In a face-to-face classroom there are students the teacher hears from on a regular basis. They always have their hands up or shout out answers. Just like the face-to-face classroom, some students will be very loud in online discussions while others will be very quiet. The “noisy” learners may post a plethora of messages that aren’t necessarily related to course content and may dominate discussions just by the sheer number of posts they contribute. Quieter learners may be annoyed by these “noisy” individuals and the lack of quality content they present to the group. The quieter learners may post sporadically and sparsely. However, upon inspection, the quality of their contributions may prove to be “meatier” than all of the “noisy” learners’ posts combined. It is important that teachers watch for quality, and that they interact with all students, not just the “noisy” ones. The teacher can set expectations for the types of posts that are acceptable and those that are just cyberspace fillers.
Many students making the transition from a face-to-face classroom to the online environment struggle with being able to “read” others in a text-only environment like a discussion forum. The teacher should demonstrate to students how emotions can be presented online. Starting the course with introductions that allow students to share their expectations, fears, and personal qualities will allow them to participate in the group-building process. Integrating small group projects and paired activities will also help students realize they can comfortably work with peers in a digital learning environment. Palloff and Pratt point out, “…virtual communication is human… Textual communication is a great equalizer and can prompt us to be more thoughtful about what we say online.” (1999, p. 35)
Sometimes a group of students will put pressure on others to conform to a certain thought or action in discussions. This pressure can cause students who do not want to join in due to this pressure to experience feelings of isolation and detachment from the group. It is important the teacher recognizes when members in a group may be bullying or putting down views that other students would like to share.
Discussion forums can be like transcripts of personal phone calls. Sometimes students will forget that their conversations with a select few are open to all to read. They might suddenly realize they have shared too much, leading to feelings of embarrassment and invasion of privacy. It is important that the teacher set parameters around online conversations at the start of the course. It is very important that students understand how visible they are in the online environment. It should be made clear to everyone that just because only a few people are a part of a conversation, that doesn’t necessarily mean others are not silently present as well.
Students can disappear quickly and quietly online. It is very important that the teacher monitors each course carefully and quickly makes contact with students who seem disconnected or are absent for an unacceptable period of time. The teacher should set parameters around how many and how often posts should be made during a course. Teachers quickly find that if they just post assignments and don’t check back, students will not see the activities as valuable and will not participate at a high level. To keep momentum going, teachers should promote active participation from all students in online discussions and present guiding questions which prompt students to respond and participate more fully.
Students and teachers can become frustrated with how many messages there are to read, or time spent trying to navigate to the content or activities they are seeking. Students need specific instruction on how much to post and how often, not only to prompt participation, but also to limit extraneous conversation and reduce the amount of time spent on what can be viewed as negative and discouraging activity. Simple and consistent navigation tools should be used to guide students to the things that engage and excite them. Rather than complain about the time spent trying to find what they need, they will most likely just log off.
Students often feel less constrained in an online environment when it comes to sharing their opinions, thoughts, and feelings. This can be a good thing when they are involved in controlled discussions and debates. However, it can also lead to “flaming” incidents in which students can end up in heated conflicts with one another. The teacher needs to be vigilant and intervene if necessary, to facilitate a resolution. This helps to avoid having other students withdraw their participation in the conversation because they feel uncomfortable, and also avoids other students furthering the conflict by taking a side and inflaming the situation.