Does anyone have any advice on discussion forums for online mathematics courses? I have seen them used in generally two ways: 1) Required posts on a topic determined by the instructor. 2) Optional posting by students regarding any module topic. I have found the second way to be much more productive. In case (2) the students use the discussion forum to vent their struggles and identify solutions. Also, it gives the opportunity for the instructor to answer questions in a centralized place rather than responding to individuals via email. Although in this cases there is less overall participation, the participation that occurs is useful. I have found option (1) to work poorly. Either the topic is boring and does not afford much opportunity for in-depth discussion or, if the topic is based on a deeper mathematical idea, it is beyond the capacity of most students. The resulting discussion becomes ineffective. Any other online math instructors have comments or views? Brian Stout