Online Best Practices
Effective Online Student Course Participation
Substantial - Messages should relate to the subject matter and provide information, opinions, or questions about that subject matter. They may relate the subject matter to something personal but they should remain academic in their focus.
Concise - Discussion postings that are excessively long do not receive replies. Try to get the point and focus of your message across so that what you are saying is clear, while still fully answering the question.
Provocative - The discussion forum is an interactive medium; the more interaction, the better. A good message prompts others to reply, concur, or raise an objection. A focused and pointed message that produces replies from other learners in that class moves the discussion forward and has a positive impact on the learning environment.
Hermeneutical - The discussion forum is a place where ideas are interpreted and language is explored. To be hermeneutical is to interpret. A good message should explore, explain, or expand on a concept or connection. The message should not simply state something but rather expand upon an idea.
Timely - A good message appears in the context of similar messages in the message log. If you get on irregularly, your message will appear late and out of context with what is currently happening in the discussion. Get on regularly and reply to messages in a timely fashion.
Logical - A good message (that is not a question) should contain a logical argument. It should contain a clearly stated conclusion of a thesis supported by premises, reason, evidence, or grounds of belief.
Grammatical - A good, clear, concise message should be well-written and free of typos and sentence fragments.
Student Netiquette Rules for Online Discussion Boards
“Netiquette” refers to rules of etiquette that apply to online communication.
Follow these 15 rules of netiquette to make sure you sound respectful, polite, and knowledgeable when you post to your class’s online discussion boards. Rule of Thumb: If you wouldn’t do or say something in real life, don’t do it online either.
Download a copy of the infographic
Infographic created by Touro College’s Online Education Department, May 2014
- Before posting your question to a discussion board, check if anyone has asked it already and received a reply. Just as you wouldn’t repeat a topic of discussion right after it happened in real life, don’t do that in discussion boards either.
- Stay on topic. Don’t post irrelevant links, comments thoughts, or pictures.
- Don’t type in ALL CAPS! If you do, it will look like you’re screaming
- Don’t write anything that sounds angry or sarcastic, even as a joke, because without hearing your tone of voice your peers might not realize you’re joking
- Always remember to say “Please” and “Thank you” when soliciting help from your classmates
- Respect the opinions of your classmates. If you feel the need to disagree, do so respectfully and acknowledge the valid points in your classmate’s argument. Acknowledge that others are entitled to have their own perspective on the issue.
- If you reply to a question from a classmate, make sure your answer is accurate! If you’re not 100% sure when the paper is due, DO NOT GUESS! Otherwise, you could really mess things up for your classmates and they will not appreciate it.
- If you ask a question and many people respond, summarize all answers and post that summary to benefit your whole class.
- Be brief. If you write a long dissertation in response to a simple question, it’s unlikely that anyone will spend the time to read through it all.
- Don’t badmouth others or call them stupid. You may disagree with their ideas, but don’t mock the person.
- If you refer to something your classmate said earlier in the discussion, quote just a few key lines from their post so that others won’t have to go back and figure out which post you’re referring to.
- Before asking a question, check the class FAQs or search the internet to see if the answer is obvious or easy to find.
- Check the most recent comments before you reply to an older comment, since the issue might have already been resolved or opinions may have changed
- Be forgiving. If your classmate makes a mistake don’t badger him or her for it. Just let it go – it happens to the best of us.
- Run a spelling and grammar check before posting anything to the discussion board. It only takes a minute, and can make the difference between sounding like a fool and sounding knowledgeable.