Should Discussion Boards include an edit button?
Should students be allowed to edit their response on a discussion board once it has been submitted?
Merle,
We are all probably guilty of wanting to say something but just didn't get it right the first time.
Shelly Crider
I believe too that students should be able to edit. At times, in real life, I wish I could "edit" or hit "redo" on the statements that I make from my mouth.
My question is,, could there be a feature that would allow you as the instructor to see the original and any other changes that have been made.
This way you can see the progression of any changes.
Sharon, you make a great point about the authenticity of live discussions. But we don't have to spell when we talk in an face-to-face discussion. Additionally, live discussions allow for more leniency in grammar, informal speech and those types of things. Editing one's typos or grammar mistakes really doesn't remove the dynamic of immediateness.
Jake, this is a great idea. I think that allowing students to make small edits would be better for them - we all have a typo we find after the fact. Allowing the instructor to see the dates and previous versions would be the best way to avoid cheating or major re-writes.
Debra,
There are times when we get in a hurry and read a question incorrectly. You are so right....mistakes do happen!
Shelly Crider
I agree that they should be able to edit their posts. Mistakes happen.
Good questions. I think we should allow students to edit; and maybe limit # of edits if needed to avoid continuous editing from day to day.
However, I usually tell my students to re-post if needed and highlight the part that they have changed. It seems to get them at ease specially about loosing credit.
Absolutely! I'm sure we all have submitted posts that we would like to take back or simply correct spelling/grammatical errors we did not originally catch (spell check doesn't always find them!).
Sharon,
So true. We do not have an edit button in the classroom!
Shelly Crider
I don't think they should. The beauty in a discussion board is live interaction and opinions that can change as new ideas evolve.
Editing responses removes the student from the dynamic 'immediateness' of the discussion
Dating the edits is a great idea.
I'd like to see an online learning tool that allows you to edit your answers, but indicates when that edit happened. I would also like to be able to easily see what the post looked like before the edit. This would allow posters to fix typos or clarify points, but would also let instructors know if they were completely rewriting their posts after the fact. If this occurred, an instructor could privately message the student to let them know that the behavior is inappropriate or unethical.
If I had to pick one, I'd choose to not include an edit button. If a student needs to make a correction, they can always do so in the form of an additional response.
What would you recommend?
I believe it's a catch 22. On one hand, you have students that will use the edit option to make small corrections. On the other hand, you may open a gate for cheating. Students would now have the opportunity to change their response entirely. This might become an issue where institutions grade students based on the quality of their response where it's time sensitive.
I think so. There are many times students get in a hurry and have a typo. It is nice if they can correct.
