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ABOUT THE DISCUSSION BOARD
Overview
The Discussion Board is a tool for sharing thoughts and ideas about class
materials. The
Discussion Board is made up of forums that may appear anywhere in the course but
are also all
centrally located in the Discussion Board tool.
Students usually participate in forums with no administrative privileges.
However, a Student may be
granted some forum administration privileges within a group.
Discussion Board Terms
The table below outlines the terms used to describe Discussion Board features:
| TERM | DEFINITION |
| Thread | The initial post and the entire series of replies to that post within a Discussion Board forum. |
| Thread Detail | The page that displays the threaded view of all posts in a thread along with the selected post. |
| Post | A Discussion Board entry posted to a thread or used to start a thread. Also used as a verb to refer to the act of submitting a post. |
| Forum Role | A role type that is assigned to all members of the Discussion Board for each forum and enables specific privileges within the forum. A user may have one role per forum, however, a user’s role in each forum may differ. |
| Blocked | A forum role that blocks the user from accessing the forum. |
| Reader | A forum role that grants the user the rights to read the contents of a forum. Users with this role may only view content and cannot add or respond to posts. |
| Participant | A forum role that grants the user read and write privileges in the forum. |
| Grader | A forum role that grants the user Participant privileges as well as the Grading privileges for the forum. |
| Moderator | A forum role that grants Participant privileges as well as the ability to modify, delete, and lock posts. If a Moderation Queue is used, the Moderator may also approve or reject posts in the queue. |
| Manager | A forum role that grants all privileges. |
| Grade Forum | The process of assigning a grade to a user for their performance in a forum. |
| Grade Thread | The process of assigning a grade to a user for their performance in a thread. |
| Rate Post | The process of evaluating a post based on a fixed, 5 point scale. |
| Collect Posts | The process of selecting one or more posts or threads for inclusion in on a page that can be sorted, filtered, printed, and saved as a document. The collection is gathered into a format that can be sorted, filtered, printed, and saved as a document that can be viewed in a browser. |
| Flag | A mark used to call attention to the post. |
| Copy Forum | The process of creating a clone of a forum or the forum settings in the same discussion board or in another discussion board in the same course or organization. |
| Save Posts | The act of saving a post as a draft. |
| Published Post | A post that has been submitted and, if necessary, approved by a moderator. |
| Post Position | The position of a post in a thread relative to the other posts. |
| Draft | A post that has been saved for future editing. |
| Locked Thread | A thread that is visible for reading but cannot be modified. Users may not post to a locked thread. |
| Unavailable Thread | A thread that is hidden and inaccessible to all users except forum Managers. |
| Hidden Thread | A Thread that is locked and not visible by default. Users may view hidden threads by enabling the Display Hidden Threads feature. |
| Moderation Queue | A list of posts that must be approved before they will appear in the Discussion Board. |
VIEW AND ORGANIZE DISCUSSION BOARD CONTENT
Overview
Forums can appear throughout a course. Each group may also have a private
Discussion Board
with forums available only to those users that are a part of the group. All
forums that are not a part
of a group are accessible from various points in the course or by going to the
Discussion Board
tool. The Discussion Board tool centralizes all of the forums in the course.
Search
A search function appears at the top of the page throughout the Discussion
Board. The search
includes a keyword field, date restrictions, and options for where to search.
The search function
starts at the current level and options exist to work up. For example, in a
thread, the default search
option only searches that thread but options exist to search the entire forum or
all forums From the
search function, users can search all forums in the course, including any forums
that appear in the
user’s groups.
Thread Status
The Forum Manager can change the status of a thread to one of the following:
• Published: A published thread is available to users.
• Locked: Users may read the thread but not make any additions or modifications. Locking
a thread allows Grades to be assigned without users updating or changing posts.
• Unlocked: Unlocking a thread allows users to modify and add to the thread.
• Hidden: Hidden threads do not display unless the user chooses. Hidden threads may not
be modified. Hidden threads may not be modified. Hiding threads removes outdated
threads and makes relevant content easier to find.
• Unavailable: Unavailable threads are only visible to forum managers. Even then, forum
managers must choose to view these threads. Making threads unavailable means that
users can no longer view the thread.
Follow these steps to change the status of a thread:
1. Open a forum in the Discussion Board.
2. Select threads.
3. Choose a new status for the selected threads using the Change Status to: drop-down
list.
4. Click Go.
Forum View
The forum view lists the threads in the forum and includes several options for
displaying and
managing threads. The list of threads can be sorted by clicking the carat at the
top of each column.
Posts within the thread are viewed by clicking on the hyperlinked name of the
thread in the Thread
column.
The functions at the top of the page include a Display option to show threads
of different status and
a search function. There is also an action bar that includes the following
functions:
| FUNCTION | PURPOSE |
| Add Thread | Initiate a new thread. |
| Remove Thread | Remove the selected threads from the forum. Deleted threads cannot be restored. Use the unavailable function to completely hide threads from users without actually deleting the threads. |
| Collect | Gather selected threads onto one page where posts can be sorted, filtered, or printed. |
| Change Status to: | Update the availability status of the selected threads. |
Thread View
Clicking on a thread in a forum brings up the Thread Detail. The thread view is
divided into three
parts. Post viewing and management functions appear at the top of the page. The
middle of the
page displays a list of posts, with replies nested underneath the original post.
The bottom of the
page displays the current post.
