Forums are often used as a part of the eLearning process. Forums allow the learners to discuss their lessons, take guidance from the instructors and learn their chapters in a collaborative environment. However, before creating your forum, you need to decide how exactly you are going to use the forum for your eLearning portal.
Use Forums In eLearning
Here we are with a few ways by which you can use a forum in eLearning:
1. Select the right platform:
A very important part of the eLearning process is an online forum. A forum is one such place where the people will be able to communicate with each other and comment on posts and also create their own posts. So, if you want your website to be successful, you will have to be very particular about choosing the best platform for your forum. You can create a forum on Facebook, Google or LinkedIn and also invite all your learners to become a part of the forum. You will also be able to carry out online discussions and post your blogs on such platforms.
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2. Set proper rules:
If you want to run your forum successfully, then you need to set proper guidance and expectations for your users in advance. The learners must be aware of their roles in the online forum. You should also let them know how exactly they are expected to behave with their peers, whether they are allowed to start their own discussion under any kind of post and whether the instructor will be checking the online discussions at regular intervals. Also, you must let them know what consequences the learners might face if they behave in an appropriate way in your forums.
3. Create small groups for the learners:
Your learning platform may have different types of learners some of whom may be eager to learn while others may be reluctant to share their ideas in a public forum. You can divide your class into smaller groups each consisting of around five to ten members. Only the members of that particular group will be able to view the posts that are being posted in the group. This will encourage reluctant learners to share their ideas and become more comfortable without fearing that they will be judged.
This will increase the active participation of the members. If you still feel that there are certain learners who are not interacting in the forums, then you may speak to them privately and ask them about their concerns.
4. Think of innovative ideas:
A forum is one such place where your learners will be able to share their views and ideas on a particular subject outside the eLearning environment. So, you must be able to design a proper plan so that your forums remain active all the time. You should encourage online discussions by posting appropriate questions. You must also monitor the conversations and make sure that the conversation stays on topic. You must also give your learners the liberty to share their insights with their peers without causing any kind of interruption.
The learners must be able to communicate with fellow learners about their future prospects. If you feel that the forum is not performing properly, you can include interesting questions to get the online discussion flowing once again.
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5. Add interactive elements:
You must make it a point to add different types of multimedia elements in your forum. This may include articles, YouTube videos, online scenarios and many more. This will help to inspire and engage all your learners. You will also be able to link the study materials to the online forum. Try to include eLearning assessments as well so that the learners are able to understand how well they are progressing. The links should be posted under relevant conversations only. Otherwise, they will fail to catch the attention of the learners.
You may even create separate posts for multimedia elements and course material. This will keep your learners focused and there will be less chances of confusion.
6. Learn about the importance of a forum:
An online forum is not just about discussions. It is meant to provide your learners with a platform where they will be able to interact with their mentors and also remain themselves aware of the latest happenings of your eLearning platform. If you need to change the timing of any event, you can simply post about it in your online forum. So, you must try to make use of your forum in the best possible way and manage your eLearning platform efficiently.
7. Give a posting schedule:
You must give all your learners a proper posting schedule. This will make sure that they post at regular intervals. You may ask them to create a comment or a post at least once a week. In that way, your learners are involved all the time. Also, you must give them sufficient time to post their articles. You may also reward those learners who publish their posts in your forum regularly.
Bottom Line
And these were some of the best ways in which you can use a forum for eLearning. So, create your forum today and start using it in the best possible way.
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