The Discussion Forum for Educators - Beginner's Tutorial

Vera Mace

Informations

• Publié par: Kivim
• Nombre de lectures: 156
• Langue: English

Extrait

The Discussion For um for Educators - Beginner's T utorial
Please not e that de tailed i nstructions about the m ultiple features of this F orum c an be found i n t he F orum itself.
Introduction
What's t he di fference be tween a c hat room a nd a di scussion forum ?
How i s t he P ERC di scussion forum orga nized?
How do I fi nd c onversations t hat m ight i nterest m e?
Forum Etiquette
Writing: P osting
Why i s a pos t’s t opic s o i mportant?
What doe s "U nthreaded" a nd "T hreaded" m ean?
How c an I fi nd out m ore a bout t he pe ople pos ting on t his forum ?
Introduction
D iscussion forum s a re c hronological re cords of pe ople's di scussions a bout a gi ven t opic. H ere a t
the P revention E ducation Re source Ce nter (P ERC), m ost of t he di scussions a re a bout t eaching
prevention, publ ic he alth, a nd i nterprofessional e ducation. T he ba sic i dea i s t hat one pe rson
makes a di scussion forum pos t i n one of t he Ca tegories. S /he i s t hen re sponded t o by a nother
person w ho i s a lso i nterested i n t he c onversation. M ore pe ople re ad t hese pos ts a nd j oin i n t he
conversation. A di scussion forum i s l ike a m ini t own ha ll w here l ots of pe ople c ome t ogether a nd
talk a bout s omething t hat i nterests t hem.
What's th e difference between a chat r oom an d a discussion for um?
A c hat room i s a pl ace w here you go a nd e ngage ot her pe ople i n re al-time. Y ou e nter a room a nd
other pe ople a re “ visible” t o you. T ext s crolls upw ards on your s creen a s i ndividuals "t alk" t o
one a nother. O nce you l eave a c hat room , t here i s ge nerally no hi storical re cord ke pt of t he
conversation.
D iscussion forum s a re not "fa ce-to-fa ce" e xperiences l ike c hat room s a re. T he pre mise i s t he
same, a s pe ople t ype t heir t houghts a nd ot hers re spond, but t he di fference i s t hat e ach m essage
written on a di scussion forum ha s i ts ow n pa ge a nd s hows up a lone. P eople t hen re ad t hat
message a nd ha ve t ime t o t hink a bout a nd re spond t o i t. Discussion forum s a re pe rmanent
records of t he c onversations, you c an re fer t o e verything da ys, w eeks, or m onths a fter i t w as
written.
How is th e PERC discussion for um or ganized?
The D iscussion F orum for E ducators i s orga nized ba sed on c ategories of c onversations. U sers
can pos t ne w t opics unde r t he fol lowing pre set c ategories:
1. Int erprofessional A pproaches t o P revention Education
2. D iscipline-s pecific Integration of t he CP PH Curri culum F ramework
3. U ndergraduate Public Health
4. G raduate Public Health
5. H ealth Promotion a nd D isease-s pecific Topics
6. Int ernational a pproaches7. S tudent Forum
8. Other

How do I find conversations th at mi ght interest me ?
From t he hom e pa ge, c lick on t he “ D iscussion F orum for E ducators” l ink t o go t o t he m ain
discussion forum pa ge. T his i s t he pa ge t hat ha s a ll of t he c ategories groupe d t ogether. F rom
here, you c an s earch pos ts w ithin a c ategory by t opics. W hen you ope n a t opic, a ll re plies t o t he
topic w ill fol low c hronologically, w ith t he m ost re cent fi rst.
When re ading a n a ctual pos t, you' ll not ice t wo l inks on t he ri ght-ha nd s ide of t he s creen na med
“View pre vious t opic” a nd “ View ne xt t opic” Cl icking e ither one of t hese t akes you t o t he
previous or ne xt t opic i n c hronological orde r.
Forum Eti quette
Members s hould pos t i n a w ay t hat i s re spectful of ot her us ers. E tiquette vi olations i nclude
spamming, pe rsonal a ttacks, vul garity, profa nity, de famation, a nd pos ting pornogra phic or
generally offe nsive t ext, i mages, l inks, e tc. F laming or a busing us ers i n a ny w ay w ill not be
tolerated. M embers a re a sked t o re spect t he c opyright of ot her us ers, s ites, m edia, e tc. M embers
should pos t i n a w ay w hich i s c onsistent w ith "norm al w riting". T hat i s us ers s hould not pos t
excessively l ong w ritings, us e l arge num bers of e moticons, l arge, s mall or c olored t ext, e tc.
Similarly us ers s hould not S HOUT by us ing A LL c apital l etters or us e e xcessive punc tuation
(e.g. ! and ? ) i n t opic t itles or pos ts.
Writing (P osting)
On e very m essage t here a re t wo l inks na med “ New T opic” a nd "P ost Re ply." If you s elect “ Post
Reply,” you w ill fi rst be a sked t o l og-i n (i f you ha ven’t a lready). T hen a ne w pa ge w ill c ome up
which re prints t he ori ginal pos t a nd provi des you w ith a box t o t ype your m essage i n. O nce you
finish t he m essage, j ust c lick "S ubmit Re ply." Y our m essage w ill s how up a s t he fi rst re ply t o
the t opic, i n re verse c hronological orde r.
If you s elect “ New T opic,” a ne w pa ge w ill c ome up w hich provi des you w ith a box t o na me
your t opic a nd t ype your m essage i n. O nce you fi nish t he m essage, j ust c lick "S ubmit." Y our
message w ill s how up a s t he l ast t opic i n t he c ategory, i n c hronological orde r.
Why is a post’s top ic so important?
The fi rst pos t of a gi ven t hread e stablishes t he t opic by w hich a ll s ubsequent re plies w ill be
known. O nce t here's be en a re ply, t he t hread t opic c annot be s ubsequently c hanged. It 's t herefore
important t o ge t t he t opic ri ght from t he out set. M ake i t a s de scriptive a nd a s s pecific a s pos sible.
For e xample, “ New publ ic he alth rot ation for m ed s tudents,” i s m uch be tter t han s omething
completely ge neric, s uch a s “ Newbie ne eds he lp.” N ot onl y i s i t m ore l ikely t o e licit a re sponse,
but i t'll a lso m ake i t m uch e asier for a ll pos ts i n t he t hread t o be s ubsequently l ocated.

What d oes "Unthreaded" an d "Threaded" me an?
Unthreaded- V ery s imply, t his l ists pos ts i n s trictly c hronological orde r.
Threaded - T hreaded di scussions a re groupe d a ccording t o a s pecific t opic. F or e xample, you
might s tart a t hread by pos ting on t he t opic of "va ccination." If pe ople re spond t o your pos t, theirs w ill re ad "Re : V accination" a nd s o fort h. A ll of t he re plies t o your t opic w ill be ke pt
together. T his m akes i t e asy t o fol low e ach s mall di scussion on a forum . T he di fference be tween
threaded a nd unt hreaded i s t hat t hreaded t akes t he t opic i nto c onsideration fi rst, a nd t he
chronological orde r s econd.
How can I find ou t mor e ab out th e people posting on th is for um?
People w ho pa rticipate on t he di scussion forum ha ve fi lled out a m ember profi le. All you ha ve t o
do i s c lick t heir na me w hen you re ad one of t heir pos ts a nd you' ll be t aken t o t heir profi le. W hen
reading a pos t, you c an a lso s end pri vate m essages or e mails t o t he a uthor of t he pos t.