The typical use of a discussion forum in online and hybrid education can be described as a correspondence process in which learners supposedly discuss a topic over the course of a week. In many cases, this experience is typified by an initial post by Wednesday and two replies to peers by Sunday evening. Having been a learner in these kinds of discussion forums and having a respect for healthy discourse, I continue to research and reflect on the subject of discourse in discussion forums. I believe that discussion forums as a practice in online and hybrid education need to be revised for the sake of discourse. If the learners are meant to engage one another in critical discourse, we need to cultivate space and practice that will engage them in discourse.
As an expression of this research and reflection, I applied to speak on this subject at SXSW’s Education conference in Austin, TX. I submitted the Presentation Proposal seen below, which was accepted.
Once the session was accepted, the program page was updated with my description and supporting files. The following slides make up the outline of my presentation.
Thankfully, I was accepted to speak at the conference but it was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. I was invited to record my session and promote it on their conference schedule as a virtual session. Click here to see the posting on the SXSW EDU site or watch it below.