Web-based e-learning platforms such as Blackboard and WebCT host bulletin boards; universities use them for both online classes and as supplements to traditional classroom instruction. These platforms allow instructors to choose among a range of tools to use in online instruction, including bulletin boards, chat rooms and online quizzes and practice exercises. Some instructors prefer to host bulletin boards for distance learning classes on freestanding web pages.
Bulletin boards in distance education can serve several instructional roles. One role is social: They provide a forum in which students can become acquainted with their peers, whom they may not have the opportunity to meet in person. Bulletin boards also can replicate some of the give-and-take of traditional classroom interaction. Some instructors require students to post responses to online questions or comment on posts by other students.
Bulletin boards can aid both student learning and assessment of student learning. Quiet or shy students may be more comfortable expressing themselves in writing on electronic bulletin boards than by speaking out in class. Thus, their knowledge and willingness to participate may be better reflected through bulletin board interactions than in a traditional classroom. Bulletin boards also allow students to choose when to respond to online instructor questions, which encourages more thoughtful, measured responses than questions answered spontaneously in class. This gives instructors a more accurate view of students' strengths and weaknesses.
A potential problem for online bulletin boards is that they may be difficult to use for students who are not computer literate or lack regular access to machines capable of handling the bulletin board's platform. Students may have to be taught proper online etiquette. Also, bulletin boards are not fully interactive; they allow only a limited range of student collaboration -- for instance, students cannot use bulletin boards to post larger class projects for peer evaluation.