Discussion Forums in the Classroom

I have never been involved in a Discussion Forum online before. I was a little skeptical at first, but after having browsed several forums and having posted my own I can see now the value of Discussion Forums. One really great thing about an online discussion is that it causes the teacher to take a backseat and allows the students to do the talking and sharing. One thing we are always talking about in class is how to get more than 2-3 students to put their hands up in class. Things such as wait times, giving students time to think about the question such as write down an answer or pair-in-share are all strategies to get more students to participate. But an online discussion could be a solution. Students have plenty of time to look at a question and formulate an opinion or answer, they can refer back to class notes and make an informed, intelligent answer. As each student comments it also opens up opportunity for them to learn from their peers and see from a perspective other than the teacher's.
One problem I do have with online discussion is that it decreases the face to face interaction of a classroom. The social interaction and class conversations are important to a students development. As students get older they will be expected to answer questions and formulate opinions without prep-time. So I think its important to incorporate both in-class and on-line discussion.
5 ways to enhance classroom discussion
1. Students will go home at the end of each day and ask and comment on a question pertaining to a topic that was discussed in class that day.
2. After group presentations on Canadian politics, the discussion about each topic will take place on-line to ensure each student gets a voice and the discussion can be ongoing and not bound by time constraints.
3. During an English class, as each person finishes the assigned chapter from the class novel, they will go on-line and share/discuss the theme of the chapter, the plot development/character development and their prediction of how the book will end.
4. After a class field trip to the museum, students will go online and write a post about what they learned that day and ask a question about what they still want to know after the trip. They must then comment or answer (if they can) on another student's post.
5. Since math is something that many people struggle with, students can go online during an assignment and post a question about a concept they are struggling with. This allows for peer-tutoring. Also the teacher could post a few problem solving questions and students must as a class discuss the answer and come to a concensus as to the answer.