Discussion Board
The Discussion Board is an option within the LMS tab that allows students and instructors to engage with each other in an interactive environment. It provides a space to ask questions, share insights, and discuss course materials. Enabling this feature encourages active participation and fosters a collaborative learning environment.
When you enable the Discussion Board in your course, a new tab called Discussion will appear, allowing students and instructors to interact through posts and replies.
To enable the Discussion Board:
- Navigate to the LMS tab in your course.
- Select Discussion from the side menu.
- Check the box for 'Discussion Enabled.'
- This will add the new Discussion tab to your course.
- Optional: Check the box to allow students to create new topics.
Important Note: If you choose to allow students to create topics, it's recommended that you establish a User Policy with clear guidelines and expectations. This helps ensure that students understand the appropriate use of the Discussion Board and fosters a positive, productive environment.
Tags allow students and instructors to categorize discussion board topics, making it easier to search and filter through discussions. This feature is useful for organizing topics by themes, course content, or any other relevant categories, helping participants quickly find discussions of interest.
To create new discussion board tags:
- Navigate to the LMS tab in your course.
- Select Discussion from the side menu.
- Click on the New Tag button.
- Name the tag in the text field and click Add.
Once created, the tag will be available to add to any discussion board topic. After tags are applied to topics, you can easily filter through discussion topics by clicking on the tag name in the menu on the left. This makes it simple to navigate related discussions and find specific content quickly.
Creating new topics in the Discussion Board allows students and instructors to start conversations, ask questions, and share ideas. This feature enhances collaboration and encourages active participation in the course. Note that students may or may not be permitted to create new topics, depending on the course settings.
To create a new discussion topic:
- Click the New button next to the Topics menu title (if permitted).
- Optionally, apply a tag to help categorize your topic.
- Add a title and description for your topic.
- Press Submit to post your new topic.
Once the topic is posted, others can engage by replying to your post or responding to other participants, creating an ongoing dialogue around the course material.
The Discussion Board allows students and instructors to engage with course material in an interactive space. Once enabled, it appears as a Discussion tab within the course. Topics are listed chronologically, with unread messages indicated in an orange box. Clicking on a topic shows the original post and all responses.
Students can easily reply to posts, and if permitted, create new topics. Replies can be formatted with text, links, and images, making discussions more engaging. Instructors have full control to manage posts, while students can edit or delete only their own posts.
The Discussion Board fosters active participation and collaboration, creating a dynamic learning environment where everyone can contribute and learn together.