Do threaded discussions in online classes have any academic value?

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by SurfDoctor, Sep 12, 2010.

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How much academic value does the typical threaded discussion offer in an online class

Poll closed Nov 11, 2010.
  1. Highly valuable. Threaded discussions are an intergal part of a good online class.

    5 vote(s)
    8.9%
  2. Fairly valuable. Most of the time, they add value to a class.

    6 vote(s)
    10.7%
  3. Sometimes valuable, sometimes not. It depends on the students, instructor and questions.

    20 vote(s)
    35.7%
  4. Rarely valuable. Most of the time, threaded discussions are of little benefit.

    14 vote(s)
    25.0%
  5. An absolute waste of time.

    11 vote(s)
    19.6%
  1. SurfDoctor

    SurfDoctor Moderator

    Do threaded discussions have any academic value?

    The thread by eilla05 made me begin to wonder what the opinions of the DL members might be on the value of threaded discussions. In the many online classes I have been in threaded discussions seem to have been of little academic value. Possibly they are of benefit in a few circumstances, but not often, IMO. As eilla05 implies, there is usually little actual discussion going on but rather just students jumping through the hoops and instructors replying with canned, pasted responses. What's your opinion?

    This was touched on in eilla05's thread, but the question was not directly asked, so hopefully this does not seem redundant.

    LURKERS: Sign up with us at DegreeInfo so you can vote. I want to know what you think.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 12, 2010
  2. 1MP4Life

    1MP4Life New Member

    I find that most threaded discussions I participated in have little value. At the most recent university I am attending I found myself just going through the motions answering the questions and not really thinking the replies through. The professors never really participated or added anything to the discussion board, and so it was more a matter of getting the required number of posts done than anyone saying anything substantial.
     
  3. SurfDoctor

    SurfDoctor Moderator

    I concur. I hope that's not just specific to our mutual alma mater, National University. :eek:
     
  4. HikaruBr

    HikaruBr Member

    I only had two online classes in my life and in both of them the online discussions were worthless.

    The discussions tend to be cookie cutter with everyone trying to please the teacher. The students that try to discuss something out of the box are penalized and they usually get a lower grade than the "Standard" posters.

    I think those discussions are a ridiculous attempt to please critics of online education, trying to show that we can have "interaction" in an online class too.

    The thing is, in a real class you can be pretty much a shy and quiet student and pass with a A if you want - that's not possible in an online class.

    The format is so artificial, that even a person like me, definitely not shy or introspect, that tends to speak a lot in a class (specially if I like/know the subject) ends up writing the barely minimum in a online class.

    Discussions should be optional, not mandatory nor part of the grade.
     
  5. Anyone who went to a school where the threaded discussions were, on the whole, not of value was shafted. In my undergrad program the discussions were of high value. Interactions between students and professor were high. Instructors were well regarded in their field and students were motivated young people or professionals.

    This was at a tier 1 university.
     
  6. I disagree completely -- discussion forums are where the online format shines. I've taken both B&M and online courses, and the discussions in online courses surpass that of B&M's by many magnitudes.

    A situation where you're required to make X amount of posts and they have to follow Y format and the instructor gives canned/no responses == bad program.
     
  7. davesaint

    davesaint New Member

    My first DL at Brandeis U. offically starts on Wednesday. However I started working ahead this past Wednesday. I completed my first two posts this morning. I will not be able to submit them until after Wednesday. Every weeks it look's like there are four discussions questions and we have to post replies to two of them per week. Each question actually consists of numerous questions. One post has 5 parts and the other and parts. One reply contained 734 words and other 367 words. We also have to post two substantive replies two are classmates posts. There is a crapload of reading to do and there are numerous practical project exercises and case studies we have to analyze. The syallabus states that the course load will require 7-11 hours of work per week. So far that's BS. I've been keeping track of my time and so far I have 13 hours logged so far for week one. For week one I just have to reply to the other classmates post once they start posting. I'm guessing that I have 1-1 1/2 hours left for week one. I started working on my week 2 work and have an hour log so far. I talked to my wife and she just finished her MS in Nursing. Most of her classes were DL. She stated that there was some value but not a lot. She stated that it beats writing papers.
    Dave
     
  8. SurfDoctor

    SurfDoctor Moderator

    You must have paper writing as part of the requirement too, don't you? Your workload sounds typical for an online class, to me. In most of the many online classes I have taken (around 18 so far), there is at least 50% more workload than a regular class, sometimes more than that.
     
  9. HikaruBr

    HikaruBr Member

    It depends a lot on the subject. One of the classes that I took was a very technical/artistic subject (Matchmoving). There wasn't really any point in having discussions on this class.

    In my experience the best discussions that I had academically, both in my undergrad and grad study, it happened outside the class (both with fellow students or teachers).

    I'd rather have more papers due than have those artificial discussions.
     
  10. TonyM

    TonyM Member

    Useless Drag on DL

    I hate them. The best courses for me were the paper correspondence type. I'd rather write a paper a week instead.
     
  11. 1MP4Life

    1MP4Life New Member

    Not at all. I took a couple of online classes at Thomas Edison and seven or eight at AMU and I feel the discussions had no real academic value there either.

