Moderating the Discussion Board - Creating a Forum
Learning Technologies > Blackboard > Faculty > Moderating the Discussion Board.
Creating a Forum
Forums divide the discussion board into general topics such as Lectures, Projects, and Questions & Discussion.
- Only instructors can create forums.
- Class forums can be created through Communication > Discussion Board > +Forum.
- Group forums can be created through Communication > Group Pages > group name > Group Discussion Board > +Forum.
Note: to use the group discussion board, the feature must be enabled in the Group Properties. See Creating Small Groups for more information.
+Forum
- Enter a title for your forum at Name.
- A brief description of your forum may be entered at Description.
- Select Yes for Available to let students use this forum or No to prevent them from seeing it. You may wish to select No if you are preparing forums in advance and do not want your students to see them just yet.
- Choose date and time restrictions makes a forum appear on the Blackboard course page during a specified time period. Simply check the box(s) which you wish to apply and set their date and time.
Note: You still have to select Yes for Available if you wish to use this feature.
- Pick your preferred Forum Settings:
- Allow anonymous posts: participants will have the option to omit their name from their posts.
- Allow author to remove own posts: participants will be able to delete their own posts. If checked, you must specify between All posts or Only posts with no replies. If not checked, only a moderator will be able to delete published posts.
- Allow author to modify own published posts: participants will be able to edit the text in their posts after they are initially published. If not checked, only a moderator will be able to modify published posts.
- Allow post tagging: allows forum managers to create tags and associate them with threads and posts. Participants will then be able to search and filter using those tags, but will not be able to create new ones or make associations.
- Allow users to reply with quote: participants will be able to include a quote from the post they are replying to in their own.
- Allow file attachments: participants will be able to upload a file and attach it to their post.
- Allow members to create new threads: participants will be able to make threads within forums. If unchecked, participants will only be able to reply to a thread started by an instructor.
- Subscribe: select whether or not board members will have an option to receive e-mails when a new post is created within a thread or a forum. If you choose to allow subscriptions, you must specify between sending the whole message (Include body of post in the email) or sending a link (Include link to post).
- Force moderation of posts: participants' posts will have to be approved by a forum manager or moderator before becomming published for everyone to read.
- Submit.
- After a forum has been added to the discussion board, you may go back and change it by clicking on its Modify button. You can also manage user roles for the forum by clicking on its Manage button.
