Social discussion

The ‘any time, any place’ quality of a discussion board can prove an excellent vehicle for peer support, and can be overlooked as a useful extra feature for helping to develop a bond between students in large groups who do not necessarily meet outside class, or who are only on campus for one or two days a week. All postgraduate students can benefit from a virtual community space to lessen the potential isolation of research.

Example of bonding on a discussion board

The messages which followed the message in the screenshot read:

• ‘Shouldn’t we be using this for something a little more relevant?’ (from the lecturer)
• ‘What, you mean like song suggestions for the end of this term?’ (from a student)

Last Modified: 2 August 2010