Blackboard

Faculty Tutorial

Discussion Boards

Blackboard’s Discussion Board is asynchronous (all participants do not have to be online at the same
time). It is meant to be visited by users from time to time to view new postings. It is also a good method
for students to share comments and work with other students in a course when they cannot meet face-
to-face. For example a Word file can be attached to a discussion message and may be opened and
viewed by anyone participating in the discussion.

Discussion Board Features

Just as various folders can be created in the Blackboard content areas, instructors can create various
forums in the discussion board. Each forum is a conversation focusing on a topic or question. Each
message within a forum is called a thread. The first message is the main posting with all replies or
comments about that message connected to that message. Instructors must create the forum (students
cannot create one); however students may create new threads within a forum, provided the instructor
selects this option.

Creating New Forums

1. Click the Discussion Board link located in the Course Menu or in the Course Tools area of the
Control Panel >WKHQWKHGLVFXVVLRQERDUGRIWKHVLWH@to access the course discussion board area.

2. Click the Create Forum button at the top of the page.

3. Enter a Name for the forum.

4. Enter a Description, which is usually the discussion question or topic students will be commenting
on, along with any other instructions.

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5. Under Forum Availability
5.1. Select Yes to make the forum available to students. Select No if you do not want students to
access the forum at this time.
5.2. To have the forum available for a specific period of time, check the Display After box and/or
Display Until box and enter the desired starting and ending dates/times. Alternatively, you may
select dates and times by clicking the small calendar and clock icons that appear.

6. Under Forum Settings, select from the following options:

6.1. Allow Anonymous Posts - With the default (unselected) setting, all user postings are
identified by username. However, in certain cases, anonymous postings may be useful if the
subject matter is so sensitive that students would feel more candid if their names were not
shown. NOTE: If anonymous posts are allowed, it's important to ensure that inappropriate
language is not used. Keep in mind anonymous posts cannot be graded.
6.2. Allow Authors To Delete Own Posts - When selected, users may remove their own posts,
including all posts or only posts without replies.

6.3. Allow author to modify own published posts. - When selected, users may modify their
posts, typos/spelling errors.
6.4. Allow post tagging - When selected, the user can tag their post
6.5. Allow Users to Reply with Quote - When selected, the user is able to reply to the post with a
quote.
6.6. Allow file attachments - When selected, users may add file attachments.
6.7. Allow members to create new threads When selected, users may create new threads
(instructors must still create the initial forum. NOTE: It is highly recommended that you select
this option otherwise students will only be able to reply to threads that you’ve created.

6.8. Subscribe – Options include 'R NoW$OORZ Subscriptions, Allow PHPEHUVWR VubscriEHWRWKUHDGV, or
AllowPHPEHUVWRVXEVFULEHWRIRUXP. When selected users will receive email notification whenever
the thread or forum is updated.
6.9. Allow Members to Rate Posts - Used for peer review, when selected, users may rate other
user's posts on a scale of 1 to 5

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 6.10. Force moderation of posts- When selected, it requires that all posts be reviewed by another
individual (usually the instructor, but it can be another person designated as a moderator)
before the item is posted and viewable by the remainder of the class. (The creation and
management of all discussion board roles is YLDWKHControl Panel-Discussion Board area.)

7. Grade - Choices include: No GradingLQ)RUXP, GradH'LVFXVVLRQ)RUXPor GradH Threads. When

a gradingoption is chosen, a grade icon will automatically appear within the forum area and a
correspondinggrade column with appear in the Grade Center. NOTE: When “Grade Threads”
is selected, users will not be able to create any new threads, only reply to an existing thread.

8. When done selecting options, click the Submit button to create the forum.

Modifying an existing forum

1. Click the Action Link (drop-down menu) next to the forum and click Edit.

2. Make the necessary changes to the Name, Description and/or Forum Settings.

3. Click Submit at the bottomULJKW or topULJKW of the page.

Adding a new thread in a discussion forum

1. Enter the discussion board and click the desired forum name to open the forum.

2. Click Create Thread to add a new thread.

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3. Complete the Subject and Message. If desired, you may attach a file to the thread

4. Click Submit at the bottom. Or choose Save Draft to keep a draft copy of the thread which can be
opened, edited, and submitted at a later time.
NOTE: To display saved drafts, select Drafts Only from Display drop-down menu.

Step 1

Step 2

Replying to a message and posting in a Forum

1. Enter the discussion board and click on the forum title to open the forum.

2. The /LVW View screen appears>D7UHH9LHZVFUHHQLVDOVRDYDLODEOH@.

3. To open a thread or to reply to a thread, click on the title (subject line) of the thread.

4. The SRVWLQJWRWKHWKUHDGis SURYLGHGDQG\RXFDQUHSO\WRWKHSRVWLQJ:

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 5. Click on the Reply button.

6. Type response in the Message textbox. Attach a file if needed.

7. Click Submit at the bottom. The reply will appear indented beneath the original post.

Collecting and Printing Messages

1. Enter the discussion board and click on the forum title to open the forum.

2. Click the check box in the left corner directly next to the flag symbol and Date column. By clicking
this box all threads will be automatically selected (checked).

3. Click Collect from the top toolbar. All messages will be shown on one screen, where you can click
Print for a hard copy, if desired.
Grading discussion forum/participation (Forum grading option must first be set-up under the
discussion forum settings and only users with a forum role of Manager (Instructor) or Grader may enter
grades.)

1. Click Grade Forum (on top toolbar) once the forum is opened.

2. Click on the Action Link drop-down menu next to the student user name, click Grade.

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3. A collection of this user’s posts in the forum will appear. Evaluate the posts and assign a grade.

4. Click Submit and OK at the top of the page to add the grade to the Grade Center.

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