A lot of students have enrolled into online classes rather than the conventional ones these days. As a matter of fact, distance learning or
taking classes via online has been growing in popularity. Apart from the conveniences of online classes, some people still have
their own worries. They are afraid of
not being able to interact with peers and lecturers. They are afraid that they won’t be able to
have discussions with their lecturers especially when they have any questions
or problems to solve. The fear is
irrational, though, as it was found that online students tend to interact more
with peers and instructors compared to conventional students.
Interaction among peers and lecturers can be done effortlessly due to
the presence of online discussion posting board. Through this medium, students are allowed to
submit queries, discussions, opinion or just about anything that pops up in
their mind. Thus, they can discuss
matters pertinent to their online
classes or any other related matters with ease. Those who do not post anything on the
discussion board of their online classes
can still follow up with everyone’s progress, as discussions can also be done
via other mediums such as chatting room and email.
For those who are planning to pass with flying colors in their online classes, it’s recommended that
they take part in the board posting discussions, as marks will be taken. It takes up around thirty percent of the
overall mark, so if you want to get excellent grades it’s vital that you become
active in the discussion posting board.
There are various topics to be discussed in the discussion board. For the first session, often times the
lecturer requires students to deliver an introduction speech or essay. You can upload a text document, video or
audio presentation. This is for the ice-breaking session, so that students of
the online classes get to know with
each other.
Following the first assignment, students for online classes are normally asked to contribute at least three or
four posts in the discussion board. The
activities may involve giving opinion on a subject matter or feedback from one
student to the next. In general, the
discussion board becomes highly interactive throughout the whole semester as a
lot of students sign in every day. Topic
of discussion for online classes may
be taken from textbooks, questions given by lecturers, input from students as
well as external sources taken from video or e-book downloads.
As a conclusion, online classes
are not boring in nature as you can get engaged with a lot of interaction with
other students as well as your lecturers.
There is a plethora of subjects to discuss about, from the basic of
certain theories up to the implementation of them. When you enrol into a distance learning
program, it does not mean that your classroom activity will be strictly limited
to being on the internet. You get to
enjoy real, outdoor activities as well.
The availability of such programs often depends on how the online classes are handled and the
willingness of students and lecturers to organize extra-curricular activities.
