Empowering Student Voices and Meaningful Engagement in Asynchronous Online Forums

Asynchronous discussion forums are a staple of most online classrooms. But are they effective in encouraging meaningful student empowerment in dialogue and community building? Or do students perceive them simply as “one-and-done,” similar to assignment submissions? Results of our survey study conducted with online adjunct faculty reveal some existing barriers related to effective student engagement and empowerment. They include perfunctory student responses to their peers and the instructor and failure to return to the online discussion forum to keep true discourse continuing. However, all is not lost: online faculty also suggested ways to improve asynchronous discussion forums as well as alternatives to facilitating genuine student empowerment with regard to community building. Audience members will be encouraged to share their own experiences and recommendations.