The following options are available when viewing a thread:
| FEATURE | DESCRIPTION |
| Action Bar Collect |
Group posts into an organized filterable and sortable set. |
| Flag | Mark a post for later attention. |
| Unflag | Remove a flag applied to a post. |
| Message List Select Threads |
Select each thread using the checkboxes or the select all unselect all options. Selected Threads are included in Action Bar operations. |
| Current Post Subscribe |
Receive an email alert when a post is updated or a user posts a reply. |
| Reply | Generate a response to a post. |
| Modify | Change the content of the post. |
| Remove | Remove the post. Removing a post also removes all the replies to that post. |
| Rate this Post | Select a score for the post on a 1 to 5 scale. |
| Previous Post/Next Post | Click these options to navigate through the posts in the thread. |
Collections
Collections gather posts into a printable, sortable format. Collections are a
good way to organize
posts for quick reading.
INITIATE A THREAD
Overview
Threads are a series of posts related to a similar topic. When creating a forum,
the Forum Manager
has the option of allowing or not allowing users to start threads. If threads
are graded, users cannot
start threads. Generally, the purpose of the forum will dictate whether or not
users can start
threads. A moderated, graded forum used to evaluate student performance will
usually be tightly
controlled. In this case, it would not be appropriate to allow users to create
threads. Other forums
are designed for users to share opinions and thoughts on tangential or unrelated
topics. In this
case, it is safe to allow users to create threads and spark discussions.
Start a Thread
Follow these steps to start a thread.
1. Open a Discussion Board Forum.
2. Click Add Thread in the action bar. The Add Thread page will appear.
3. Enter a Subject and a Message. It is also possible to attach files to the post.
4. Click Save to store a draft of the post or click Submit to create the thread.
RESPOND TO A DISCUSSION BOARD POST
Overview
Threads grow as users respond to the initial, and subsequent, posts. Replies
build on one another
to construct a conversation.
Reply to a Post
Follow these steps to reply to a post.
1. Open a thread in a forum.
2. Find a post.
3. Click Reply for that post.
4. Enter a Subject and a Message. It is also possible to attach files to the post. Only one file
can be added using the Attachment function below the text box. When using the Visual
Text Box Editor, multiple files may be added.
5. Click Save to store a draft of the post or click Submit to create the thread.
6. The post will appear in the thread underneath the original post.
MANAGE A GROUP FORUM
Overview
Discussion Boards give students the freedom to share their thoughts and opinions
on class topics
with other users. Groups within a course may have private forums that are
managed by the
Students in the group.
Security Settings
The following settings are available when creating a forum to ensure that
content is appropriate.
| SETTING | DESCRIPTION |
| Allow anonymous posts | If this feature is turned off users are identified by their username whenever they post a reply. Making members accountable for the content that they post is a deterrent for users that wish to post inappropriate content. Be careful when disabling this feature as there are instances where learning can benefit from anonymous posts, particularly when discussing sensitive topics If this feature is enabled, the forum cannot be graded. |
| Allow authors to remove own posts and Allow author to modify own published posts |
Members are deterred from posting inappropriate content if they do not have control of the content once it is posted. |
| Allow members to create new threads | Preventing members from starting threads helps focus their posts on the topic. |
| Force moderation of posts | Moderating posts requires that all posts are reviewed by a responsible party before the content is shared with the class. |
Moderate a Forum
Set up a moderator on the Manage Forum Users page. Otherwise, the forum manager
must take
responsibility for approving posts.
Follow these steps to moderate forum posts.
1. Open the forum.
2. Click Moderate Forum. The Moderate Forum button will only appear in the action bar if
you have a forum role of Manager or Moderator.
3. The Moderation Queue will appear with a list of posts that are awaiting approval. The
posts appear in chronological order. Those at the top have been in the queue for longer
than those at the bottom.
4. Click Moderate for a post. The Moderate Post page will appear displaying the message.
5. Select Publish or Return. If returning the post, add a message to the author explaining
why the post is being returned and some suggestions for modifying the post so it is
appropriate for the discussion.
6. Click Submit. If the post is approved it will now be shown in the forum. If the post is not
approved, it will only appear to the author and the Moderator in the forum. The post will be
marked returned and the Moderator comments when returning the post will appear as a
reply.
Prevent a User from Posting
There may be an instance where a user should not be allowed to post at all
because of past history
of inappropriate posts or if the user has not been participating in discussions
throughout the term.
Assign a user the forum role of Reader if the user is allowed to view the forum
but not add content.
Assign a user the forum role of Blocked to prevent the user from accessing the
forum.
Define a User’s Role in a Forum
Follow these steps to assign a user a role in a forum.
1. Open the Discussion Board.
2. Click Manage for a forum.
3. The Manage Forum Users page will appear.
4. Select a role for users from the drop-down list. The default value is Participant.
Participants can read and post but have no administrative privileges.
5. Click OK. The forum roles are now assigned.
Manager
Managers have full control over the forum. Managers can change the forum
settings, moderate
posts, and assign grades. The role of Manager should only be assigned to the
course Instructor or
someone with similar responsibilities. Users with a course role of Instructor or
Teaching Assistant
are granted this forum role by default.
Moderator
Moderators review posts before they are made available to all users in the
course. Moderators may
also delete and modify all posts in any forum, even if the forum does not use
the Moderation
Queue. Make sure that Moderators are responsible and understand the criteria for
appropriate
posts. Users with a course role of Course Builder are granted this forum role by
default.