Online Course Discussion Question Example: Civil War

We explain in detail how to best answer discussion questions in an online class, even when the question is ambiguous. Here is an example discussion question (for economics, history, sociology, geography, etc.). Do you know how to ensure a good grade on a question like this?

Study the map below. Note the diagonal pattern of counties voting against secession extending from northern Alabama to West Virginia. Why do you think these counties voted as they did? Respond to two other students.

Set Aside Times BEFORE You Start Your Course

I was conversing with a fellow educator recently about online education and the topic of student study time came up. I mentioned that we cover the traditional measure of required student study time for college courses in our book "on page 30 something" (actually it was page 38, as I later checked). My friend asked, "What was the formula?" I told her and she said, "Precisely." She then added that students should have already determined their exact schedules BEFORE they get started. Which days of the week are they willing to give up going to soccer games and helping the kids with homework? What times of each day will they NOT be communicating with their spouse or attending to household matters? And most of all, how many hours each day and week will they be spending on course work and precisely which times? All this should be worked out in advance, she said, or students will not do well. Needless to say, the institution will also suffer because student retention will drop. We completely agree. Be sure you have a time management plan before you get started -- and be sure you allocate enough time. We give you our recommendations, but here is another tool you might use: whatever amount of time first occurs to you as "probably sufficient," just double it!

Students: Don't Use Google

A sure way to get misdirected and to waste a lot of time with ideas and sources that have no place in academic writing is to use Google as a search tool for your topic. As an online student with limited time (probably with a family to take care of), you don't want to do things that are counter-productive. Almost invariably, nationally accredited academic institutions require that academic papers use peer-reviewed literature. WEBSITES, PAPERS, ARTICLES, OR BLOG POSTS FOUND THROUGH ORDINARY GOOGLE SEARCHES ARE NOT LIKELY TO BE PEER-REVIEWED LITERATURE. Websites sponsored by organizations dedicated to a single cause (abortion rights, worker rights, global warming, etc.) are not likely to be peer-reviewed either.

The best way to find peer-reviewed literature for your research topic is to use a search engine that is designed specifically for that purpose. Almost every college library has access to one. As an online student, you can easily access it. Once you are logged in, use the database to search for your topic in peer-reviewed literature ONLY.

For some reason, I have had a number of students who seem completely mystified by the concept of "peer-reviewed literature." "Peer-reviewed" means that the article was submitted to a publication that reviews articles using a panel of recognized experts in the field. Scientists, medical professionals, psychologists -- "peers" in the field -- must approve of the article before it is published.

This video shows how to use the EBSCO host, a popular database: https://youtu.be/o_Umf3X5h_I. The video also shows how to get your citations easily.

What to Do When "Kumar" Fails

In the comedy film, "Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle" (2004), Kumar is a team player. As in all "team" films, success is assured. But online group projects do not follow movie scripts. Trust us on this! It's not uncommon to have 50% of teams fail. Often, this is due the failure of one or more team members. In the real world, "Kumar" can fail.

Should you simply report "Kumar's" failure to your instructor and assume that will solve the problem? No. Don't be surprised if such a message to your instructor is simply ignored. The point of many team assignments is to see how YOU handle team dynamics. Be prepared to pick up the slack when team members fail. As for "Kumar," some institutions/instructors use the following rule: only those students whose names appear on the final submitted project will receive a grade and the TEAM decides which names appear and which do not.

(Apologies to all our fans named "Kumar." We know YOU can do it. It's just the other guy named "Kumar" you need to watch out for!)