Creating a Discussion Forum

The Discussion Board tool in Blackboard is a communication tool that allows for asyonchronous discussion on any class topic. Unlike the Virtual Chat tool, you and your students do not need to be present at the same time to communicate online. An additional advantage of the Discussion Board is that student conversations are logged and organized. Conversations are grouped into threads that contain a main posting and related responses.

To create a Discussion Forum, do the following:

1. Log into Blackboard and proceed to your course site
2. Click the Communication button
3. Click the Discussion Board button
4. Click the Add Forum button
5. Create a forum name in the Name field
6. Create a description of the forum in the Description field
7. In the Forum Settings section select the desired options

   

8. Click the Submit button

Note: When students post messages within your Discussion Forum, they should click the Submit button to post their messages, not the Save button. By clicking the Save button, they are simply saving a draft of their posting that only they can see. The instructor and other students cannot see these draft postings.