Course Web Site Development: Additional Website Components: Online Discussion Tools

Online discussion tools allow you to carry on electronic conversations in one of two ways:

Method	Description
Asynchronous	Asynchronous discussion tools enable conversations that are not necessarily occurring at the same time.  The most popular types of asynchronous communication are e-mail discussion lists and threaded discussion boards.
Synchronous	Synchronous discussion tools enable conversations that occur in real-time.  Both parties must be actively participating in the conversation at the same time for it to be effective.  The most popular type of synchronous communication is an Internet construct called a chat room.