Discussion Board
Depending on how your instructor set up your course, you access the discussion board from either the course menu or a course area, such as a content area, learning module, lesson plan, or folder.
The main Discussion Board page displays a list of available discussion forums. A forum is an area where users discuss a topic or a group of related topics.
- Click a forum title to view the messages. Forums containing unread posts appear in bold.
- View data on the number of posts and participants.
- Click the number in the Unread Posts column for one-click access to a forum’s unread messages.
Within each forum, users can create multiple threads. A thread includes the initial post and any replies to it. When creating a forum, your instructor has the option of allowing or not allowing you to start threads. A moderated, graded forum used to evaluate student performance will be tightly controlled, and you cannot create threads. Other forums are designed for users to share opinions and thoughts on tangential or unrelated topics.
Course groups can have their own discussion boards that members create using the groups tool. Group discussion boards are available only to users who are members of the group. If a group discussion board is available, access it from the groups link in the course menu or in the My Groups area.
When moving through the different parts of the discussion board, use the internal navigation, such as the breadcrumbs path and course menu to return to a previous page. Using the browser navigation controls can result in page load errors.
How to Access the Discussion Board
- 1. On the course menu, click Discussions. -OR- On the course menu, click Tools and select Discussion Board.
- 2. The main Discussion Board page appears. Viewing a Discussion Forum When you access a discussion board forum, a list of threads appears with the following information:
- Date: Displays the date that the thread was created.
- Thread: Displays the name of the thread.
- Author: Displays the name of the user who created the thread.
- Status: Indicates whether the thread is published, locked, hidden, or a draft.
- Unread Posts: Displays the number of posts not yet accessed.
- Total Posts: Includes both read and unread posts.
Forum Features
- Use the breadcrumbs to navigate to a previous page. Do not use the browser navigation controls; page load errors may occur.
- Use the action bar functions to perform various actions, including:
- Create Thread: Add a new thread to a forum.
- Search: Search for Discussion Board content. The search field is collapsed by default to save screen space.
- Thread Actions: Make a selection from the drop-down list. Edit the status of the selected threads and perform other actions, such as marking threads read or unread and setting or clearing flags. Flags mark threads for later attention.
- Collect: Gather selected threads onto one page where posts can be sorted, filtered, or printed.
- Select one or more threads or select the check box in the header row to select all threads for an action, such as collecting.
- Click a thread title to read the posts. Forum titles containing unread posts appear in bold type.
- Click Edit Paging to determine the number of items to view per page. Type a number in the box and click Go. Click the X to close the pop-up box.
If your instructor enabled subscribing, you can be alerted by email when new posts are made. Your instructor chooses whether the alerts are for posts made at the forum or thread level.
For forums with the email subscription feature enabled, you will see Subscribe on the action bar. Once you click it, you will receive emails when new posts are made.
How to Create Threads in a Discussion Forum
Forums have many settings that control who can post, and what other types of actions you can take, such as editing your own threads, posting anonymously, or rating posts. Depending on which forum settings your instructor has selected, you may be allowed to create a new thread.
- On the course menu, click Discussions.
- On the Discussion Board page, click the name of the forum.
- On the forum page, click Create Thread.
- On the Create Thread page, type a Subject.
- In the Message text box, type your reply. You can use the content editor functions to format the text and add files, images, web links, multimedia, and mashups.
- Alternatively, in the Attachments section, attach a file using one of the following options:
- To upload a file from your computer, click Browse My Computer.
- If your school licenses content management, click Browse Content Collection.
- Click Submit to create the thread.
The newly created thread appears in the forum.
Note: If your instructor has associated a rubric with the discussion forum or thread and made it available to students, you can view grading criteria before beginning work. Click Grading Information to access the forum or thread's Grade page.
Click View Rubric in the Forum Grade section or Thread Grade section to display grading criteria.
If no associated rubric exists or your instructor has not made any available, the View Rubric function will not be visible.
How to Save Posts as Draft and Submit Later
The Save Draft function is available if you need to return to your post at a later time. This function saves your comments and files on the page.
When you finish your post, you must click Submit to publish the thread in the forum.
- On the course menu, click Discussions.
- On the Discussion Board page, click the name of the forum.
- On the forum page, click Create Thread.
- On the Create Thread page, type a Subject.
- In the Message text box, type your reply. You can use the content editor functions to format the text and add files, images, web links, multimedia, and mashups.
- Alternatively, in the Attachments section, attach a file using one of the following options:
- To upload a file from your computer, click Browse My Computer.
- If your school licenses content management, click Browse Content Collection.
- Click Save Draft to store a draft of the post and continue working later.