Blended Learning

Discussion forums
A discussion board is an asynchronous communication tool in which discussion forums are created for
participants to post and reply to messages over time. They are also known as ‘message boards’ and can
help to facilitate the forming of online communities with a common interest to share information or debate
and discuss ideas. A discussion board can have multiple forums and can involve different groups of users.
Discussions are organised into forums and threads.
Here are some suggestions for when you might use a discussion forum:
‣ ¾ A communication tool to support group work rather than using email;
‣ ¾ Students debate or discuss a topic or issue, or respond to a newspaper article or journal article, and
participation is assessed or forms part of the assessment;
‣ ¾ A role play activity where students contribute to a discussion from the perspective of a particular
‘player’ (for example, a community forum about a local environmental issue might include the mayor,
developer, local council representative, environmental activist and a concerned citizen).
It is important when choosing to use Discussion forums that the role of the teacher is considered and included
in the design as it can be crucial to the success of a forum.
‣ ¾ For example, Gerbic (2006) found that encouragement, reminders from the teacher and discussion of the
For more information on discussion forums, including user guides, case studies and best
rationale for the online discussions was not especially effective in integrating the activity into the course
practice tips, visit:
and getting students to engage. It was far more effective, however, when the teacher provided feedback
Ü Blended Learning Support site > Using Learning@Griffith > Communication and
on the quality of the online discussion during face-to-face sessions and included activities which
collaboration tools> Discussion board
prepared and skilled students for the online environment. This additional focus by the teacher seemed
to legitimise it Alternative as an integral discussion and important forum tools: part of the course.
http://www.tangler.com
http://groups.google.com
Webcasting
A webcast is media (audio and/or video) broadcast over the internet. A good example of the use of webcasts
is how radio and television stations often make their programs available as either podcasts (audio) or
vodcasts (video).
Just as you can create a webcast to communicate material to students, you can get students to create a
webcast to communicate material to you and/or the rest of the class. This may be a good way of stimulating
creativity, motivating and engaging students in the process of learning. A webcast could be the end product of
a group collaboration, where students worked together on investigating a particular issue or carrying out a
project. Each group’s webcast could be shown to the whole group, and could be self- or peer-assessed.
Information and links to free webcasting software:
http://www.webcastingzone.com/webcasting-articles/free-webcasting.php
“How to make a webcast” (video: 2 minutes duration):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRtXPSHJSRs
30 Getting Started with Blended Learning