How to use the Discussion Board in Blackboard

The Discussion Board is a text-based, asynchronous communication tool. Communication that takes place in the Discussion Board is archived and can be sorted.

The Discussion Board feature uses the following terms:

• Post - the written entry from an individual person
• Thread - a grouping of related posts; a "conversation"; a main post and all related replies
• Forum - the place where conversations take place; a Forum contains a collection of Threads; Blackboard course shells can contain any number of Forums

Create a New Forum

1. All content within a Discussion Board must occur within a Forum. There is no limit to the number of Forums that can be created. Forums can be created to host conversations related by date, topic or other categorization.
2. Select the link provided on the navigation bar for the Discussion Board.
3. Select the Add Forum button located on the upper left hand corner of the screen.
4. The Add Forum page will appear.
5. Type the title of the Forum in the Name textbox.
6. Type a description of the Forum's intended purpose into the Description text area.
7. Select the "Save as Reusable Object" checkbox save and reuse this Forum at a future time.
8. Choose the location where this object will be stored within the Content Collection, by selecting the "Browse" button. NOTE: See the section titled "Reusing Discussion Board Objects" located within this document.
9. Choose the desired settings under heading 2 Forum Availability.
10. Choose the settings that are appropriate, as they are listed under the heading 3 Forum Settings. The following settings are available:
    • Allow anonymous posts - students will be able to post without indentifying a name.
    • Allow author to remove own posts - This would allow a student to delete a post after he or she has added it to the discussion board.
      • Selecting the Only posts with no replies option prevents a student from remove a post to which others have already replied
    • Allow author to modify own published posts - a student can change the content of a post.
    • Allow post tagging - posts can be "tagged", or labeled, with an electronic keyword that will allow it to be searched by that keyword at a later time. This DOES NOT make the post public to those outside of the course shell.
    • Allow users to reply with quote - this includes a copy of the original message in with the reply that is created.
    • Allow file attachments - select this option to allow students to use a discussion board to distribute content.
    • Allow members to create new threads - choosing this option allows students to author their own topics; NOTE: This option is not available if the grading features are activated.
    • Allow members to subscribe to threads - this feature will activate email notifications if new activity occurs in a particular area of the discussion board.
    • Allow members to rate posts - this is a feature designed to allow students to evaluate one another.
    • Force moderation of posts - only those posts that are approved by the instructor will become part of the discussion board; the instructor will be required to manually approve each post.
    • Grade - Use this feature to grade discussion board participation.

Reading in the Discussion Board

1. Select the link provided on the navigation bar for the Discussion Board.
2. Select the name of a Forum to access it.
3. Once you are inside of a Forum, you can read existing threads by selecting the titles.
4. Use the + and - signs to expand or collapse the threads.

Create a Discussion Thread

1. Select Add a New Thread and the Create New Message page will appear.
2. Select in the Subject box and type in the subject of the message.
3. Select in the Message box and type your message.
4. Select the Save as Reusable Object checkbox save and reuse this Thread at a future time.
5. Choose the location where this object will be stored within the Content Collection, by selecting the Browse button. NOTE: See the section titled "Reusing Discussion Board Objects" located within this document.
6. Select Submit to send your message.

Reply to a Message in a Thread

1. Select on a Thread to read it.
2. Select the Reply button next to a message to post a reply to the current thread.
3. Type a Subject for your reply message thread.
4. Type the text for your message into the Message area.
5. If anonymous posting is allowed, check the box for Post Message as Anonymous if you wish to send your message without other users knowing your identity
6. To add file attachments to message threads and replies, click the Browse button, navigate and find the desired file, and click the Open button.
7. Select the Preview button to see your message before you post it.
8. Select the Submit button to send your message.
9. Your message will display with a New icon within the list of current message threads.

Displaying and Searching Discussion Board Threads

1. Blackboard offers two views for threads in the discussion board - Tree View and List View.
   • Tree view - Displays threads in order of relationship; related threads are grouped together.
   • List view - Displays all threads in a flat list.
2. Choose the desired view by selecting the option shown in the upper right hand corner of the discussion board. The darker gray option is the active view.
3. To search for specific threads, select the title of the Forum containing the threads to be searched.
4. Choose the Search button in the upper right hand corner of the discussion board screen.
5. Input the search term(s) and/or the appropriate date restrictions and select the Go button.
6. After the Blackboard system has processed the search query, results will be displayed. Select the title of a thread to view the contents of that thread.

