Using the Discussion Board
A discussion board is a communication tool that allows students and the instructor to discuss and exchange ideas. To learn more about using the discussion board tool, please review these resources.
What is a Discussion Board?
Think of a discussion board as a message board that organizes conversations by topics introduced by the instructor. An individual conversation is called a forum. In a forum, you will view, create, and reply to messages. Participation in a forum is oftentimes a graded activity in a course.
An example discussion board in a course.
How to Participate
To learn how to access and contribute to a course discussion board, please watch this video and review Blackboard's Guide to Discussions.
If your instructor will be grading forum participation, go to My Grades to check your progress and grade feedback.
Tips for Successful Discussions
We recommend the following tips to support your use of this tool.
Writing a Long Message Safely
Don't type lengthy messages directly in the discussion board text box. If you lose internet connectivity before saving or publishing your post, you will lose your work! To prevent this from happening to you, type your message offline in a word processing program. Then, copy and paste your finished message into the discussion board's thread or reply message field when you are ready.
Proofread and Follow Netiquette Standards
Always check your message for errors in spelling and grammar before submitting it to the discussion board. Once you submit your message, you will most likely not have the option to edit it. Also, make sure you are following best practices for effective communication.
Pay Attention to Instructions
Your instructor may require you to create new threads as well as replies to threads your classmates have written. However, in some cases, your instructor will allow you to reply to your classmate's threads only after you create your own. Your instructor will tell you what tools will be available and how you should use them.
How to Save Drafts
When you are composing a new thread, it can be saved as an unpublished draft by clicking the Save Draft button. Drafts cannot be viewed by your instructor or classmates.
As long as the forum remains available to students, you may return to your draft thread to edit and publish it to the forum. Only published threads can be viewed by others.
How to Edit or Publish Drafts
To find a thread that you saved as a draft, return to the forum where you saved the draft thread and use the Display menu to sort through the threads. Choose Show All to view all draft and published threads.
Draft threads will be listed in the forum and will be marked with Draft status. Click on the title of the draft thread to view the thread and access options for editing or deletion.
When viewing a draft, click the Edit button to resume composing your response. Once you are done composing your response, click the Submit button to publish it to the forum for others to read.
