Learning Spaces: Discussion Forums
When people think about distance learning, discussion forums often come to mind. A discussion forum is a web-based application used for holding virtual discussions. Often called threaded discussions, web boards, or discussion groups, they're commonly used for interacting with others who share an interest in a particular topic. Many discussion boards are used for troubleshooting problems or sharing ideas.
Go to the following examples to see a few groups in action. In most cases you can't post on a discussion group without registering:
- Geocaching Forum - discussing the hobby of geocaching; notice the GPS in Education discussion
- UNI High Library Discussion Board - high school students have book discussions on topics such as Manga and class discussions for classes such as English.
- WebQuest Forum - discussing the WebQuest model including problems, research, examples, and resources
Unlike chats and virtual conferencing, forums are asynchronous. In other words, participants can post messages at different times rather than all being online at the same time.
Unlike blogs that have a single thread of comments associated with each posting, forums allow participants to create new threads within a discussion. This encourages side conversations and added depth. For example, a thread might focus on one topic (i.e., popular book series). Another participate might post a comment (i.e., I like the Harry Potter series). Yet another writer might create a subthread under this comment (i.e., Which Harry Potter book do you prefer?) and begin a new conversation related to this comment (i.e., I like book 3 the best). The main book discussion may contain threads and subthreads on different book series of interest.
Unlike wikis where people are encouraged to modify the writing of others and encourage shared authorship, individual forum authors maintain control of their postings.
Read Discussion Groups in Collaborative Learning Environments.
Forum Services
Many resources are available for conducting discussion forums. Most 
course management software contains an option for setting up discussion groups.
Skim Wikipedia's Comparison of Internet forum software for a master list of software packages and options. A few of the popular, open web-based forums are listed below. Spam is a major problem with open groups, so you'll either need to restrict the group or carefully monitor the discussions.
Web-based Software
- Google Groups (free)
- Yahoo Groups (free)
Forums in Learning
Although most popular in higher education and adult learning environment, discussion forums have applications in all areas of learning. The key to effective discussions is a meaningful goal. In other words, participants need to rally around an issue, problem, article, or other starting point that will stimulate engaging conversation. The facilitator must establish the parameters of the discussion including guidelines for posting and replying. In formal learning settings, it's helpful to provide specific criteria and exemplary sample postings so students will see the expectations.
Read What's Your Problem? by Jennifer Gurrie in elearningpace (August 8, 2003).
Let's explore some approaches to discussion forums in learning.
Article-based Discussions. Consider a project where the group focuses on an article, chapter in a book, website, or other specific reading. Read an article, then following discussion guidelines to share your thoughts, opinions, perspectives, additional information, or other assignment. The same approach could be applied to a photograph, audio recording, or video.
Visit NewZ Crew from Newhouse Extra and Global Kids. High school educators can join the project with their classes. Check out the featured discussions. Explore and example such as Does Happiness Live in Cyberspace? (Article, Assignment, Discussion)
Artifact-Centered Discourse. Some forums are centered on artifacts. Skim Artifact-centred Tools in Collaborative Learning Environment. Explore a couple examples
- Kukakuka - a web-based environment for artifact centered discource
- Belvedere - software for constructing and reflecting on diagrams of one's ideas. It includes curriculum for Inquiry-based Science Activities for Middle School)
Project-based Learning. Some discussions focus on a specific inquiry, problem, or project. The group may follow a particular process and share their ideas, information, or results as they address the shared topic.
Links to the materials in this section can be found in the navigation bar on the left side of this page. Continue to the Learning Spaces: Blogs page.