It can be difficult for teachers to monitor students' interactions in a text-based discussion forum, particularly if an online discussion is successful and has significant amounts of text to digest.
Web-based courses, in which the course participants typically meet only online and engage in text-based discussion, do not allow instructors to make direct eye contact, listen to vocal inflections, or watch body language.
An analysis of the content of text-based discussions can be utilized to evaluate whether or not effective learning occurred and to judge the group collaborative process versus the individual's contribution to that process [ 27].
For text-based discussions, chat systems were developed to allow users to exchange of messages (usually short) in real-time.
They want teachers to lead "high-level, text-based discussions"; "focus on process, not just content"; "create assignments for real audiences and with real purpose"; "teach argument, not persuasion"; and "increase text complexity".
The e-community component of the intervention consists of a thread-based forum that allows participants to conduct asynchronous text-based discussions.
In addition, professional associations can organize smaller regional or interest-based discussion groups to continue discussion after the webinar presenters sign off.
Share news, seek advice, and get answers from other alumni via affinity-, industry-, and geographic-based discussion groups.
It let people be pseudonymous and join interest-based discussion groups.
Newsgroup, Internet-based discussion group, similar to a bulletin board system (BBS), where people post messages concerning whatever topic around which the group is organized.
