Online discussion

Online Discussion Face to Face Discussion&

Online Discussion Face to Face Discussion

People can engage in “anytime, anywhere” communication via e-mail (Myat, Elena, Steve). To do this, they need to gather information first (Michael).

The fact that the discussion is asynchronous, might mean it’s more difficult to stage and manage it in online settings (Michael).

Participants engage in discussions when they are free (Hua).

Discussion takes place simultaneously, in the same place. (Myat, Jana, Jane, Nazan, Steve, Andrew).

Discussion ends at the end of the class (MC).

This discussion takes place at a fixed time/date (Jane, Tony) , which is usually more easily included in our regular schedules.

Time issues (I)


Feedback is delayed (Jana) People have to set aside some “extra” time

to engage in online discussions. (Myat, Jane, MC).

People have more control over timing of when and how interact with the learning materials and colleagues (Michael,.Jana)

It allows more time to take in things, read posts and write (Jana, Andrew, Hua, Fiona)

Accommodates slow movers and gives them a chance to shine (Michael).

Participants have time to reflect and reformulate (does not apply for chat rooms) (Andrew).

Participants may have to log on repeatedly and follow discussion (Andrew)

Feedback/response can be immediate (Jana, MC, Stuart). This gives the participant easy access to help as needed (Tony).

Times are set and not flexible. If a learner misses a class, s(he) has to find out what has missed and catch up (Tony)

Allows less misunderstandings as long as people ask for clarification (if they do!) (Andrew, Jana).

Participants attend one of two meetings or lessons (Andrew)

Time issues (II)


Both types of discussions offer spaces for people to communicate and share their ideas and experiences (Hua).

All sorts of communication might take place either online or face to face.

All kinds of issues (managerial, technical, pedagogical and social) can be discussed (Myat) in both types of discussions.

Coomunication issues (I)


Learners might have to spend more time on reading without the help of paralinguistic features (Hua, Jana,Teresa, Andrew).

You have to read between the lines to understand what the person is trying to say (Nazan).

Discussion relies mostly on a write/read format. (Michael, Jane, Fiona, Stuart, Teresa). Might use some verbal cues as emoticons (Jane)

Responses can be longer and not interrupted as in F2F discussions (Jane)

The moderator can edit or delete what people say (Fiona)

It is a human-human communication process; not human-machine . Pictures and profiles help turn two strangers into friends (Glory).

The presence of paralinguistic features can help overcome language problems (May May, Jana)

F2F uses multiple media to convey meaning: spoken language, audio-visual materials, body language (Glory).

Participants can interrupt and ask for clarifications (Andrew).

You can´t take back what you have said! (Fiona)

Communication issues (I)


The teacher/moderator takes on different roles, encourages participation and uses different participation patterns (individual, pair-work and groupwork). (May May)

Assessment issues are approached in a similar way (May May)

Online discussions may take off on unanticipated tangents and the moderator might not be available to “steer” back to where (s)he planned it to go (Michael)

It´s harder to cater activities for some learning styles (May May)

Which medium to use would greatly depend on the learner communication style (Glory)

The most common tasks used are discussions and problem solving tasks (Elena)

When teaching offline, it is easier for the teacher to draw shy people into participating (Stuart)

Teacher/Moderator Roles


Technical difficulties can interfere in the communication process (Hua)

There are fewer tools to ïnclude shy participants and many pitfalls (Michael)

Volume of text generated can be overwhelming for some people (Michael, Jane)

It easy to refer back to the subject of discussion because the first post doesn´t move (Fiona)

Data is stored, easy to retrieve and keep record (Glory)

Setting: A computer with good internet access (Glory).

No technical issues interfering in communication (Hua)

The use of all sorts of tools can help draw people directly in the discussion (Michael).

It is not easy to keep records (Glory)

Clarification is easier and quicker F2F

Setting: A physical place to meet (e.g. a classroom)

Technical issues


The fact that discussion is online might favour participant turning more ´vocal´ and involved in discussion (Tony).)

Discussions can be held among people from different countries, different cultures (Hua).

People can be less inhibited about expressing their views in an online discussion. This could turn into a disadvantage as people might become more critical to other people´s views(Andrea).

