Thanks for sharing your views so I can better understand where students are coming from when asking about Study group.
I think why people tend to want a study group is not so they can just get answers and not learn but more so in having people from the same tafe/area/course. Getting know people more than on a forum. Where you can feel like you can give an answer.
That's what I am trying to say that a Forum doesn't need to be treated like a formal discussion. You can use the forums even for general discussions or to get to know more about each other. That is one of the main differences between a Forum (which is more friendly, open for chit chats and community based) and a Q&A site (where the answer only needs to be addressed to the question and no chit chats). I feel that ever since Facebook and other social networks have become a craze, people tend to hold back on forums either thinking you need to know the correct answer before you can respond to something (or) feel intimidated / reluctant / shy to post. I am saying, forums are not meant to be so conservative. You can even have simple chit chats or even get to know each other through the forum itself. Eventually you will get to know more about other users once you begin having conservations in forums.
Personally I would reply on peoples' posts but I worry I'm leading them down the wrong path. I'm just a parent and student, not a childcare professional.
I understand this is what a lot of students are worried about too and you should not be worried about that. Even if you are not sure about an answer, you can still participate and work together to figure it out. That is the whole purpose of education. You cant always be right. You need to make mistakes before you get it right. This is the same in classrooms too. If everyone are worried they might be wrong, then no students will know what others views are. People learn so much from a simple discussion. So I am saying, even you are wrong, don't worry. Still go ahead and add your response. It will still be constructive in the learning curve both for you and for others.
Not being able to pm each other can be a problem for some people because you can't get to know each other as well as you want on a public forum.
Actually we did have this PM, email as well as IM chat features for many years. But lately a lot of students have started misusing the PM feature and started Private messaging / emailing other members asking for answers or sharing answers for assignments. We started receiving a few complaints and reports from members who are annoyed by such practices from students. Due to this, we decided to disable the PM, email and IM feature and this was implemented only a few months ago. I always say this - whatever question you may have, try and post it in the forums. This way the conversation stays open and it will help everyone else who may be browsing for the same question!
I understand not wanting people to leave the forum for a study group on facebook. You want and need your traffic here, where everyone can get a hand.
No its not just about the traffic. Its more about the resources and my principles. Facebook may give you a personal touch. But any information or discussion shared there remains either private or hidden from others. I don't like that. The power of internet is so much and the wealth of information should be easily accessible by everyone and anyone. Lets say you are having a discussion on one of the modules you are stuck on. This discussion is going to be staying in our database which is always going to be helpful to students even after many years later. Doesnt matter when, if someone else is searching for the same question, they can locate that discussion from a simple search and they will learn a lot by having a read through on what others have shared. This is not possible is facebook. The facebook discussions will help you then and there for that time but it is not going to help anyone else in the future. That is what I am trying to say. Its not just about this forum only. It is the same when you use any forums when compared to facebook. So its not just about driving traffic. Its more about my view on how information and resources should be treated and how much this info will help other readers.
Let me ask you all this - How many students who have not posted or participated in our forums yet, still come very frequently to visit our site to read other discussions? How many times has the old topic and discussions archived in our forums have helped you out? I know for a fact that every day thousands of students come to our site (this info was gathered from our site stats) and read the old discussions and posts in these forums. Although they might not participate, this information in our old topics and discussions still helps them out a lot. Imagine if none of these info existed instead they were all hidden inside private facebook pages. What a waste of information will that be? How many students will struggle finding any information since its all hidden in FBs or other private communication methods? That's why I urge all students to think of the big picture and use forums or other websites instead of private communication. You cant put a price on knowledge and it shouldn't be kept locked up somewhere. These have been my views right from the start and the main purpose of my hard work!
It's not just about posting a question and getting an answer it really is the personal touch you get from a community.
You can get the same thing from forums too. It doesn't only need to be in FB to get a personal touch. You can use our general discussions forums to introduce yourself, get to know others, know who else are studying in your institute, etc..etc.. You will also eventually get to know more about other users when you start participating in their discussions. What happens when everyone holds back and no one wants to come forward, then the community cannot grow and no one will know about others. Don't hold yourself back is all I am saying. What do you think people used to do before Facebook came along? Forums were the main means of getting to know everyone. Now that so many social medias are there, people have forgotten the whole purpose of forums and treat it very differently than they used to! I am trying to tell you all that forums are not like that. You can use these features and do a lot more by having open communication with the community.
I like this site and won't leave but they are my thoughts on why people would probably like a study group.
I am happy that you like our site. I do thank you for coming forward to share your thoughts. It does give me an insight on what students want and why some of them are reluctant to use the forums. I hope you can understand my views and what I am trying to say.
,L.A
I'm going to create a Facebook group tomorrow and post the link here so you all can join, and we'll go from there.
