In your online classroom, you should always create a non-graded forum, I call this the 'Cafeteria Forum' or 'The Hangout' Forum where students can just informally hang out among themselves and form a student community. Students can get to know each other outside the introduction forum. Students can ask each other questions. They can just blow the breeze. Students can answer each other's questions such as, "Donna, where are the readings?" Then John answers, "I found the readings under the resources tab." or Jane asks, "The reading links don't work." Then John answers,"I found these alternate links." If other students cannot answer these questions, then the teacher can intervene if she wants.
The Cafeteria Forum extends the Introduction Forum where as a teacher you can increase your Social and Cognitive Presence. By reading the Cafeteria Forum, you increase your Cognitive Presence by getting to know what makes your students tick and what kinds of problems they may be having in the classroom. If many students for instance are having trouble finding the readings, or the reading links don't work, then the teacher can post the alternate links or alternate readings in the Announcements. Knowing what makes your students tick helps you target in on what feedback to give them making you a more effective teacher.
Since the content is not graded, students can talk about whatever they want. They can let their hair down. Now, I have many non-traditional adult students in my class, so normally I usually don't get that many students hanging out as adult students are usually too busy to hangout. And many students only participate in the forum for the grade so they only participate in the graded forums. Still, it is nice to have an ungraded 'Cafeteria' forum for the few students who do like to hang out. In the End of Class surveys, I get student comments like, 'Thanks, Prof. Ho, for hanging out with us in the Hangout Forum'. So, students really do appreciate the 'Cafeteria Forum'.
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