Since the increased use of instant messaging, email, and texting; students are unintentionally forgetful of the good rules of conduct for academic discussion groups and forums. To those that are unfamiliar with discussion board platforms, below are some suggestions for posting effectively:
- Reply with purpose: don’t agree without purpose or disagree without valid reason. Consider contributing often enough to move the discussions forward.
- Since this is a shared learning environment, avoid being a window-shopper! Logging in and reading the discussion between others is not enough. Active participation is required!
- Avoid repeating comments and suggestions that have already been contributed by your classmates. Be innovative!
- Post replies in a professional manner. Social networking and text messaging have developed bad habits in your academic writing. Refrain from the :-) emoticons and the abbreviated c u l8r’s. Use of good grammar and spelling always count with any graded activity.
Always show respect to your classmates and keep your language polite. Similar to how you would act in a classroom environment, it is expected that you show respect towards others and value their opinions. Inappropriate behavior includes, but is not limited to:
- Using abusive, disrespectful or foul language
- Threatening others
- Posting in all capital letters (it looks like you are screaming)
- Posting racist or hateful comments about ethnicity, gender, intelligence or income level
- Being very careful with sarcasm – it can easily be misunderstood
If you assume the best from others, you can expect the best in return.