10 - What Are Three Proven Ways to Manage My Online Discussion Board and Actively Engage Students?

About this Magna Showing and Discussion: 

What Are Three Proven Ways to Manage My Online Discussion Board and Actively Engage Students? was aired on Monday, August 1 from 12:00 to 1:00 pm. The 20-minute Magna video was shown in person in the Faculty Center Conference Room, James Hall room 3092, and additionally aired on Zoom. 

For faculty working online who have not considered using the discussion board beyond its basic function and are trying to avoid lifeless discussion boards that fail to engage students, this 20-Minute Mentor provides three areas for faculty to improve: engagement, community, and expertise, and specific strategies for doing so. The discussion board is one of the key areas in any online classroom where truly active learning can take place. But it can be a struggle for students and teachers alike to connect—both in terms of logistical day-to-day tasks, and in terms of higher levels of engagement. So how can we avoid burnout and make the discussion board a place where students are eager to go? This 20-Minute Mentor offers three strategies to help ensure that instructors are modeling high engagement and expectations, making fruitful connections, and sharing expertise on the discussion board to ensure that the content pushes the conversation further.

Learning Goals: After viewing this Magna 20-Minute Mentor, participants will be able to:

• Develop a clear strategy for modeling and tracking interactions on the discussion board

• Create connections on the discussion board through explicit and implicit bridges

• Learn strategies for using the discussion board to share your expertise

Topics Covered:

• The engagement you model: Create a schedule for workflow to ensure that you are modeling active participation and recognizing engagement opportunities

• The community you foster: Make fruitful connections between students and signal the larger community of inquiry to produce deeper engagement

• The expertise you share: Share your expertise in the discussion forum, not just in lecture materials, and ensure that your responses are rich with content knowledge and enriched by multimedia connections

About the Magna Presenter: 

Nathan Pritts, PhD, a professor and lead faculty in the Center for the Enhancement of the First Year Experience at University of Arizona Global Campus. He brings expertise in business communication, advertising & marketing, and online user experience to the General Education classroom to maximize student learning and heighten engagement, infusing curriculum with foundational outcomes bolstered by clear ties to a student's academic and career path. He’s building a handbook of the strategies and best practices essential for designing and delivering meaningful learning experiences to students online one chapter at a time.

Handouts:  

If this is your first time using Magna Faculty Commons in 2022, you will need to create a 2022 account with Magna in order to access the handouts for this webinar below.

View Note Taking Guide

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View Certificate of Completion (for your own records, the Faculty Center has a different one for professional development)

Following the showing, there was a discussion Carla Sbrana, Educational Technologist at The Faculty Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, Rowan University. The article that Angela mentioned that is helpful for DQs .

Certificate of Professional Development: 

(2022 calendar year) To get credit for viewing this recording for the Faculty Center's professional development certificate program, let the Faculty Center know you’ve viewed it by completing this form. The Faculty Center will keep track of your live attendance. Soon after viewing four showings, you will receive a certificate of professional development.