Discussion Board Expectations

Criteria	Exceeds Expectation	Meets Expectation	Does Not Meet Expectation
Relevance	Posting responds directly to the discussion question and includes pertinent, connected or applicable information	Posting responds directly to the discussion question	Posting does not respond directly to the discussion question
Use of Examples	Posting makes thoughtful references to previous or current session material and/ or relevant personal experiences	Posting includes at least one reference to session material and/ or relevant personal experiences	Posting does not include any references to session material or relevant personal experiences
Contribution to Learning Community	Posting offers critical analysis of a key theme or existing post(s) which deepens or extends the conversation	Posting engages with ideas from the session or the perspectives of fellow participants and makes a positive contribution to the conversation	Posting does not critically engage with key ideas from the session or the perspectives of fellow participants
Comprehension	It is evident from the posting that the participant understands the discussion question and the key ideas from the session material. In addition, the participant employs higher order thinking skills (analysis, synthesis, evaluation) when responding to the discussion question	It is evident from the posting that the participant understands the discussion question and the general ideas referenced in the session material	It is not evident from the posting that the participant understands either the discussion question or the ideas referenced in the session material
Written Quality	Posting has a coherent structure and the flow of the writing is easily understood. Posting is grammatically correct with no spelling errors	Posting has a coherent structure and the flow of the writing is easily understood. Posting has only one or two grammatical or spelling errors	Posting does not have a coherent structure and the flow of the writing is hard to follow. Posting has multiple grammatical or spelling errors
Timeliness	Two or more postings are made on at least two different days; at least one posting is made early enough in the discussion period to allow time for others to read and respond	Two or more postings are made on only one day; at least one posting is made early enough in the discussion period to allow time for others to read and respond	Two or more postings are made on only one day; postings are late in the discussion period and may not allow time for others to read and respond
Tone	Posting has a positive, supportive and professional tone	Posting has elements of a positive, supportive or professional tone	Posting is negative or flat in tone

Ideas for strengthening the discussion

When introducing a new thought/concept/introduction, be sure to start by adding a new thread.

The subject line is important. When starting a new thread, make sure to create a subject line that both clues in the reader and catches the eye of your audience.

When replying to a note, leave the "re:" portion of the subject line, but feel free to edit the subject line to express how you are extending the conversation. This way everyone can get a quick glance at the direction of the conversation within a thread without actually opening each posting.

Make a habit of replying to more people than required in the assignments. As experienced online learners know, the goal is to advance the knowledge of the group and this comes from active conversation.

Post your initial ideas early in the session and come back frequently to read and respond to colleagues' ideas.

This work was developed by the EdTech Leaders Online program at Education Development Center, Inc. (EDC). For more information, please contact us at http://edtechleaders.org. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.

Last Updated: May 2012

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