Next I provide a few web sites where faculty can go to obtain the tools. Faculty and staff will need to decide which tools and providers will best meet their needs. The tools listed below can be used to enhance teaching in both traditional classrooms and distance learning courses. The postings or messages are threaded links which are kept on the forum for others to view. The forums are asynchronous, meaning that interaction does not take place at the same time.
Students can engage in the discussion when they wish to post or reply to statements.
The faculty member can see who is posting what and monitor the discussion. In most cases, they are more prepared to discuss issues because they tend not to go online until after they have done the readings and assignments. Students must be on the computer at the same time to communicate with other students. A major problem is that this form of communication doesn't keep a record of the conversation. Also, students cannot go back and follow the conversation.