A2.3: Discussion Groups Reflection
August 30, 2007
Deidra Darst
8/30/07
What did I learn that I didn’t already know? The readings concerning group discussions through email taught me a few things that I did not already know. I realized that group discussion boards existed, but I never thought about registering for an email discussion group. I have used LISTSERV, but only for communication purposes between instructors and classmates. I had not considered registering for a mailing list based on interest in a particular topic.
What surprised me? I was surprised by some netiquette issues that were addressed in these readings. For instance, responses to specific questions are not to be sent to the whole group but rather emailed to the personal account of the inquisitive user. I have always just answered by sending my answers to the whole group just in case another user wanted to know the answer as well. The readings suggested that the person who sent the question should send a summary of received replies to the group. I was also surprised to learn that, when going on vacation, one should unregister from mailing lists. I had never considered this, but it makes sense to do so in order to minimize the number of emails that you will return to at the end of the week.
How might what I learned impact my work? I am easily side-tracked when I am online, and I have been known to respond to off-topic messages on discussion boards. The readings made a good point in saying that it is necessary to keep all discussions topic-focused, and I will do my best to stay on topic in the future.
**Check out these links if you are interested in visiting the sites I was assigned to read:
