The forum subject were interesting, but having several different topics was a bit confusing. When I went to check back in the syllabus if I was supposed to post 3x per discussion or just overall, the syllabus was gone from the page and I didn't know the standard anymore.

The How Forums are Grade instructions, not the syllabus, was the place to get forum answers and were visible throughout the term.

I thought the forums were attainable if enough time and effort was put into learning the materials and responding. There was a lot of material to keep up with, which I found to be very difficult to do with a full in-class term and a job as well.

Please note: The "full time job" and trying to take too many classes is a common theme that I have noticed is much more commonly mentioned in my online courses.

8 is too many. Thats more than one a day. As well as expecting students to post everyday. Most students are taking more than just your class and they work. Just because someone isnt participating daily does not mean they are not putting the needed effort into your class.

Even at the end of the term, this student still does not understand the difference between forum "points" and "posts".

Although I read the "How Forums are Graded" doc multiple times, I still felt it didn't make much sense in terms of what the instructor was expecting. Additionally, the formatting of Moodle itself, I felt, made it difficult to clearly see who was replying to who and it was frustrating to get 20 emails every time someone posted in the forum. I appreciate the discussion aspect in theory, but it felt like more effort than they were worth in the end. I guess the materials related to what we were studying each week, but I didn't feel like I gained much.

While I certainly cannot control the forum formatting in Moodle, I certainly wished this student had contacted me if they were unsure of the expectations.  On an easier note, they could have "unsubscribed" from the forum to keep from getting emails when other group members posted or replied.

It would have been nice to see feedback either on the posts themselves or just general impressions of the class' discussion via the announcements. It would have been easier to make improvements on forum post quality that way.

I feel like it would've been better to space the forums apart a little more than have two forums in back to back weeks. It would give people more time to think about the next forum topic. 

In principle, the forums are a solid way to encourage class participation

The forums did create some really good discussion and generated some great ideas. I felt like one challenge for me was diving deeper without repeating information (this may be a lack of effort on my part though.) If I were to take the course again, I would try and dive deeper earlier in the week to get as much out there as I could for others to respond to. It was sometimes frustrating when you did post something you felt was interesting and thoughtful just to have not be responded to, or if it was, just in the last few hours of the forum. 

Forums are a good way to get a conversation going about the material we are going over. However there is too much weight put into these forums. The forums are much more useful as a supplement to the material. The deadline of Wednesday  wasn't the greatest either. I found myself flooded with too much material with the reading, videos, and the separate forum information and articles. On top of that there were other classes material that pilled up as well such as math with all the reading, videos, notes, and studying it took to many hours for me per week to keep up at a reasonable pace. I think maybe writing a short paper at the end of every chapter would be a huge benefit. Maybe even post those in the forums instead. I think after reading the text and watching the videos if I could write a page or two of what happened in my own words that would be a huge benefit to solidify information. Then other students can see what each other got out of the text and their different points of view.

There were only four (4) forums in this class.  We did read and cover a chapter a week, so I would guess that other students would not want to be responsible for writing 10 short papers during the term.  I do like your idea of "putting things into your own words"; however, that sounds like notetaking to me, which is something I already expect students to do when studying any subject in college.

I think because some may not respond we should have larger groups so we have more to respond to.

While I understand the pedagogical importance of weeklong forum participation, MANY students take online classes because they are working full time in other areas. To presume that those who posted earlier necessarily contributed more or had a better understanding of the material is, in my opinion, a rude assumption to make about folks that are most likely juggling many more responsibilities than those you would have encountered in an in-person setting. Due to my job, there are many weeks where evening participation is extremely difficult due to the demands at work and my disability. The emails that went out chastising folks that had not participated until Wednesday were gratuitous and unnecessary, and I felt insulted by them. I think that if you made the forums two weeks long it would give folks more time to post, especially those that need to complete most of their coursework on the weekend.

It always amazes me that some students are offended by the reminders I send.  If a student is doing the work on time, then they could ignore my reminder.  But, there were some students that were missing deadlines.  The reminders were mainly for them.  Sometimes I consider an experiment, one in which I send no pesky reminders during the term.  I post the calendar with all deadlines and that is all.  I can only imagine the increase in missed classwork and the resulting poor student grades.  (Remember, the fact that I do not accept late work.)