Relies only on your sight sense (MC, Teresa)

Paralinguistic features and the “here and now” dynamism often help keep a topic interesting and alive for participants (Michael, Steve)

It encourages participation and discussion in the same place, with verbal and non-verbal cues to increase understanding (Hua)

Only few people can contribute (Jane)

Clarification is easier and quicker F2F (Andrew, Nazan, Teresa)

Uses sight as well as hearing senses. (Teresa)

Participation issues

Benefits of Online Discussions

•It offers a good opportunity to people who are shy communicating F2F and also for more reflective or less confident people (Andrew, Glory, Jana, Hua, Elena, Nazan, MC, Stuart, Steve,Teresa).

•Participants are in control and can read and re-read instructions and contributions before adding their own. This promotes careful wording (Michael, Jana, Nazan, Fiona, Tony, MC, Elena , Andrea, Andrew), which is especially beneficial for participants with lower levels of English (Jane).

•A variety of opinions from different sources can be heard almost at the same time (Jana, Fiona, MC).

•Everyone is accountable for their contributions (Michael, Teresa).

•Skills and strategies used F2F can be easily transferred to a VLE (Michael).

•Economical. People can be trained at a lower cost (Hua, Jane, Stuart). However, this is not a rule, as in some countries, Internet cost could be huge (Elena)

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•There is a written record from from where you can retrieve information as needed (Andrew, Glory , Jane, Fiona, Tony, Andrew, Stuart, Steve, Teresa).

•Makes training more accessible to a greater number of teachers from different countries, contexts and cultural backgrounds (Jane, Hua, MC, Glory, Stuart, Tony, Andrew).

•Everyone in the group can contribute (Jane, Stuart, Fiona).

•Is time-flexible. Participants can take part at a time that best suits them (Jane, Jana, Nazan, Teresa). You set your own pace, which is good for slow movers (Nazan).

•People can participate without being interrupted (Jane).

•Lots of language input, which means useful practice of functional language of opportunity to pick up new vocabulary (Jane).

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Online Discussions Negatives

•Flexibility could turn out in a disadvantage, as conclusions and achievements are reached slowlier (Elena).

•Effort in communicating increases when communicating in L2. Not everybody is prepared or willing to do it. (Elena, Michael, MC). It demands good writing skills (Glory, Hua) as well as good reading skills (Teresa). Pressure for accuracy can cause people to worry (Andrew).

•Oral skills cannot be practiced (Jana), unless voice threads/messaging are used (Jana).

•VLEs have their own culture, where we have to learn the norms (Stuart).•Emoticons and careful wording don´t seem adequate substitutes to body language and the amount of information we convey through it (Michael, Jane, Jana, Nazan, Fiona, Steve, MC, Andrea, Elena).

•Time differences between participants may mean missing chances to make worthwhile contributions (Michael).

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iscussion Negatives

•You need technical skills (Teresa).

•Technological factors may affect or even prevent participation (Michael). Relies heavily on technology so that discussion takes place equally (Jane, Nazan, Stuart, Fiona).

•The negative associations around lurking may force participants to make comments just for its own sake (Michael).

•As there are no paralinguistic features, misunderstandings or cultural offences can take place without people noticing it (Micheal).

•Discussions may take on a life of their own taking unpredictable directions (Michael, MC).

•It is hard to keep track of who is making which point in which discussion forum (Jane, Teresa). You need to revisit and remember your own opinion (Teresa).

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iscussion Negatives

•It could be challenging to facilitate only through the written word (Jane).•The amount of text can be offputting and overwhelming –especially for participants with limited English (Jane, Andrew, MC, Teresa).

•Latecomers may find all the points you thought about have been already made! (Jane).

•Delayed answers makes it difficult to generate real communication (Jana, Nazan, Steve, Teresa).

•You need to be able to read between the lines (Nazan).

•You need to be intrinsically motivated, as it would be easy to procrastinate (Nazan).

•Online learning is not affordable for everyone (Jane, Stuart).

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iscussion Negatives

•It might be hard for people to engage in conversations when used to a face to face approach (Nazan, Stuart).

•Fast-pacers make slow-pacers demotivated and make them feel even slower (Nazan).

•Relies on words, so careful wording is needed (MC, Stuart).

•It is easier to ignore (Stuart).

•Depending solely on your visual sense can even result in health problems –eye strain (MC, Teresa).

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iscussion Negatives

Online discussion

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