The myth of discussion boards

One of our assignments for my current unit is to find and contribute to 3 discussion boards external to the USQ website. I have spent many hours trawling the internet and while I found hundreds of discussion boards, there are so few worth contributing to simply because the activity is so low.

Occasionally thought leaders in the field of learning and learning technology hold online conferences which involve lively discussion of many topics but these generally peter out once the conference ends. I'll keep looking but my backup is to meet the task requirements by engaging with fellow USQ students (defeating the object?) in discussions that technically sit outside the regular site.

The advantage of carrying on discussion with fellow students is that over the past few weeks we have built up a measure of trust and respect for each others opinions that would not necessarily exist if I were to jump into an existing discussion elsewhere. While we might not be experts we all have a interest in the topics discussed (and getting a pass grade in the unit!!).