Forums can appear throughout a course, in any area where an Instructor chooses. 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.
Please keep in mind that when users open the Discussion Board tool they will only see those forums they can access.
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.
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 Hiding threads removes outdated threads and makes relevant content easier to find.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.
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. |
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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. |
|
Grade Forum |
This option only appears if grading is turned on for the forum. |
|
Change Status to: |
Update the availability status of the selected threads. |
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. |
|
Grade Thread |
Enter a Grade for a user based on their performance in the Thread. This option only appears if the thread is graded. |
|
Message List |
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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 |
|
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Subscribe |
Receive an email alert when a post is updated or a user posts a reply. |
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Reply |
Generate a response to a post. |
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Modify |
Change the content of the post. |
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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. |
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Previous Post/Next Post |
Click these options to navigate through the posts in the thread. |
Collections gather posts into a printable, sortable format. Collections are a good way to organize posts for quick reading. Instructors can create displays of good posts by gathering them as a collection, printing to PDF or saving as HTML, and then loading the file into the course.