Design and Facilitation Strategies Used in Asynchronous Online Discussions

Abstract

This study employed interviews and document analysis to achieve a better understanding of the design and facilitation strategies used by online instructors in educational technology at a large university. Some distinctions were found with the literature about what strategies and activities can be used in online asynchronous discussions. Some of the suggestions such as facilitating online collaborative teams, considering self-regulation strategies, creating a discussion rubric that evaluate cognitive, teaching, and social presence, having optimal level of instructor presence in the discussion forum, and setting specified time parameters still need consideration, as they were not implemented in some of courses examined in this study. These areas may be studied more to generate better understanding of their effects on student participation and to provide clear suggestions to online instructors on their use.