With the trend of using of Internet and multimedia, e-Learning has became an important learning method. e-Learning is easy to use and bring into practice, but it also has the defects inversely. One of those defects is the reuse of important and valuable discussing knowledge from asynchronous discussion boards. Nobody has time and be willing to make effort to manage the important discussion from asynchronous discussion boards in e-Learning except enthusiastic teachers or assistants. All of us know that asynchronous discussion boards is an important tool used in e-Learning for communicating and discussing with all class information for teachers and students. And reusing of important class discussing knowledge can aid teachers and students to teach and study with efficiency and effect. But up to the present, there are few researches in this domain. So, in this research we create an automatic essential content extraction method from asynchronous discussion boards in e-Learning. We explain the usage, management, and shortcomings of asynchronous discussion boards in e-Learning before. And we also describe the designing process of the research in detail. Finally, we describe the operation and the result of content extraction in this research system. All of those are hope to help teachers and students can reuse the valuable knowledge easily and quickly from past class discussion in e-Learning.

Asynchronous discussion board (ADB) is considered to be a key online learning component. Although ADB has become an important teaching method in higher education for blended courses, the literature shows low levels of both the quality and quantity of learner interaction in the discussion boards of Saudi blended learning courses. The purpose of the current study was to explore the effects of different blended learning discussion formats on the motivation level of learners, the quality of ADB posts, and the quantity of ADB posts in a blended information and communication technology (ICT) course. The mode of online instruction was the independent variable with two levels: ADB-alone and blended online instruction that combined live virtual classroom (LVC) and ADB (ADB+LVC). The study took the form of a quasi-experimental design and a total sample of 42 students was involved. Learner motivation levels were measured using Keller’s Course Interest Survey (CIS). The ADB quantity was defined as the number of posts by one student in one discussion forum divided by the number of participants in that forum. The ADB quality was measured using a comprehensive rubric. This study found no statistically significant differences in motivation level and quantity of ADB posts between the ADB-alone group and ADB+LVC group. This study did find a significant difference in ADB quality scores between the two groups. The study contributed to improving Saudi higher education’s online practices by exploring ways to improve interactions amongst students and their peers as well as their instructors in online or blended courses.

abstract: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of instructor response prompts and rubrics on students' performance in an asynchronous discussion-board assignment, their learning achievement on an objective-type posttest, and their reported satisfaction levels. Researchers who have studied asynchronous computer-mediated student discussion transcripts have found evidence of mostly mid-level critical thinking skills, with fewer examples limited to lower or higher order thinking skill demonstration. Some researchers suggest that instructors may facilitate increased demonstration of higher-order critical thinking skills within asynchronous discussion-board activities. However, there is little empirical evidence available to compare the use of different external supports to facilitate students' critical thinking skills performance and learning achievement in blended learning environments. Results of the present study indicate that response prompts and rubrics can affect students' discussion performance, learning, and satisfaction ratings. The results, however, are complex, perhaps mirroring the complexity of instructor-led online learning environments. Regarding discussion board performance, presenting students with a rubric tended to yield higher scores on most aspects that is, on overall performance, as well as depth and breadth of performance, though these differences were not significant. In contrast, instructor prompts tended to yield lower scores on aspects of discussion board performance. On breadth, in fact, this main effect difference was significant. Interactions also indicated significant differences on several aspects of discussion board performance, in most cases indicating that the combination of rubric and prompt was detrimental to scores. The learning performance on the quiz showed, again, the effectiveness of rubrics, with students who received the rubric earning significantly higher scores, and with no main effects or interactions for instructor prompts. Regarding student satisfaction, again, the picture is complicated. Results indicated that, in some instances, the integration of prompts resulted in lower satisfaction ratings, particularly in the areas of students' perceptions of the amount of work required, learning in the partially online format, and student-to-student interaction. Based on these results, design considerations to support rubric use and explicit feedback in asynchronous discussions to support student learning are proposed. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Educational Technology 2012