Discussion Board Upgrade for the Age of AI: Connect Student Experiences to Course Material

…I mean hey if they want to lie about going to Egypt or keeping a journal through a migration experience, that is on them. But, at the end of the day, that type of creativity is what we need in this world.

By Giselle Castaneda and Dr. Benjamin M. Drury

In preparing for Fall 2023 course — especially those that I am teaching remotely and asynchronously — I am finally prepared to end my relationship with the Discussion Board. At long last, I can now free my students from the excruciating weekly contributions to a forum that likely no student is truly invested to the point where they eagerly await student responses to their posts. How do I know? It is clear as day when you look at the low number of replies to replies. Now, if students were immersed in a learning experience that hinged on the weekly contributions of their peers and the deeply insightful feedback from them too, we would be having a different conversation.

Given the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI), I am moving away from formal papers and moving toward a creative-academic writing approach that will invite students to share more of their own experiences. I want them to discuss how they connect with the material in a way that is meaningful to them and incorporate relevant to…