Discussion Boards: Pros and Cons

Pros:
In my opinion the most beneficial aspect of discussion boards is that every student must voice their opinion and knowledge. This is great for the students that do not usually participate in class due to being shy or being ridiculed by their classmates. Since discussion boards do not require an immediate response, students have a better chance at giving a well thought out reply which will enhance the overall discussion at hand. Students can access them, post new threads, as well as interact with their classmates any time of the day. This makes discussion boards highly interactive among classmates that do not always interact. They also promote students to find and learn information on their own which will benefit them in their future learning. Finally teachers can give students immediate feedback so that they do not have to wait and it will be fresh in their minds. The student can also review past comments and discussion to aid in future assignments and tests.

Cons:
The greatest obstacle of making discussion boards effective is that after school hours not every student will have access to the internet at home. This means that they cannot fully participate and benefit from the use of discussion boards. By the use of discussion boards in the classroom the students will have a decreased amount of face to face interaction with the teacher and their peers which is crucial to those students who need to build on their social skills. Finally one of the main fears as parents is online bullying which will have to be constantly monitored by teachers.