Web-based discussion forums are the primary means by which online course participants communicate with one another. A course may have one or many forums; each may be focused on a particular subject or can be general. Within each forum, participants may post messages, either as new topics for discussion or in response to each other. These messages are grouped into discussion "threads," generally listed chronologically so readers can follow how the conversation evolved.

This tutorial demonstrates how you can participate in a discussion forum.

This method of communication is sometimes called "asynchronous discussion" because it does not take place in "real time," as distinct from online chatting or instant messaging. Instead, participants often post responses to each other hours or even days apart, although it's possible to respond very quickly if the participants are both active on the discussion forum at the same time.

Participants may also subscribe to the forum to receive notifications via email of new posts.

As in face-to-face communications, there are forms of etiquette that have evolved for the purpose of civility and productivity. These guidelines apply particularly to the purpose of learning.

This activity gives participants the opportunity to reflect on a particular topic. They may add to or refine their reflections over time. The participants' writing is private and can only be seen by the facilitator(s), who can offer feedback on each journal entry. Journal writing gives participants a chance to solidify their learning after they have discussed or experienced the learning activities.

Our term for a course meeting that takes place over telephone and via web conferencing (currently utilizing the service called WebEx). These meetings are generally one hour long and are regularly scheduled throughout the course. They are opportunities to review course concepts, run activities, and answer participants' questions.

(v) The act of contributing a message to a discussion forum, either as a new topic or thread or in response to an existing message.

(n) The message itself.

To request that the website send an email each time a new message is posted to a discussion forum. To reply to the message, the recipient must go to the forum itself and post a response; replying via email will not post a new message to the forum. This is because the email merely notifies; including the contents is for the sake of convenience only.

If the notifications get out of hand, participants can usually unsubscribe from the forum unless the course facilitators have disabled that option. The option is usually disabled only in the case of forums that contain course announcements.

In online discussions, a series of messages that have been posted as replies to each other. A single discussion forum typically contains many threads covering different subjects. By reading each message in a thread, one after the other, you can see how the discussion has evolved. You can start a new thread by posting a message that is not a reply to an earlier message. (Source: Webopedia)

Uploading a file is a way of submitting your completed work to course facilitators. Some activities are considered complete when a file is uploaded.

This tutorial shows step-by-step how you can upload a file.

Software that enables web-conferencing. Specifically, WebEx enables people (who are usually also on a teleconference) to view a common document (often PowerPoint) and literally be on the same page; use a joint "whiteboard" to sketch out ideas; chat via instant text messages; and access a number of tools for collaboration.

• A quick tour of WebEx features
• Other WebEx overviews
• LegalMeetings, the LSC/TIG-funded program that provides WebEx free of charge to all LSC-funded programs and their affiliates.
  

A Wiki enables documents to be authored collectively in a simple markup language using a web browser.

"Wiki wiki" means "super fast" in the Hawaiian language, and it is the speed of creating and updating pages that is one of the defining aspects of wiki technology. Generally, there is no prior review before modifications are accepted, and most wikis are open to the general public or at least to all persons who also have access to the wiki server.

A Wiki enables collaborative work. People can work together on one web adding, expanding and changing the content. The content is usually never deleted and can be restored.