The discussion board can be used to:
- Make a comment to the whole class
- Pose a question to the class
- Post an announcement
- Share a common document or file
- Discuss assignment questions and answers
- Make a date to meet as a team in the Chat room
To access this tool, from the course website, select the discussion link on your navigation bar.
Add Forum
The first step in creating a discussion board activity is to create a forum. A discussion forum typically groups topics in a general area to keep your discussion board organized. Much like a category heading, it typically will provide students with an overall title or theme for the discussion board activity and a description of what the forum will entail.
Within a forum, instructors can add topics. Adding a topic will provide users with links to click on to enter into the discussion board. Within the discussion board, participants and instructors can then add, reply and review postings at their convenience. You may want to group your discussion board into assignments, chapters, lectures etc.
To add a forum:
1. Click the Create New Forum button from the main discussion page
2. Type in a title for the forum
3. Type a description of the forum. It will appear below the forum name.
4. Click Save once you have entered a title and description.
Add Topic A discussion topic is where you allow participants to post messages
1. From the main Discussion page, click the Modify Forums & Topics button.
2. Locate your Forum and select the Add Topic button
3. Give the topic a name and description and select Save.
Arranging Forums and Topics 1. Click the Modify Forums and Topics button from the main discussion page.
2. Change the numbers beside the forums or topics you wish to arrange. The Forum numbers are highlighted in red in the picture below. You can re-order Topics that are inside of a Forum, but you can not Move a Topic from one Forum to another.
3. Click submit at the bottom of the page.
4. Return to the Main Discussion tool page and you will notice that the forums/topics are now in the order you specified.
Deleting a Forum or topic 1. Click the Modify Forums and Topics button from the main discussion page.
2. Check the box beside the forum or topic.
3. Select the Delete button (deleting a forum deletes all topics associated with it. Deleting a topic, deletes all messages associated with it)
Time Released Forums/Topics This feature allows you to activate a time sensitive discussion forum as well as setup this feature for an individual topic. You can initialize this feature when you first create a forum or topic, or you can edit them and add the feature at a later date.
You can choose a start and end date associated with the forum/topic by using the date droplists or by clicking the calendar icon from the forum/topic page under the availability area.
Hide Forums/Topics Very similar to the time released forums and topics, you can hide forums and topics from the participant view.
This feature is found when creating or editing a forum/topic. Select the box beside "hide this topic"
Adding a Message 1. From the main discussion page, enter that discussion room by clicking on the topic name
2.. Click on the Add Message button
3. Type your message topic
4. Type your message in the text box provided
5. Click Submit
Replying to a Message 1. To reply directly to an existing message, click on their message title to add your comments to that particular conversion thread.
2. After clicking on the message title, you will be shown the message and then can select the Reply button.
3. Type your message in the text box provided.
4. Click Submit
Attaching Files to Your Message 1. Click on the Add Message button
2. Click the Browse button and select the file
3. Click the Submit button
Student View of your tool or course
If you would like to view what your course or tools look like in the eyes of a student, you can do so using the Role Switch tool from the Course Home. By changing your role to "Student" you can navigate your class and see the course as a student would. Please note that under the student role you will be unable to view the gradebook, take quizzes, or view any items with conditional releases. Once you are finished using the student role, you can switch back to your instructor role by going back to the role switch tool in the Course Home and selecting "My Default Role."
Student View of the Discussion Tool
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