting because of lack of interesting topics whereas some might
not feel the need to post since they might be feeling that nobody reads or responds
to their posts. So it is important to know the root cause.
