Title: Discussion Forum Rubric
Course: Connecting with Students Online

Discussion Forum Rubric

Criteria | Meets Expectations | Does not Meet Expectations
Relevance | Posting responds directly to the discussion question | Posting does not respond directly to the discussion question
Use of Examples | Posting includes at least one reference to unit material and/ or relevant personal experiences | Posting does not include any references to unit material or relevant personal experiences
Comprehension | Contributions are thoughtful. Participant demonstrates an ability to apply concepts and ideas from topic readings and explorations. | Contributions are not overly thoughtful. Participant does not fully demonstrate an ability to apply concepts and ideas from topic readings and explorations.
Written Quality | Posting has a coherent structure, follows writing conventions and the flow of the writing is easily understood. Subject line is used as a mini-abstract, briefly describing content of message body. | Posting does not have a coherent structure and the flow of the writing is hard to follow. Posting has multiple grammatical or spelling errors. Subject line is not used to briefly describe the content of each new message.
Timeliness | Makes posts in a timely fashion while working on the topic involved. Comes back frequently to respond to class participants. | Makes all posts at the beginning or end of the class. Does not respond to the posts of the other students.
Tone | Posting has elements of a positive, supportive and professional tone | Posting is negative or flat in tone

Rubric adapted from materials developed by ETLO -- EdTech Leaders Online program at Education Development Center, Inc. (EDC).