Best practices for online discussions.
By Tiffany Lieuw
Stanford Introductory Studies
Discussion forums provide students a place to have multiple discussions online regarding course reading and assignments, to respond to questions and thoughts posted by other students, and to engage with the material and with each other outside of the classroom. Using a platform of your preference for online discussions, students can build a learning community around discussion topics, participate at their own pace, allow different types of student learners to contribute, and increase individual student learning.
Getting Started with Online Discussion Forums
https://teachingcommons.stanford.edu/teaching-talk/getting-started-online-discussion-forums