Moderating Discussions

Before we get started, let's review some key terms and ideas.

Discussion Forum: a feature of online courses allowing students to posit ideas, offer feedback, ask questions, and generally converse on topics related to course content. For our purposes, we'll be assuming an asynchronous discussion format.

Prompt: The question or topic students are assigned to consider in the discussion forum. Take care to ensure that it is actually a discussion question, and not an extra assignment masquerading as a discussion.

Engagement: The level of involvement or commitment of students participating in the discussion forums.