Discussion Forum

Online discussion forums are well suited for collaborative learning systems. Much of the currently available research indicates that

effectively designed collaborative learning systems motivate and enhance learning experiences of the participants which in turn

lead to enhanced learning outcomes. This paper develops taxonomy of the asynchronous online discussion forums with the aims of increasing the understanding and awareness of various types of asynchronous discussion forums. The taxonomy is framed by constructivist pedagogical principles of asynchronous online discussion forum. This paper presents a review

of a sample of recent case studies on the use of asynchronous online discussion in higher education. These studies are analyzed in terms of curriculum design, assumptions about teaching and learning, and claims and reported

conditions for using online discussion. This paper discusses the main attitudes of the supporters and opponents of secularization and

clericalization both in the Russian Federation, and the widerworld. In our understanding, there

is a tendency towards secularization in the modern cultural and informational environment.

It does not necessarily mean that religion is disappearing; we can see now the rise and fall

of the clericalization processes which is a specific situation against the aforementioned general tendency.