Student Guide to Success

This student success book is designed to provide students with resources and tutorials to help them be successful in Moodle and other systems used at Coastal Carolina University. 

2. How to Utilize Moodle

2.2. Practicing Good Etiquette In a Discussion Forum

A discussion forum is one way instructors incorporate interaction in their digital learning course by having students post their responses to a question prompt and comment on a classmates post. When using a discussion forum, please keep the following communication guidelines in mind:

  1. Address your classmates and instructors by name in course communication (such as e-mails, discussion posts). For example: "Hi Prof. Smith, I have a question" . . . or "Tamika, I like your answer to that question." This shows that you recognize the person at the other end of the communication.
  2. Assume that your instructor prefers to be referred to in more formal terms, unless told otherwise (i.e., Professor Smith, Dr. Jones). 
  3. Remember to identify yourself and the specific course you are taking in the e-mail subject line, so your instructor can relate your question to a specific person and class.
  4. Do not post anything illegal, harassing, sexually suggestive, or inflammatory on your personal profile, blog, or the course discussion boards. This includes posting racy photos and using curse words, no matter how "mild,” and religious, racial, sexual, or ethnic epithets. Your comments should relate to course content and not try to influence your classmates to your political, social, or religious beliefs or values.
  5. Follow the rules and conventions of standard English; use correct spelling, grammar and punctuation. This makes communication clear for everyone. Avoid use of text speak such as LOL or emoticons. 
  6. Proofread carefully before submitting anything.
  7. Use normal capitalization. Typing in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS is the Internet equivalent of yelling at someone. Don’t do it in e-mail or in the discussion boards. Also typing messages in all lower case makes your message difficult to read.
  8. Discuss personal matters, grades, and policy matters with instructors via e-mail, voice chat, over the phone, or in their offices, not in the course discussion boards. Refrain from posting complaints, rants, or problems about the course or your life in the discussion board.
  9. Tip: Type your response in a Word doc or some other source first, then copy and paste to forum. This makes the post easier to edit if needed and encourages the author to re-read before posting.