In general online courses open doors for asynchronous discussions which allow many students to participation at the same time. Instructors post questions and students answer and also comment on what other students post. It allows for participants to engage multiple conversations at a time. However, much personal factors are missing in online discussions such as nonverbal ques, facial expressions and gestures. One must be careful to review netiquett prior to engaging in online discussions to maintain mutual respect of and for fellow students. Synchronous discussions are for very small groups and more so for 1 to 1 conversations. Synchronous discussions instructors may need to prompt the more shy students to participate whereas online asynchronous discussions better promote the shy and more reserved students to participate and have a stronger say because it is a typed response, not a verbal response.
