Converge: "Why do some students resist participating in course discussion boards when they know their grade will suffer? How can students with polished social skills come across in online courses as uncooperative and unengaged, with short postings of little substance? What causes this? Can it be fixed?"

My comments: Some thoughts on what makes some students reluctant to post to weblogs, etc. The reasons Tim dotson suggests are logistical, personal, educational and instructor-related. The article also has suggestions on what to do to encourage 'Johnny' to participate.