The Online Discussions Doctor is a diagnostic tool for improving lackluster asynchronous, forum-based discussions. It’s intended to help you answer the question, “Why aren’t my online discussions as lively, fruitful, and deep as my classroom discussions?” This tool can also serve as a guide even if you’re completely new to facilitating online discussions. The “remedies” for preventing forum fails are summaries of best practices based on educational research. Browsing through the ailments and their remedies will familiarize you with common pitfalls and strengths of online discussions, even if you don’t yet have a particular nagging online discussion problem.
We are happy to sit down with you and walk through this material or feel free to peruse these resources on your own and let us know if you have any questions. Just contact CDLI to set up a consultation or find answers to your questions.