Communicating in a Discussion Board
Discussions offer an important vehicle for interpersonal interaction and can serve a range of purposes:
- An online meeting place for social interaction among peers.
- An additional medium for collaboration and the exchange of ideas.
- A medium to pose questions about homework assignments, readings, and course content.
- A way to demonstrate understanding or application of course material.
- A record of discussion that users can review at a later point.
- A graded activity that demonstrates understanding or application of course material.
In a course, select Discussions on the navigation bar to access the Discussions page. Select a discussion to join in. Some discussions may also be on the Course Content page. When someone contributes to a discussion, a purple indicator appears next to the item's title on the Course Content page.
Each time you open a discussion, new responses and replies appear with "New" to show any activity that's happened since your last visit. You can add a response, reply, or even reply to a reply. Replies are indented from responses. You can use the options in the editor to format text, attach files, and embed multimedia.
Watch a video about Discussions
Help Site Links
Use these links to find additional information along with step-by-step instructions to completing tasks.