Unfortunately, I was one of the students listed above.  I took one class too many this term and it greatly influenced my grades.  I also work in addition to going to school full time so I struggled a little on making deadlines.  In fact, I confused the forum 4 closing time with another class's deadline and ended up not posting my responses in time.  I thought about sending them via email with an explanation of my circumstances for that week but decided that it was my fault for not trying to make more time.  Oftentimes I could barely post on Sunday.  I think an example of a 3point, 2point, 1point, and 0point forum post would have been a helpful guideline, especially on the first forum because it would have given people who hadn't taken one of your classes a heads-up on how strict you grade assignments.  Otherwise I agree entirely with the forums.  Also, I just remembered that on the first forum I didn't have access to the 8-10 page document everyone else did.  I did all my postings with the 2 page document provided.  I had clicked on all the links and everything remotely related to the forum but hadn't found the article until you were in the process of grading the forum.  I'm not sure how it happened but it was definitely strange.  I felt cheated since other people were posting with it.  I had just assumed they were finding more stuff online. Just thought I'd mention it since it was so bizarre.

That was strange that you did not get the materials.  I never had a similar issue with any other student.  As for taking responsibility for the other problems (too many classes, to many work hours), I GREATLY APPRECIATE your honesty.

I think it may be helpful to get actual feedback on our posts from the instructor. Some posts that I made throughout the term I felt were worth more points than they received so I think it would be helpful to know even more of what you are looking for and what the individual students may be lacking in at least the first forum so that they can improve and not have it harm their grade too much.

Let this be an important lesson for ALL students.  If you would like that kind of individualized feedback, just ask.  A number of students Moodle messaged me, and I was happy to do that for them.  As your instructor, I am here to help any students who ask for it.

I think the forums are difficult but in a very beneficial way. They challenge you to think and stretch your normal thinking habits. I think the Wednesday deadline was reasonable and anyone should have been able to reach the deadline. I personally have nothing negative to add. The forums were beneficial to my learning and to growing as a student.

I agree with you, and that is the very reason I assign them.

I found it hard to have new things to say after my original posts because usually most people had the overall same thoughts. 

Although the forum posts were more than I was used to from previous online classes, I found it helpful to have the deadlines to keep me on track and to help me remember to participate in the forums. 

The forums which I struggle most with are the cartoon analyses. I found this very difficult at first, but it grew easier as the term went on. I think overall the forum topics were well thought out and allowed students a chance to discuss relevant historical issues. The main problem, of course, is that there often were only a couple of students who remained engaged throughout the week and this created a situation where I was always discussing the forums with the same couple of people. I don't know what the answer is regarding the issue of student participation, maybe making the forums worth more points in the overall grade would help motivate people. I feel like we were still able to have great discussions in the forums, I just wish that more students had taken the time to give some input so we could call learn from each other.

That is my hope, too.

I think the deadline on Wednesday was tough for me, especially towards the end of the term, because it was smack dab in the middle of the week and I didn't always have time to get around to it. Posting three times a week is super reasonable but the Wednesday things sometimes complicated it for me. 

One things about the forum is that, as a student of color, it often felt like I had to respond to the handful of comments that said offensive and almost racist things. I almost wanted to have someone be able to step in and point out how problematics the original post was.

First, if any student had dared to make a racist post, it would have been removed, and the student would have been warned and/or reported to the proper LCC authorities.  LCC does not condone that type of behavior as it is in direct violation of our core Vision, Mission, and Values.  This did not occur this term.
In this course, our subject area contains some very controversial topics, ranging from slavery to the treatment of Native Americans, so the potential for taking offense is present. When you consider the fact that this is a completely online class, we are all relying on one another's ability to write clearly and convincingly, and some students are much better at this than others. The forums in this course force students to confront the numerous realities of our nation's history, instead of directing all to agree to some uniform, non-analytical answer that only serves to discourage critical thinking.

Even with posting the week before on the Saturday and Sunday most students are most likely trying to get all the work done for the previous week. Especially with forums back to back you are trying to finish one and then have to switch and start working on another one is hard. The forums that required you to actually read the chapter to answer the question took time. To fully get the material read with good notes it took me two days. I would start on Monday and sometimes wouldn't finish till the Wednesday when the forum was due. Although, it was sometimes hard to get the reading time I do think it was important to have the first deadline so people can start communicating and the others who have it done can start deliberating about the topic.