Online Discussions

Online discussions can be either asynchronous or synchronous. RCC's online discussions are asynchronous.
  • Asynchronous means they don't occur in real time, but over an extended period of time during which you can read messages left by others, and post messages yourself. The discussion board is asynchronous.
  • Synchronous means that the conversation occurs in real-time, and so all participants must be online at the same time. The chatroom and whiteboard are synchronous.

    The Discussion Board

    The discussion board has its own terminology as well:
    • a group refers to a discussion membership. You will only be able to see the discussion groups you belong to. They may consist of the whole class or they may be made up of a smaller team.
    • a thread is an entire conversation on a single topic.
    • a reply is a posting directed as a response to the instructor or the person who started the thread
    • a subthread is a posting directed as a response to a reply.
    Your instructor may put a link to the discussion board from your packet, or you may enter from the navigation column by clicking on the DISCUSSIONS link.

    When you are finished reading this packet on discussions, 'leave packet' and click on the 'DISCUSSIONS/GROUPS' link in the navigation column to your left. There are some sample discussions and a Practice Discussion to help you get more comfortable with discussions.



    Clicking on the subject of a message will reveal that message. In the example above, we will "click" on the thread with the subject: 'Student Tips for Taking Tests Online'. Note that there have been seven responses to the instructor's original thread for a total of eight posts.

    The messages first appear in a linear view as shown below. This means that each message appears one under the other. To reply to the instructor's initial message, you would scroll all the way down to the end of the page and click on the REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE link.

    Initial Message:

    Subject: Student Tips for Taking Tests Online
    Posted by Professor Educator Wed Jul 23 16:35:14:2003

    Message:
     If you have taken an online course before, please share your experiences with the rest of the class! What advice do you have on taking tests for your fellow online classmates?

    The following replies have been posted:

    Posted by Abigail Student Wed Jul 23 18:38:11:2003

    Message:
    Never wait till the last minute! It's so easy to procrastinate in online classes! If you study all week you'll be better prepared for the test. At least read everything early in the week. Don't leave everything for the last day. Instructors are not always understanding of a last minute computer glitch. You should always work ahead to plan for unforeseen circumstances.

    Form a subthread

    Posted by Tad Grad Wed Jul 23 18:38:11:2003

    Message:
    Make sure you don't wait until the last minute to start an exam. The server's clock may be 5 or 10 minutes earlier than your computer's clock. If you submit something late by the server time(if your instructor even accepts late assignments) , then it is late...regardless of what your computer's clock says. WORK AHEAD!

    Form a subthread

    Reply to this message

    next thread





    This is a linear view of a discussion board.







    Click on FORM A SUBTHREAD to respond to the post immediately above.





    Click on REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE to contribute to the initial message.



    Click on NEXT THREAD to view the next brand-new discussion topic.




    The Threaded View

    There is another way to view these same messages called the threaded view.


    It has a split screen that shows the threads and subthreads to the left and the message view on the right.


    Threaded view has the advantage of indicating which messages have not been read yet.





    At the top of the screen, there is a MESSAGE VIEWING option where you can set the view you prefer. Check the []Make default option so that every time you enter a discussion board, it will display messages in your preferred view.


    Tip!

    Things to remember about either view:

  • To submit a response to the main (first) message, click [REPLY]

  • To submit a response to a classmate click [SUBTHREAD]

    In the threaded example above, the 'replies' are indented under the main message and are labeled:
    RE: Student tips'
    Subthreads are indented further under the replies and are labeled RE: RE: Student tips'


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