I have asked my students over the last few years why they are so hesitant about posting in discussion boards and they all tell me the same thing. Most students believe that all the questions they ask will be seen by other students in the course as "stupid". They are so afraid of being wrong, or not knowing an answer that they will not reach out in a public forum such as discussion board. 90% of the time, if one student is asking, most of the class is wondering about the question too. But they will not put themselves out there. They would rather not know or chance being wrong. Usually when someone asks me a question via email, I will post the question and the answer (without identifying the student who asked) in canvas for the benefit of all the students. I just want them to know what is right and why it is right. I think allowing anonymous posts might help, but to date, that is still not something we can do in Canvas.

-----Original Message-----
From: General Education List <[log in to unmask]> On Behalf Of Kim Adcock
Sent: Tuesday, April 18, 2023 12:20 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Effective Tool for Students to Ask Questions

As we are wrapping up the Spring semester and already planning for the next academic year, I was wondering if anyone has found a useful tool that allows students to ask questions about the course (e.g. content, assignments, etc).  I have set up discussion boards in the past; however, students do not seem to use those and instead utilize one-to-one email (between student and instructor).

Thanks!

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