Students are online a LOT. They often see postings before we, the faculty, do. So they are in a good position to respond quickly to each other--kind of like someone leaning over to the next student in class and saying, "Psst! Did you catch when the first draft is due?"

Consider creating a Q&A discussion that is always open to any question at all about the course and its content. Encourage the students to answer each other. Of course, your role will be to monitor the accuracy of the responses. You may also wish to reward both question-askers and question-answerers with a few extra credit points or a chocolate bar (students will do anything for points or chocolate). Here's an example:

This is an open discussion forum for any questions related to the course or its content. There are no stupid questions! Everyone is encouraged to ask and to answer questions. In fact, I will award 1 extra credit point for legitimate questions and 2 extra credit points for the first correct answer to a classmate's question. Please help me make your course better and please help your classmates succeed!