Moderators are asked to initiate discussion each week by posting a provocative, thoughtful message on a serious topic. The moderator then checks the forum daily, responding to other students and encouraging the discussion as needed. Kearsley notes that moderating a discussion comes more naturally to some students than others, but that having a few discussions online to serve as models is making it easier for the group. In addition to benefiting the student moderators themselves, this process encourages other students to think more carefully about what they post. He plans to make student moderating an assignment in future classes, and wants to do more to encourage the development of synthesizing skills among his students.
Networked technologies offer a variety of avenues for communication.
At the time, there were no reference manuals for Perl 5.0 available in print. To fill this void, the students used a web-based discussion forum to share useful Perl 5.0 resources found on the web, essentially creating their own Perl reference manual. The students continued using the discussion forum to present preliminary system design ideas and issues. The electronic communications tools were not as effective as in-person dialogue for facilitating these group decisions in a timely manner. Each of these communications tools provides advantages above and beyond the other options.