Discussions
In an online class, Discussion Forums often take the place of in-class conversations in traditional face-to-face classes.
Finding Discussions
Course Navigation: Click on Discussions in the Course Navigation sidebar. You will see your discussions listed by date.
Modules: If your instructor is using Modules, you will see discussions listed within each Module
Participating in Discussions
Read an Existing Discussion: Select one of the Discussion Topics from one of the above methods for Finding Discussions. This will expand the topic fully.
Create a New Discussion: If your instructor allows it, you will have the ability to create new discussion topics. Click on Discussions, enter your topic and text, and save.
The following screen displays after clicking on Discussions...
Reply to an Existing Discussion: If your instructor asks you to reply to a discussion, click on the title of the discussion. You will see a reply option below the main body of the discussion topic. Once you create your reply, select Post Response.
Important things to remember about Discussions
- Very often these are graded assignments. Instructors are typically looking for critical thinking and college-level writing. Good netiquette is expected. Always check your work for spelling and grammar errors before posting.
- Often discussion posts can be fairly lengthy. It is always a good idea before posting your response to copy what you have typed from the discussion into a word processor and save that file for your own records as backup. You don't want to lose a post that you spent an hour on because of a technical error.
Other Frequently Asked Questions regarding Discussions:
- How do I view and sort Discussion replies as a student? Links to an external site.
- How do I like a reply in a course discussion as a student? Links to an external site.
- How do I edit or delete Discussion replies as a student? Links to an external site.
- How do I link to a YouTube video in a Discussion reply as a student? Links to an external site.
- How do I mark Discussion replies as read or unread as a student? Links to an external site.
- How do I change discussion settings to manually mark discussion replies as read as a student? Links to an external site.
- How do I embed an image in a Discussion reply as a student? Links to an external site.
- How do I subscribe to a Discussion podcast as a student? Links to an external site.
- How do I attach a file to a Discussion reply as a student? Links to an external site.
- How do I subscribe to a Discussion as a student? Links to an external site.
- How do I use peer review discussions in a course? Links to an external site.
- How do I submit a peer review to a Discussion? Links to an external site.
- How do I know if I have a Discussion peer review to complete? Links to an external site.
- Where can I find my peers' feedback for peer-reviewed discussions? Links to an external site.