Having an assessable element to contribution can be hard to measure. Do you, as the tutor, grade based on the number of postings which is easy to measure but doesn’t measure value of contribution and is therefore meaningless as a method of group cohesion. A better (and fairer) method of assessment would be to measure quality rather than quantity of postings. However, this involves more work by the tutor and is less easily manipulated by learners. In this scenario it is vital that the user has clear guidelines concerning what is expected of them prior to undertaking the discussion group or they are less likely to actively contribute and therefore achieve good marks. In my experience as a learner, a well designed discussion group has become a very valuable resource with sharing of ideas and references, while other courses I have attended without active groups jealously guard references from each other. This is an outcome that be avoided when the benefits of collaboration have been fully described to all users.

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