How Do I Interact with My Classmates?
On the Internet, discussion boards (also known as message boards, discussion forums, and online forums) were the original social media meeting places. In a nutshell, they are online bulletin boards where people with similar interests can discuss and debate various topics. The Avatar Discussion forums works in a similar way to this but with a course subject and student assist focus. It can enhance communication between you and your fellow students when used in conjunction with course work. You have time to reflect on what you want to say before you enter your response in the system. You are also able to view the responses and perspectives of all your classmates, which is not easily accomplished in a real classroom setting.
Depending on the settings in your individual courses, you can access the Discussion forum specific to a course and/or module from a link in the module or through the forum link in the main menu. During your course study you may use the discussion forums to post or provide information with your fellow students. Feel free to introduce yourself and to respond to questions and suggest online resources with other students. You may even start a new forum thread and lead a discussion on a topic you are interested in.
Some cautionary advice:
Have you ever attended or hosted a chat session online that seemed to get out of hand quickly and where the attendees seemed to ramble on about their personal lives rather than the session subject? Or were the majority of the attendees don’t contribute just watch? In order to foster an online environment conducive to online learning, effective communication methods are key. For the most effective learning and support students must engage and interact with other students in the forums and through email and group activities.
The nature of course interaction in a self-paced study environment like Avatar Virtual Learning can be problematic. The burden of joining and contributing to the social interaction and group supported learning is passed onto the student. It is the role of the Avatar approach to establish, maintain and manage online learning communities. We set the stage for rigorous, robust, analytical, and a dynamic in-course interaction leading to deeper learning but it is up to each student to make use of it.