Group Discussion in Online Statistics Courses

"Group Discussion in Online Statistics Courses"; By Michelle Everson, Department of Educational Psychology, University of Minnesota

I recently played a role in creating online versions of three statistics courses offered through my department. We decided to create online versions of these courses because we found that we were continuously running out of seats in our face-to-face courses. We also knew that many students who enrolled in our courses traveled to campus from all over the state, and we hoped online sections would better accommodate them.

Strategies to Promote Communication Online: http://www.ion.uillinois.edu/resources/tutorials/communication/communicationStrategies.asp  

A sense of community must be created in the Virtual Classroom in order for effective learning to occur. The discussion element of an online course plays a critical role in creating and sustaining this sense of community.  In fact, the synergy of the discussion is probably the most important learning tool of an online course. Successful online instructors use strategies to help create an online environment in which participants feel eager to contribute and comfortable with the demands and pace of the online discussion. General Strategies --- Specific Strategies

 Successful strategies for using Asynchronous Discussion Boards... http://www.connectedcreativity.com/Treatise/interaction2.html

 Improving the use of Discussion boards