MoocLab is a new centralised discussion board for consumers and providers of online learning to share experiences, discuss topical issues and learn from each other. I raise this issue in my article, “Why MOOC forums fail to deliver” which can be accessed via my MOOC Discussion Website,.

This is often due to the fact that these forums don’t have a “community manager” to seed and moderate the content, making them difficult to use and sometimes unfriendly. MOOC takers often complain about MOOC forums being void of a true sense of community with only a select few actually participating actively in the discussions. Having some form of “sign-off” for these ground rules is a good idea, perhaps as the first post that a student makes on the site. To summarize, lectures are meaningless, the class is poorly organized and poorly taught, the material is as redundant as it is boring (the useful bits are. Set a Structure – Never start your online forum without ground rules, and make sure that all participants have a clear understanding about what is expected of them in terms of behavior and their contributions. For example, you can have them upload an avatar and post in the introduction section. Start Simple – Before asking users to answer questions based on content, get them used to the program you are using for your forums. This is especially true for the educational environment as students are often encouraged to provide feedback (and answer questions) based on course.īut creating an effective forum takes more than having the proper technology in place. As the facilitator (and admin) there are some techniques you can employ to help maximize your online discussions for you and the students.īelow are a few quick tips for generating a positive, thoughtful community for your elearning. Many online courses today have some component of online forum for discussion about the course material.

Websites like courseforum