Discussion boards provide a space where people can post messages and respond to what others have posted. They can be publicly available but in the education context many are private and specific to a group in a learning situation. These often require a login and password to access and post messages (as do some publicly available ones).
Discussion boards or forums tend to come as part of a package rather than as standalone beasts, though there are some exceptions to this. For example, Pelion's website uses Moodle and has a number of discussion boards that can be linked to email, as well as chat, links to other sites, resources etc. Other sites, like Yahoo! Groups, provide discussion boards which can be set up as list-servs. (You don't even have to go to the site to contact people on the list, once you're a member of the group, it's like sending a group email but you don’t have to remember to press ‘Reply all’ as everyone on the list gets any responses). Yahoo! Groups also provides calendar, photos, database, chat, links, polls –you name it and they probably have it (or will have tomorrow). There are so many options that knowing what you want to do and how becomes critical.
Most learning management systems (LMS) have discussion boards with varying features – some are very simple with date based postings, others can display the posts by thread, by a range of dates, author, not yet read etc. Some can attach files, include graphics, animations, provide html editors and so forth.
Most of the big LMS are proprietary i.e. they cost big bucks to use. WebCT, Janison, Blackboard, First Class are some of the most well known ones. Open Source LMS do the same job (often a better job) as the proprietary ones but don’t cost anything to download and use. Moodle, Claroline and Atutor are some of them. However, you do need to have a server or ISP hosting service with some knowledge of how to set them up. Also, because they are free to download and their source code is open to all, there’s an expectation that you will contribute back any improvements you make yourself.
Features
Pelion’s discussion board is part of the Moodle Learning Management System. It’s web based so no downloads are needed. To use it just login as a guest member and you’ll be able to read and post messages. The discussion boards have email subscription options (this automatically emails postings to you) but you need to create a specific log in with your email address before you can use this feature. You can view the messages by thread, date and post replies with attachments, urls and graphics. There’s also a great search facility in this discussion board. Like most LMS you can set up different ‘course’ or learning areas and provide facilitators with a range of administration rights from none to full!
If you want to learn more about any of the features or set up your own course to test the features and/or trial a group using it – contact Pelion Consulting to provide the space for you. It’s really straightforward.
Cost
Free to play!
What it's used for
Pelion's context is professional development and so our discussions tend to focus on issues around pedagogy, tools, software and facilitation processes – your context may be different, but the discussion boards can be used for any topic. Participants can also attach files and provide links within the discussion areas.
Why it's good
This can be summed up in three words – control and ease. Yes, it’s easy to use and changes can be made almost as quickly as you decide what you want to do. That means you have complete control over all aspects of it. From a learner’s perspective it’s fairly intuitive and easy to post and move around. There are large numbers of people using Moodle, including many universities and it's great to be part of the open source community as improvements are always being made.
Problems/downside
There are some features that aren't available in the discussion board but it does have the main ones.
Examples to check out (places to play are marked with an *)
Alternatives
Criteria/factors re tools and processes -
| Criteria | Comment | |
|---|---|---|
User
friendly |
Yes | Definitely easy to use – and if you are having any problems you can email/call us for help |
Push or pull in kind |
Both | You have to go to the site to access it but you can also elect to have the discussions emailed to you. |
Low or high interaction
with participants/facilitators |
High | Can have high interaction. |
Synchronous or asynchronous
activity, |
Both | If you want to post at 3am – go for it, the facilitators can respond when they're next online and, if participants are online at the same time then a synchronous discussion is possible. |
Facilitator skills of a
low or high level |
Both | It’s a great space to go in and play and learn some of the skills you’ll need to facilitate online. |
Participant skills of a
low or high level |
Low | Everything is user friendly |