Jai,
One way to prevent bias in online discussions is to give students guidelines for posting responses to their peers. Some guidelines you may consider are:
1- Make your first comment a positive one; point out a good point that your classmate made.
2 - Disagree in a respectful manner (give your students an example of a proper response)
3 - Do not engage in flaming (you should put a stop to any improper postings by personally contacting those involved by email or phone)
Can you think of any more ways to avoid bias?
:)
Jane
