Sakai Forums.

Transcription

1 Sakai Forums Turning on the Forums Tool: The Forums tools is not automatically set up a new Sakai site. If you would like to add it to your site, follow these instructions: 1. Go to the Sakai site where you wish to add new tools, and from the left hand menu click where it says Site Info. 2. From the tabs at the top of the Site Info page, select Manage Tools. 3. From this screen you can now add or remove Sakai tools by checking the box to the left of the tool. Check off Forums. When you are done, scroll to the bottom of the screen and click Continue.

2 4. On the next page it will confirm any changes to the Sakai site s tools. Click Finish and after a moment you will see the new tools appear in the left hand menu. Understanding the Terminology: Forum = a place with one or more topics Topic = can have one or more conversations Conversation = post (with replies) Reply = response to a post

3 Creating a Forum: 1. Select the Forums tool from the left hand menu. You will notice that a default forum and topic has already been created. You may choose to use this, or to delete it and create your own. To create your own forum, start by clicking New Forum. 2. Start by giving the Forum a new. You can also add a description, but keep in mind that students respond at the Topics level, so it makes the most sense to include any assignment directions there.

4 3. As you scroll down, you will see a number of settings options. You can lock forums or hide them from student view until a certain time. You can also Automatically mark all messages in conversation as read which means you will not manually have to click Mark as Read for each post you see. This is useful because it allows students to know that you have in fact seen their work, and helps you better track what messages are new. You can also connect the Forum to a Gradebook item if you wish to grade at Forum level. Most often however, instructors prefer to grade at the Topic level. You can also change permission settings, but for most scenarios the default options are fine. When you are done with settings, click Save Settings & Add Topic.

5 Adding a Topic: 1. Once you add a new topic to a forum, start by giving it a title. You may also want to include directions for student conversations in the area labeled Description. There is also an option to add an attachment if you have a handout or rubric you wish to share.

6 2. As you scroll down you will see many setting options for the topic. You can lock a topic or set it to appear only on specific dates. You can connect the Topic to an item in your Gradebook. If you have groups set up in your course site you can also assign topics to specific groups. When you are done with settings, click Save.

7 Starting a Conversation: Once a topic is created, both the instructor and students can respond to that topic by following these steps. 1. Go to the Forums tool in the course site, and click on the topic you wish to respond to. 2. Click on the tab labeled Start a New Conversation.

8 3. Give the post a title and type the message in the text editor box. Note that you can also include attachments. When the post is ready, click Post at the bottom of the page.

9 Replying to a Conversation: Conversations are designed so that threads can be created surrounding different topics. Students and instructors can reply to one another s posts in this way. 1. Go to the Forums tool in the Sakai site, and click on the conversation topic you wish to participate in. 2. Click on the Conversation you wish to read and respond to.

10 3. You can reply to the post by either clicking Reply To Initial Message or the Reply button on the messages itself. 4. You can change the title of the reply if you so wish, and then type your message in the text editor box. When you are done, click Post.

11 Grading Forums: You can grade at the Forum level, topic level, or conversation level depending on your assessment needs. Grades can also be pushed directly to Gradebook. 1. To grade a topic (most common approach), go to the Forums tool in the Sakai site, and to the right of the topic you wish to grade click More. From the dropdown menu select Grade. 2. You will be able to see how many messages students have authored and read, and how many of those posts you yourself have read. Note that you can also attached the grade to a pre-existing item in Gradebook. When you are ready to submit a student grade, click Grade as seen below. 3. If you have not already done so, it will ask you to select a Gradebook item to associate with the topic.

12 4. You will be asked to enter points based on the grade scale you defined in the Gradebook. You can also add comments which the students will be able to see via the Gradebook tool. When you are done, click Submit Grade. NOTE: If you prefer to Grade as you read, you can click the Grade button on the student post and it will bring you through the same steps seen in steps 3 and 4.