Chapter 3 - The Discussion Board
Beaudin, Bart (November 1999) "Keeping Online Asynchronous Discussions on Topic," Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks 3. Beaudin found that instructors keep online asynchronous discussion on topic by: "1) carefully designing good questions, 2) providing guidelines for learners to use when preparing their responses, 3) rewording the question when discussions go off topic and (4) providing discussion summaries.
Bender, Tisha (2003) Discussion-Based Online Teaching to Enhance Student Learning: Theory, Practice and Assessment, Sterling VI: Stylus. A practical guide to using asynchronous discussion in the online classroom.
Berge, Zane L. and Lin Muilenburg (2002) "Designing Discussion Questions for Online, Adult Learning" in Allison Rossett (ed.) The ASTD E-Learning Handbook, New York: McGraw-Hill: 183"9. The authors offer helpful advice on designing discussion questions for an online class.
Best of History Web Sites. Accessed at www.besthistorysites.net/index.shtml. Best of History Web Sites contains reviews and recommendations of over 1000 websites in all areas of history.
Collison, George, Robert Tinker, Sarah Haavind and Bonnie Elbaum (2000) Facilitating Online Learning: Effective Strategies for Moderators, Madison WI: Atwood Publishing. This book concentrates on moderating discussions. The examples are generally from the sciences and the business world, but the book is still useful for those teaching history online.
Kubricht, Paul (November 2000) "Reflections on Teaching International Cold War History Online," Journal of the Association for History and Computing 3. Based on his own experiences of teaching an online history class, Kubricht offers some sound advice about designing an online class based around discussion.
MacKnight, Carol B. (2000) "Teaching Critical Thinking Through Online Discussions," Educause Quarterly 23: 38"41. This article provides nuanced suggestions for using an online discussion board.
Martyn, Margie (2005) "Computer-Mediated Communication: A Quest for Quality" in L. Bash (ed.) Best Practices in Adult Learning, Bolton MA: Anker Publishing Company, Inc.: 173"96. Martyn provides some astute guidance on how to facilitate an online discussion.
McCarthy, J. Patrick (February 2000) "Commercial Publisher Web Sites for US History Surveys," Perspectives: 21"28. A helpful introduction to using history textbook publishers™ websites and other online material in the classroom.
Palloff, Rena M. and Keith Pratt (2005) Collaborating Online: Learning Together in Community, San Francisco CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers. "In the online environment, collaboration can be seen as the cornerstone of the educational experience" (p. xi) insist Palloff and Pratt. The authors have provided a book that explains some basic concepts involved in collaborating online and that contains some practical activities that can be adapted to the history classroom.
Top History Games. Accessed at www.activehistory.co.uk/top_activities/index.htm. This site provides a number of history simulations and games for school students that could be adapted to the college classroom.