Foster interactive and engaging class discussions with ThinkHub's Discussion Board template.
The Discussion Board template in ThinkHub is designed to facilitate class discussions by providing a structured space for students to post and respond to questions or topics. This template encourages active participation and collaborative learning, making it an ideal tool for educators. Here’s how to effectively use the Discussion Board template in ThinkHub.
Accessing the Discussion Board Template
- Download the Discussion Board Template.
- Send the Template to ThinkHub via the T1V app.
Using the Discussion Board Template
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Posting Questions or Topics:
- Objective: Initiate discussion by posting questions or topics.
- Actions: Use the Group Headers provided in the template to post questions or discussion topics. For longer questions, include a Note with the question. Consider changing the background of the note to make it stand out and pin the note over the group for easy identification.
- Tools: Utilize notes and annotation tools to highlight key questions or topics.
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Student Responses:
- Objective: Encourage students to engage and respond.
- Actions: Students can respond to the posted questions or topics by adding notes or other content to the appropriate groups.
- Tools: Students can use notes, web pages, screenshots, or even pictures of hand-drawn responses. For example, in some engineering classes, students are assigned complex problems that they complete with pen and paper. They then take a picture of their work with their phone and upload it to ThinkHub as their answer.
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Interactive Discussion:
- Objective: Facilitate ongoing dialogue and interaction.
- Actions: Promote further discussion by asking follow-up questions or providing feedback on student responses. Encourage students to respond to each other’s posts.
- Tools: Annotations and drawings can be used to emphasize points or illustrate ideas.
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Organizing and Summarizing:
- Objective: Keep discussions organized and summarize key points.
- Actions: Periodically review the discussion board and re-organize posts by topic or theme. Summarize key points and conclusions from the discussion into new groups.
- Tools: Use ThinkHub’s drag-and-drop feature to move and group related posts. Summarize discussions using pinned notes or annotation tools.
Additional Tips:
- Set Guidelines: Establish clear guidelines for posting and responding to ensure respectful and productive discussions.
- Encourage Participation: Actively encourage all students to participate and share their viewpoints.
- Consider Class Size: In smaller classrooms, students can respond individually. For larger classrooms, we recommend assigning students into groups to discuss amongst themselves before submitting a group answer to ThinkHub.
- Monitor and Facilitate: Regularly monitor the discussion board to facilitate engagement and address any issues that arise.
- Use Visual Aids: Incorporate images, diagrams, or videos to enrich the discussion and provide additional context.