Module 2 - Lists Tasks

What are the pros and cons of email lists versus discussion boards?

There are a number of pros and cons of e-mail lists versus discussion boards. When I first joined my e-mail list I received an email on the rules of the list and what I need to do to be a member. Unfortunately the e-mail was not in a format that was compatible with my computer so I was only able to gather small parts of the e-mail. This was not such a great beginning and as a result I had already had the preconception that I would probably not like lists that much. I soon discovered that it was not so bad. I used the list to my advantage and joined a list that shared teaching resources. This was great because I was able to post a problem or asked someone about a resource and I had many e-mails sent to me that could help me. The only problem that I found was that it was hard to read through all of the information and see which sort of content was relevant to me.

Therefore I would say that the pros of email lists are that it provides an opportunity to communicate with many people that have the same interests as you. It can be useful not just for chatting but finding resources as well. The possible cons of email lists is that there is just so much content that it can be hard to look through it all, even when topics are grouped.

Compared to discussion boards I would say that email lists provide a better opportunity to connect with people with similar interests. Discussion boards make it a harder to meet specific people and get exactly what you want from it. I particularly find this with WebCT. Even though we are all doing the dame subject the postings are not grouped in responses. So there have been times when I have posted and I haven’t even realised that someone had posted me back because the program does not inform me.

Are there certain kinds of communication or purposes more suited to one than the other?

After these few experiences I would come to the conclusion that discussion boards for me would be more suited to socialising rather than information seeking. Whereas with the email list I found that it was better to find the information that I needed. Although, both of them can be used for a number of reasons. I believe that for the purpose of this subject a discussion board would be more suitable than a list. Although a better discussion board than WebCT would have been more useful.