6 online discussion tools for students

Student engagement has been one of the major concerns for teachers since online classrooms have become the norm. Some teachers and students face barriers in keeping clear communication during online learning.

Building a classroom culture where meaningful discussion takes place is challenging. In online learning modules, a student’s attention span is comparatively short. For a teacher, engaging students in an online space is a key skill in this new era of education.

Why Should Teachers Have a Robust Online Discussion Tool?

Effective communication is the key to successful learning and teaching progression. Students who engage in open discussions more often tend to perform better in their academics. The need for purposeful discussion is equally important in virtual classrooms.

A significant aspect of an online discussion tool for students is anonymous posting that helps remove the fear of judgment. For students who are a little introverted, online discussion tools offer a comfortable space where they can open up. It’s similar to how best essay writing service helps students and complete their assignments on time.

According to a recent study, students feel more confident when it comes to sharing their ideas and opinions online. Online discussion tools also allow teachers to connect with all students regardless of how hesitant they are.

6 Best Online Discussion Tools for Your Students

Currently, teachers are experimenting with already available programs to enhance their classes. Online interactions are perfect for encouraging thought-provoking discussions in your classrooms. To help you in this endeavor, we have curated a list of 6 amazing tools.

Backchannel Chat

Online discussions at Backchannel Chat are designed to engage students effectively. The platform helps teachers encourage them to share their perspectives. This online discussion tool can be labeled as a teacher-moderated-private-Twitter.

It’s simple to get started: teachers need to sign up, name the discussion, and share the URL with students. Students can join the discussion with their names without any additional information. And the best part is that teachers can control discussions, delete messages, and “lock” students’ feeds.

Collaborize Classroom

Collaborize Classroom is a free online discussion platform for teachers and students. It offers a range of collaborative learning tools. The brainstorming sessions at Collaborize Classroom can take many interactive forms:

• basic polls;
• multiple-choice tests;
• open-discussion forums, etc.

The platform can also be used for assignments and group projects. Moreover, this interactive online tool can serve as a central meeting place for your entire classroom. Through this platform, you can also upload documents and other class-related study material.

Chalkup

Chalkup is primarily a learning management system (LMS). It focuses on improving communication and collaboration between teachers and students. This social learning platform simplifies regular tasks such as

• allotting assignments;
• facilitating group study;
• sharing homework among classmates.

The tool also enables teachers to assess and grade assignments based on shared resources. It has a chat feature that makes real-time problem-solving possible. Chalkup is an excellent option if you’re looking for an LMS for your class.

Kialo

Being a free social media platform, Kialo facilitates smooth and systematic discussions. This online tool allows students to search for and join debates that are already in progress. They can also start their own discussion on varied subjects. Student-driven chat rooms ensure more engagement.

Students choose their pro or con side and add their views via the “claims” option. Kialo is a unique platform for teaching the value of reasoned, respectful arguments in persuasion. Besides, teachers can create private discussions based on class-related subjects.

NowComment

NowComment is a document marking and conversation platform where students can make notes and share them. Students or teachers can create an online discussion board by uploading a document. Once you join the discussion board, you can view the document on the left and the comment panel on the right.

Students can post and view each other’s comments. This effective tool can be moderated by the teacher and can be used for group assignments or peer-reviewed activities.

YO Teach

YO Teach allows teachers to organize and moderate chat rooms for real-time student participation. In this teacher-controlled online discussion tool, teachers can

• delete posts;
• mute any participant;
• restrict room access.

Students can respond to teacher and peer posts by

• sending text messages;
• voting;
• commenting on photographs;
• submitting illustrations.

YO Teach adds a little fun, fostering student participation and building social connections in an online setting.

Tips to Host Successful Discussions

While you plan to integrate online interactions and debates in your classes, you can keep the below tips in mind.

• Choose broad topics that promote critical thinking.
• Convey clear guidelines before initiating the discussion.
• Create small groups and let the students familiarize themselves with the rules of discussions.
• Decide the timeline and limit duration for each participant.
• Define your role and track each student’s contribution.
• Take notes and provide feedback to help them improve.
• Encourage students to ask questions.
• Conclude the discussion yourself for the first few sessions and let one of the students do it in later ones.

Conclusion

As a way of enhancing learning for their students, teachers have been organizing discussions in their classes forever. If you are new to integrating discussions in online education, you can pick one of the mentioned tools to see how it works for your classroom objectives. Most of these tools are available with free trial versions.

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