Luanne, 

I agree that getting an ongoing discussion in the online classroom can of course be a difficult process.  So it is important that instructors understand how to incorporate meaningful discussion into the online classroom.  And to encourage meaningful discussion questions should generate a response other than ‘yes or no’.  

As the online class begins, I usually ask somewhat basic level knowledge questions, because I want everyone to get comfortable in the discussion and feel that it’s a safe place to share opinions and ideas.

And as we know, the discussion board provides an environment to bring together diverse perspectives. So the key is to help students feel comfortable sharing their thoughts and opinions. However, a substantive post should actually be more than just a student’s opinion – as instructors we are generally expecting the opinion to be an outgrowth of the course content.  Therefore, in having this expectation, we might want to phrase the question to clarify the expectation so that it’s clear that the question is not just looking for an opinion, but also some research to support response.

Also as online instructors, we are expected to promote student inquiry and digital literacy through technology-based activities. For example, specific assignments may be prepared that require students to review specific scholarly articles or search the online library for a scholarly article on a specific topic or issue. And use the content of article to generate and support the discussion in a discussion board assignment.  The resulting conversation could set the tone for the discussion as there will most likely be different interpretations of the message or theme of the article(s).

Alfretta