Course discussions are an essential part of the learning experience. In distance education, these conversations may happen primarily or exclusively in the forums. This makes forum reading an important part of your coursework. 

• Read forums at least every other day, if not daily. If you read forums frequently, they stay manageable (and you’ll have an ongoing feeling of being “connected” to your classmates).
• Figure out if there is a pattern to posts. In my classes, there’s usually a pattern of when people post the most (often near the end of the weekend, when they’ve been reading course materials and are ready to discuss them). This can let you know what to expect in terms of reading load on a given night, and can also be a great time for you to post and get a response.
• Prioritize forums like “news and announcements” where you would expect to see posts from the instructor. These are essential reading and instructors will assume you’ve seen them.
• Subscribe to important forums, such as “news and announcements” or one for your project team, to be sure you see any new messages.
• Look for ways to manage your reading, such as options to mark posts as read, flag important posts, etc.