Strategies

Using a forum can be an interesting and relatively easy way to extend the walls of your classroom. Running a successful forum that improves learning outcomes needs careful planning. Students need to plan their questions and comments and consider other opinions. Forums suit guests that cannot be online at the same time as your students.

Read some examples of how online forums have been used.

Prior to the forum - the planning stage

• Make sure you have a Learning Place username and password. Request a Project room for your students to use. Once you receive the project room set up a chat room and forums to suit your purpose. You can change the names of the forums and set a password.
  
  
• Use forums to improve or enhance learning. Once a purpose has been decided and perhaps a guest invited to join the forum, discuss with your students how the forum will be best undertaken.
  
  
• Allow time for each student or group to research the topic and develop good questions. Discuss these questions prior to the chat. This is important if a guest has been invited.
  
  
• Organise rotations or a timetable so all students have adequate time to read, reflect and respond.
  
  
• Decide on the length of the forum. This will help online guests or other participants to determine the time they need to allocate to the forum.

During the forum

• Encourage students to approach the topic from different 'points of view'.
  
  
• Share all the responses and questions with the class. Use the opinions and answers to determine further areas of research or direction a unit of work may take.
  
  
• Check the forum after students to make sure that appropriate comments were posted. Make sure the forum is checked daily.

Post chat

• Use the archived forum for class discussion, activities and follow-up research.
  
• Write or thank the online guest.
  
• Share the outcome with your peers.
  
• Plan your next forum.