Academy Resource Center

Support for Online Classes

Participating in Online Discussions

Participation in discussions is a major part of your grade. It is important to take these discussions seriously to succeed in online classes.

• Students’ responses should be several sentences to a full paragraph.



• Students must support their responses with specific information and key points introduced in the module.



• Students should read other student responses and try to contribute something NEW to each discussion.



• Students should not repeat what others have said.



• Students should show that they have really thought about the material.



• Responses must be in students’ OWN WORDS.

Tip: While some of the points may be the same, one can show that s/he has thought about it by using different examples.

• Edit responses carefully. Students should use correct grammar and spelling. The Online Writing Lab (OWL) can be of assistance.

Tip: Responses can be formed in a word processing program. They can then be saved and copied and pasted into the discussion submission box.

• Submit discussion responses early. If you wait too long, the opinions/answers will be the same as what has been already written.