Free/Open Source Forum Software

I have a thing for vanilla - especially the feel of the smooth, silky pods and the scent of the tiny black seeds. They sell vanilla pod bundles like these in the chaotic food markets in Madagascar - so the word 'vanilla' makes me melt! Vanilla costs a small fortune in SA - but not in Madagascar, where it sells for almost nothing. It would seem that this "almost for nothing" characteristic is carried over into some Forum software. Imagine my absolute surprise and wonderment when the web designer I had met with, pointed out that free/open source forums existed and they could be customised! This had simply not occurred to me. Perhaps if I had spent more time on the Design and Development phases of Instructional Development, I would maybe have figured this out! One of the freely available forums is one called 'Vanilla Forums' - it looks and sounds awesome! I have the bad habit of being swung by a name (I have just chosen my new bicycle frame colour, partly because of the name - moondust grey! hehe) - so I thought it best to investigate if there was more to this software than just a pretty name!  A short search later, and bingo - there are stacks of free/open source forums available, and it is probably just a matter of figuring out which one will meet our requirements in terms of the forum objectives. Check out this forum and wiki comparison site: http://www.forummatrix.org/. It compares things that I have never heard of, but probably need to start understanding!

My chosen intervention: The Internet Forum

How To Behave On An Internet Forum

My first exposure to an internet forum was a few years ago when my husband joined a cycling internet forum The HubSA. I anonymously followed many of the discussion threads, and I was learning all sorts of things about cycling that I had not previously known. It was fascinating. My husband also learnt a few things over the years - the most beneficial of which was learning how to service our bicycles; how to actually build his own custom bicycle and which races were a must-do!

Until recently, I had simply forgotten the power of this intervention in promoting social interaction and learning. Now that an internet forum is my chosen e-learning intervention (see previous post), I have been trying to focus my reading on this. I came across this hilarious clip on Internet Forum Etiquette - if you have an interest in internet forums, it is well worth the 3mins and 28 seconds it will take to view :-)

My e-learning timeline

The time has come to actually commit my e-learning intervention 'to paper' and construct the ideas swimming around in my head. After much to-and-fro, backwards-and-forwards, I finally have it!

My e-learning growth timeline is not nearly as impressive as this Timeline of Social Media:

And it's probably accurate to say that my timeline started before this course, but for the sake of brevity (and the fact that I need to get back to actually writing up the assignment!), I have only focussed on my recent e-learning timeline developments:

Week 1-2: If I develop a really cool website that simplifies the concepts involved in the Best Care...Always! campaign, then I will promote learning;

Week 3-4: If I move the website over to a wikispace site, everyone will want to get involved by editing the content, and this will promote learning through collaboration;
Week 4-5: If I adapt some current PowerPoint presentations to flash technology, I will promote learning;

The FINAL week: If I create a discussion forum on the website following careful instructional design, there is a very good chance that I will create an e-learning intervention that really will promote unlimited learning.

What has been quite difficult for me is the pace of learning required - it has often felt like there is a whole world out there, but not enough time to explore it within the parameters of this module. I needed to be more focussed in my learning - but having said that, it has been a fantastic journey.