North Dakota State University

Discussion Board

About the Discussion Board

The discussion board is a tool where students and instructors can share thoughts on class topics. It is made up of forums which consist of threads submitted by individuals. It is text based but can include images and attached files. 

Link here to view a list of Discussion Board Terms with their definitions. 

How-to Tutorials

• Discussion Board Overview (5:17)
• Creating a Discussion Board Forum (2:55)
• Changing Discussion Board Forum Settings (1:45)
• Creating a Discussion Board Thread (1:37)
• Replying to a Discussion Board Thread (1:52)
• Grading a Discussion Board Forum (2:15)
• Grading Discussion Board Threads (2:10)
• Searching and Collecting Discussion Board Posts (1:23)
• Rating Discussion Board Posts (2:05)
• Tagging Discussion Board Posts (2:15)
• Moderating Discussion Board Forums (2:24)
• Managing Discussion Board Roles (2:45)

Why Use a Discussion Board?

The discussion board allows students who normally won't speak up in class to participate in discussions. It is also very useful for distance education courses. Since it is asynchronous - not "live" - it encourages 100% participation, especially when graded.

New alternatives to the discussion board are:

• Voice Board - A text / audio discussion board in the Wimba tool suite
• Blogs and Wikis - Alternative Social Networking structures that are more free-flowing than the hierarchical discussion board