Grading in a Discussion Board

Discussion board content can be graded by Forum or by Thread. For most instructional uses, grading by Thread is most appropriate. For example, if a course shell features weekly discussion questions, each question would form a new thread. Student participation would most likely be graded based upon the quality/quantity of a reply to such a thread.

To activate Grading options:

1. Navigate to the Discussion board.
2. Choose the Forum where grading will occur and select the Modify button associated with it, located to the right of the title of the Forum.
3. Under the heading, 3 Forum Settings, select the appropriate radio button.
4. Assign points if grading by Forum is selected.
5. At the bottom of the screen, select the Submit button.
6. If grading by Thread has been selected, individual scores can be assigned as students contribute to the Forum.
7. To grade a thread, identify title of that thread, and select the Modify button associated with it.
8. Under the heading, 3 Grading select Grade Thread and assign the maximum point value.

Printing a Discussion Board

The contents of a discussion board can be printed, but must be printed one thread at a time. Use the following steps to print a selected thread.

1. Navigate to, and select, a discussion board thread.
2. Select the Go button, located next to the drop down menu that says Select All, located near the bottom of the screen.
3. Select the Collect button, located along the upper left hand corner of the screen.
4. Select the Print button - the print window will appear.

Tagging Discussion Board Threads

Discussion Board Threads can be labeled to facilitate searching and sorting with Tags. Tags are keywords or phrases that describe the content or type of a thread.

1. To attach a tag to one or more threads, select the checkbox corresponding to the title(s) of the thread(s) to be tagged.
2. Select the Collect button on the menu bar above the threads.
3. On the next screen, adjacent to the Tags: option, select the Add button that corresponds to a thread.
4. Type a tag (a keyword or short phrase) into the text box provided and select the OK button.
5. To tag several threads at once, select the checkboxes that corresponds to each thread to be tagged, and in the Add Tag text box at the top of the screen, type in the tag (a keyword or short phrase) and select the Go button.
6. NOTE: Tags can be used as search terms to yield more accurate results. Students and participant readers of a Discussion Board cannot create tags.

Reusing Discussion Board Objects

The Save as Reusable Object feature of Blackboard 8 makes it possible to save a copy of a Forum and reuse it elsewhere at a later time. This feature is convenient and labor-saving for instructors who need to create many duplicates of identical items that regularly appear in a course shell or across course shells.

Examples of usage:

• Dr. Jane Smith offers three sections of an introductory history course online. She covers the same material in each section, including the prompts she places within her discussion board. Using the "Save as Reusable Object" feature, Dr. Smith is able to create one Forum, and replicate it across all three sections of her history course shells.
• Prof. Bill Horn conducts a senior-level seminar online for students majoring in his discipline. As part of this seminar, Dr. Horn divides the students into groups, and provides a discussion board for each group. Each group is required to collaborate on the questions Dr. Horn writes for them. Using the "Save as Reusable Object" feature, Dr. Horn can create each discussion question once, and then replicate these for each group with less effort than authoring each individually.

Creating a Reusable Object

Reusable objects are stored on the Blackboard server in the My Files area. (There is a 300 MB storage limit; contact ITS for assistance if additional storage space is needed.)

1. Select the checkbox that is found corresponding to the item that will be copied and stored for reuse, usually located adjacent to the Description or Message text box.
2. A textbox and a Browse button will appear. Select the Browse button. A new browser window or tab will launch.
3. In the new browser window or tab, select the folder where the copy of the object will be stored by selecting the title of the folder.
4. The folder will open and display its subfolders. Repeat selection of the subfolder titles until you have browed to the location within the hierarchy your folders to the location where the object will be stored.
5. If no destination folder is listed, select the Add Folder button located near the top menu.
6. On the new screen that appears, provide a folder title in the Folder Name text box. Set the quota limit, if desired, or this can be left blank.
7. Set the other corresponding folder options as desired.
8. Select the Submit button at the end of the screen to create the new folder.
9. Select the radio button that corresponds to that folder to choose it as the destination folder.
10. Select the Submit button.
11. The web address of the folder you have specified is now displayed in the text box.

Including a Reusable Object in a Discussion Board

Previously stored objects - Forums and Threads - can be inserted into the Discussion Board.

1. Select the Discover Content button located at the upper right hand corner of the screen.
2. Select the radio button that corresponds to the object that you wish to insert.
3. Select the Submit button.
4. Make any changes or adjustments to the object.
5. Select the Submit button.