Add the first post yourself to encourage students to contribute. Model the language, style, length, etc that you would like the student to adopt.

Let the students know how often you want them to contribute and make it clear when/how often you will be checking and responding.

Access the discussion forums frequently, each day if possible, in order to keep up with the conversation.

Post frequently to show postings are being read, however, allow learners time for reflection. Postings can be as simple as expressing appreciation, agreement, support and encouragement. You should avoid being sharp or overly critical.

Maintain a focused discussion and periodically summarise what has or needs to be done.

Encourage student dialogue by asking thought-provoking questions that stimulate in-depth reflective discussions and hold students responsible for their thinking.

Do not respond too quickly to a posting in order to provide the opportunity for students to respond first.

Instead of mostly making statements or directly answering questions (which will likely terminate productive discourse), ask probing questions and provide encouragement.

Provide closure to discussion threads after discussion topics have run their course or assign specific students responsibility for providing closure. Tend to problems that can disrupt student discussions, particularly aggressive communication that can silence some students.

Deal tactfully and privately with students who dominate discussions or who remain silent, perhaps by phone conversation or email in order to create a more equitable communication environment.

Encourage all students to participate in discussions. Privately contact students who remain silent in order to determine the cause.

Create a variety of social learning activities that allow multiple opportunities for demonstrating knowledge and skill proficiencies designed to address the diverse range of learning preferences and communication patterns that students bring to instructional environments.

Recognise and respond to communication patterns that can silence some students. For example, recognise put-downs and alienating or competitive dialogue and respond privately to offending students to encourage them to be more inclusive.

Get students to know each other and learn about their respective backgrounds and learning goals.

Encourage use of a connected voice and teamwork. For example, a grading rubric can be used to describe instructor expectations for students to use a connected voice where cooperation and interdependence are stressed over competition and independence.

Discourage competition among students as competition creates both winners and losers. Competition and comparisons can create hurt feelings or alienate and silence sensitive students. Encourage and reward group activities and collaborative efforts. 

Intervene indirectly to equalize students status in the classroom by raising the status of those students with lower status by recognising the importance of their roles and creating problems or discussion topics that require multicultural perspectives.

Publicly recognise the work students have accomplished paying particular attention to low status students through actions such as giving praise, citing student contributions and assigning significant roles in group projects.