Jeff Nichols, Professor of History

What?

The Discussion Board in WebCT allows students to post messages at any time, from anywhere they have an Internet connection. Students are required to read 5 - 7 primary historical sources per week. They then post 2 comments or questions on the WebCT Discussion Board.

Why?

By reading primary text and then commenting on and questioning it, students perpetuate informed discussions. Often times, the students ask questions that they wouldn't to ask in class. Jeff says that posting and reading questions helps students to practice asking questions, like historians do. It is also a good way to verify that students are reading and engaged in the assignments. Using the Discussion Board provides more time to discuss important events in history.

How?

Jeff has been using WebCT for a couple of years now. Since he knows the software well, it doesn't take long to prepare the course each semester. However, you can imagine that reading all those postings takes some time out of his week! Jeff spends 2-3 hours per week reading the 350 postings that his students contribute.