Many distance learning courses require students to participate in message board discussions. You may even be graded on the depth and insight of your posts. So, how do you put together a post that'll knock their socks off? An eLearner.com article suggests 10 steps.

Among their suggestions: follow the discussion rules, put some of yourself into your posts, and always post on time. They also advise students to always cite their sources, which can be easy to forget during informal discussions:

"Make sure to cite your references in your posting. Even if it is a discussion posting, not giving others credit for their work is plagiarism, so cite. Your citation doesn't have to be formal, just make sure others can find the information from the citation; give the title, author, and date."