    At National University though, the discussion postings just seem cumbersome. Those four week classes fly by and most of my professors required answering 4-6 questions per week and responding meaningfully to at least three students for all of the questions which adds up to about 20 postings a week, and that was on top of the weekly reading and assignments. I think it was frustrating to me because I really didn't see any value to the discussion postings, but I had to use a lot of what would have been study time just to go through the motions and get full credit for the discussion board.

    I did have one exception during a digital forensics course where the professor actively participated in the discussion and frequently would ask new questions during the week. I looked forward to reading those discussion postings.
     
  12. b4cz28

    b4cz28 Active Member

    I have has one class like this and it was great!

    At worst if you put any effort or research into your posts then they are great as a forced way to review.
     
  13. brow276

    brow276 Member

    Back when I was working on my AA in CJ, there was a student who was convinced that if we introduced torture in prisons it would reduce the recidivism rate in American prisons. I used the thread to convince her and several other students that torture would only compound the problems that are currently in corrections. My first hand knowledge and experience, along with research helped, but having the instructor take the time to back up my arguments with more first hand knowledge and research was what did it.

    If the instructor is continuously posting in the threads and doesn't accept mediocre responses, it's a valuable tool. If not, then it's a waste of time.

    So for those of you who adjunct; please, please take the time to add your wisdom and experience to the class.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 12, 2010
  14. djacks24

    djacks24 New Member

    I think it relies a lot on who's in your classes too. I took 4 classes for my undergrad major online at a state university. Just about everyone in my classes were experienced professionals in their fields from a variety of fields. One student who was in just every one of my online classes, worked for the fire department for nearly 20 years and had some really interesting posts. He was really good at relating the subject matter to his experiences at the fire department. He was also a very good writer. But it wasn't only him, he was just one major player that came to mind. I got a chance to read many different perspectives from professionals in many fields. I have to admit, that sometimes being a procrastinator, that I could've gotten more out of the discussions if I had taken the time and wasn't just trying to meet deadlines. But we had some high quality posters that really raised the bar and forced me to think outside the box for content on my posts to make sure I wasn't regurgitating someone else's words. That in itself was an experience I would have never had if I were just writing a paper that only the professor may or may not read while grading it. It helped me take discussions seriously knowing that the majority of my classmates were taking them seriously as well. As far as professor feedback, there was little in the form of discussions. It's the other students that kept me taking it seriously.

    So for any of the whiners here, maybe you should step it up a little to help raise the bar, find a better school with more quality classmates, or maybe you should pick another major that will help you take it more seriously.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 12, 2010
  15. Ted Heiks

    Ted Heiks Moderator and Distinguished Senior Member

    The threaded discussions do provide some element of interaction with fellow students in DL. :)
     
  16. davesaint

    davesaint New Member

    "MichaelOliver" - You must have paper writing as part of the requirement too, don't you? Your workload sounds typical for an online class, to me. In most of the many online classes I have taken (around 18 so far), there is at least 50% more workload than a regular class, sometimes more than that.

    For this first class I do not see a formal paper requirement listed on the syllabus. However there are numerous practical paper writing excercises, like writing a Project Charter for example. There seems like there will be plenty of work to do. I would assume in the Professional Communications class that their will be plenty of writing.
    Dave
     
  17. BillDayson

    BillDayson New Member

    I think that just in general, classroom discussions are among the most important components of good higher education.

    That's especially true on the graduate level where students should be addressing current topics and the contemporary literature. Issues aren't typically going to have simple established solutions that students can just passively learn by reading a book and then repeat back on exams. New developments will typically be active topics of scholarly and professional discussion. Advanced students will need to be familiar with those debates and possess the ability to participate in them at the appropriate level.

    I'll go so far as to say that advanced-level classes that don't have satisfactory class discussions aren't good classes. Adaquate perhaps, but not really good.
     
  18. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    Obnoxiously phrased, but not invalid. Also, I noticed that the discussions in my Master's program were more interesting than those in my Bachelor's program, and that when I was in a doctoral program that had class discussion, it was more interesting than those in my Master's program. I realize I'm just one person so that's just anecdotal, but I wouldn't be surprised if it were a trend that the higher level one goes, the more tengaged one's peers are.

    -=Steve=-
     
  19. b4cz28

    b4cz28 Active Member

    I doubt anyone can know if they will have quality classmates before they sign up for a program...lol
     
  20. djacks24

    djacks24 New Member

    You did know this was the information age, right? If you have received a proper undergrad education, learning how to research things properly should have been addressed early on and practiced throughout. Nothing is certain, but quality programs will have resources available and people who know how to research things should be able to find what they need to help them with their decision. The chair and founder of my program was always available for questions and the department website even provided links directly on the programs website with newspaper articles about the program as well as a local news station in depth coverage of the program interviewing the department head as well as current students. Also, the better your chances will be for having quality classmates will be at a quality institution. If you try to get a hold of the contact for any particular program, and they don't know how to answer in-depth questions or provide examples of the quality of the discussion boards and student body, then I'd probably steer clear.
     

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