Weekly Tip: Alternative Discussion Methods

The overuse of standard discussion board posts can quickly become a daunting, redundant task for students. The results of which can lead to students disengaging with the content. To be clear, the practice of guided discourse is an incredible way to help students retain information, but there are ways to reimagine the conventional discussion board and create a more engaging exercise. Here are some variations to help get you started.

Panopto

Think about using Panopto to record your discussion question, link it into the rich content editor for the discussion forum, and then have students post their own Panopto recording as a hyperlink right in their reply. 

• See how to make hyperlinks in a Canvas page.
• Check out our Knowledge Base articles on Panopto
• Review Panopto Tutorials through Cougar Capture resources.

Perusall

While engaging with content, a deeper learning experience can be achieved through a discussion “within” the content by using Perusall. It provides tools such as a Confusion Report and Annotation Submission Time Heat Map to identify the content areas where students are most active.

• A New Way to Facilitate Peer Review Using Perusall
• Perusall Testimonies: How are WSU Faculty Using Perusall?
• How do I review student work?
• How does the student activity report work?