Blackboard: Discussion Boards And Virtual Classroom

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1 Blackboard: Discussion Boards And Virtual Classroom Web Page:

2 Blackboard Discussion Boards This document covers how to create and access discussion forums, create new threads and post replies. Instructors create discussion boards through the control panel or by clicking on the Discussion Board item from the navigational menu. Creating Discussion Boards To create a discussion board, access the control panel from the main navigational menu. Then, click on the Discussion Board link from the Course Tools area of the control panel screen. Any discussion board forums that have been created would appear listed on the next screen. To create a new discussion board forum, click on the Add Forum button. Blackboard Discussion Boards Pg. 1 of 6

3 Provide a name for the discussion board and description as prompted. Select Smart Text if you would like for Blackboard to convert e- mail addresses or web links to active hyperlinks. Otherwise, choose Plain Text. Select HTML if you happen to know HTML code and want to include it in the description. Specify forum settings here. Click in a box to check it, or to uncheck it as needed. File attachments allow students to upload and link documents to their responses. New threads allow users to post messages in a forum without replying to a preexisting message. The forum user settings allow you to specify privileges for particular users. A blocked user can view postings on the discussion boards, but cannot post messages. By default, no users are blocked when the discussion board is created. Click on the Submit button to create the discussion forum. You will then be returned to the discussion board list within the control panel. Blackboard Discussion Boards Pg. 2 of 6

4 Discussion Board Structure In Blackboard, a forum acts as an area for discussion on a general or specific topic. Student users cannot create forums within Blackboard. Threads are messages posted within a forum. The instructor may allow students to create new threads themselves within a forum, or the instructor may decide to be the only person allowed to create threads. Replies are message responses posted by people participating in the discussion. Replies may be in response to a thread or to a previous reply. The discussion forum subjects appear when you click on the Discussion Board menu option from the navigation menu on the left (circled). To participate in a discussion forum, click on the Discussion Board link on the navigational menu. (Users may also access Discussion Boards by clicking on Communication, and then Discussion boards.) Click on the forum you wish to enter. In the example above, the only forum listed is Patient Safety and the News Media. Notice that the number of messages is listed to the right of the forum name as well as the number of any new messages you have not yet opened. Blackboard Discussion Boards Pg. 3 of 6

5 The example below illustrates a forum, thread and replies. The amount of indentation of each line indicates whether the reply is a direct response to a thread or to a previous reply. In the example below, the first thread in this forum is the first line posted by Andy Kellenberger: Are patient safety issues covered a The responses underneath are replies. Discussion thread In the example above, Susan Baker is replying to Andy Kellenberger s posting. John Smith is replying to Susan Baker s reply. Julie Fake is replying directly to Andy Kellenberger. Wendy Peterson is replying to Julie Fake s reply. Viewing Postings and Replying (Instructors and Students) To view a posting, click on the item you wish to read. Students and instructors can reply to any of the postings. To reply to the posting, click on the Reply button. In the example below, we are going to view and respond to the posting by Carlos Menendez. (Note, in this example we are logged in as Wendy Peterson- a student). The line clicked upon becomes highlighted from the message list appearing below the open message. Reply Button Blackboard Discussion Boards Pg. 4 of 6

6 The discussion board response screen appears below. Supply the information as prompted. You may keep the same subject, or delete it and type in your own. Choose Smart Text if you want to include web addresses. They will be automatically converted to links. (Note: you can leave smart text selected even if you do not include web links.) Choose Plain Text if you want your message to appear exactly as you typed it in. Choose HTML if you happen to know HTML and want to copy and paste HTML into the response. Click on the browse button to attach a file (such as a.jpeg) to your response. It will show up as a paperclip icon when posted. When you have finished completing the form, click on the Submit button to post your reply. Your reply will then show up under the current thread detail screen. Notice that Wendy Peterson s reply appears indented beneath Carlos Menendez s posting. And as with all postings, the day, date and time appear as well in the column on the right hand side. Blackboard Discussion Boards Pg. 5 of 6

7 Adding a New Threads New threads are appropriate when you wish to post a message, but the message is not a reply to a previously posted message or thread. Typically, new threads are started for new topics of discussion. To add a new thread, click on the add new thread button. (Note that instructors can prevent new threads from being added when the discussion board is being created). Discussion Board Direct Link In the examples used in this document, a discussion board link appeared in the main navigational menu. By default, this button link does appear on the menu. Instructors may choose to add this direct link. Or, they may direct students to access the Discussion Board by clicking on the Communication button from the main menu. The discussion board option appears under the list of communication items. To add a direct discussion board button link, access the control panel screen. Then click on the Course Settings links from the course options area of the control panel menu. From this Area Availability page, you can customize the appearance of the main navigational menu by enabling or disabling items on the top section of the page. Blackboard Discussion Boards Pg. 6 of 6

8 Blackboard Virtual Classroom The virtual classroom is an online environment wherein students, and an instructor may communicate (often called chat ) with each others in a real-time dialog. The virtual classroom main window appears below: Type in web addresses here for all participants to view. The chat dialog is viewable in this window. Type in your messages here and press enter. A drawing toolbar is located on the left side of the window. These tools can be used to draw in the browser space, and may be useful in drawing attention to the web page being displayed. The browser space can also be used as a whiteboard for drawing simple diagrams and pictures. Blackboard Virtual Classroom Pg. 1 of 1