Sakai: Discussions

Forums

The Forums tool in Sakai allows you to have online class discussions. Discussions are asynchronous, which means participants do not have to be online at the same time.

Forums are one of the most popular tools in online and hybrid courses and can be used in traditional courses as well. Forums can provide opportunities for in-depth student reflection, application of concepts, and peer learning. Forums also add a critical element of student-to-student interaction to online instruction.

Basics

• Sakai 21 User Guide: Discussions
• How to Set Up Discussion Topics: Video | Handout
• How to Grade Students' Discussion Posts: Video | Handout

Best Practices for Forums

• Best Practices for Forums (pdf) - Our best advice, all on one page
• Forum Questions Used by Durham Tech Instructors (pdf)
• Forum Guidelines and Grading (pdf)
• Generating and Facilitating Engaging and Effective Online Discussions (The Orange Grove: Florida's OER Repository)
• Tips to enhance student engagement in online discussions

More info

• What do forums look like to students? (video)
• Tips for Students on Using Forums
• How do I stop the flood of emails (after posting in a Forum/Topic)?