Discussion

In the Discussion e-tivity the instructor asks the students to talk about a specific course topic, use conversation to try to solve a problem, confer in form of group analysis or critique, etc. Usually, a set of simple rules is presented before a discussion to ensure that its goals are realized. The instructor can act as a moderator or this role can be given to an experienced student. The students can participate in the discussion sequentially or in form of an open discourse. The instructor should facilitate group effort, help preserve the focus of the conversation on the given topic/task, maintain the proper form of discussion, and sometimes ask questions or provide comments/feedback. Also, from time to time some participants in the discussion may need encouragement, while some others may have to be reminded of the discussion rules.

The Web 2.0 tools that can be used are instant messaging tools (Google Talk, Google Wave), collaborative writing tools (SpringNote, Zoho Notebook), or some of the communication features of social networking tools (Ning, SocialGo). In case of sequential form of discussion, a wiki system can also be used. The results of discussion activity (transcript, log file) can be preserved for documentation purpose, as an illustration, or for peer learning.