The Value of Discussion Boards

Discussion boards carry a great deal of educational potential. However, much like blogs, discussion boards come with considerable risks. As noted in one of my previous posts, The Potential of Educational Blogging (posted on September 13, 2007), there are serious privacy issues that must be taken into account before blogs and discussion boards are incorporated into teachers' lesson plans. Young people may lack the maturity or capacity to fully understand the intricacies of freedom of expression in the public domain. However, there may be security measures, such as the password-protection of discussion boards, that will address many of these concerns. Another potential problem with discussion boards is that individuals cannot participate outside of class if they do not have a computer at home. If a teacher asks his or her students to contribute to a discussion board, he or she must be aware of the reality that not every student has access to an internet-enabled computer outside of the classroom.

Despite these potential pitfalls, discussion boards have numerous possible benefits for teachers and students alike. For instance, they allow teachers and students to devote considerable time and attention to discussing important class topics. Because they take place outside the classroom, discussion boards can extend students' exploration of concepts and ideas beyond the classroom. Also, discussion boards promote greater student involvement and participation in these class discussions, particularly for students that are shy or reluctant to share their views in class. Along these same lines, discussion boards encourage students to produce higher-quality work, since students know that their peers will be reading their posts. This is not just a benefit for students; teachers, too, enjoy the benefit of reading/viewing/grading better work. Teachers also have the benefit of having a record of the class discussion. Perhaps most importantly, discussion boards offer students plenty of opportunities to improve their written communication skills.

Taking into account both the pros and cons of discussion boards, there are plenty of ways that they might be integrated into the classroom.

Discussion boards...

1 ...can be used to facilitate class discussions. This is perhaps the most obvious use for a discussion board, and it is an important one, for many of the reasons outlined above. It is an effective way for students and teachers to be engaged in discussion, without consuming class time.

2 ...can serve as online study groups for students. If students are having difficulty understanding an important concept prior to an exam, or having trouble developing ideas for an essay, he or she can use a class discussion board to ask classmates for help. I have personally been involved in university-level courses where the class discussion board is extremely active the evening before an exam. Students help one another out by providing answers and explanations, and I can see the same thing happening in upper elementary, middle, and high schools.

3 ...give teachers a place to post links and assignments. Teachers can post assignments or links on a class discussion board, and this has numerous benefits. For instance, it allows students that are absent from class (say, athletes that are required to travel often) to keep up to date with course requirements. Also, posting assignments on discussion boards ensures that students (and perhaps their parents as well) will have access to the information they need in order to complete the assignment (e.g., instructions, due dates, etc.).

4 ...give students a place to post their work. Discussion boards may be the end of the age-old excuse, "My dog ate my homework." Students can submit their homework assignments via discussion boards, which is more efficient (not to mention more "green") than handing in hard copies of assignments. This also has the aforementioned benefit of motivating students to produce higher-quality work, as they know that their peers will be seeing their assignments.

5 ...offer an interesting alternative to the standard position paper. If students are required to state their position on a certain topic in a discussion board, as opposed to handing in a copy of their position paper, their views are open to criticism and responses from others. This allows students to learn not only how to state a position, but also how to defend that position against counterarguments (which is in fact part of the social studies Program of Studies).

Overall, discussion boards carry plenty of potential for classroom integration, despite their potential drawbacks.