W2 - Topic 2: Web forums as part of online seminars...

With the web-forum aspect of this unit, the navigation is simple. You click on the relevant page and a list of recent posts appears. It is an online conversation, however a user may choose to read one topic and not another, therefore being voluntarily excluded from a discussion. Usually one person comments, another respondends to that comment, and so on. A clash of conversations could also happen within threads - which is potentially confusing.

Whereas in a face-to-face seminar everyone is together at the same time, a web forum allows the group to contact each other in their own time, or to speak to different people over the week. Students can return to the forum with their thoughts at any time. In effect, what would take an hour or two in a seminar is dispersed over the week, and much of the same ground will most likely be covered.

Although "authority" is seen through the tutors who over-see the forums, there is otherwise no moderation. Tutors are involved with the discussions as much as the students, and everyone is equal. Within the students, no-one is more important than another, although over time some students may have more respect amongst their peers than others if they share knowledgeable opinions, much the same as in physical seminars.

Text allows people to be to-the-point, and on a web forum the language is less formal than in academic work, therefore allowing people to write as they would speak - though not necessarily in text abbreviations. In essence, online seminars share many characteristics with traditional seminars, while taking a "new media" approach.