BB4 Blackboard Discussion Board

BB4BB4Blackboard Blackboard

Discussion BoardDiscussion Board

Instructional Technology Support / IS – SAC 284

[email protected]

General rules1 – Uses for a Discussion Board2 – Create Discussion Board button3 – Create a Discussion Forum4 – Create a Discussion Thread5 – How students respond with a post6 – Meaningful subject lines?7 – Grading a Forum8 – Adding a grade comment9 – Making threads read-only10 – Resequencing Forums11 – Discussion Board suggestions

BB4 – Table of contentsBB4 – Table of contents

This course takes only 1.5 hours or less. But you must first complete training course BB2, Introduction to the Grade Center. The graded Discussion Board function works through the Grade Center and you need to know the basics about it to effectively use the version 8 Discussion Board.

•The FireFox browser seems to work best with Blackboard Version 8, especially in the GradeCenter! (Some functions here have been documented not to work in Internet Explorer).

•Always use the “OK” or “Cancel” or “Submit” buttons at the bottom of the Blackboard screen for navigation—NOT your browser’s “back” arrow button!

General rulesGeneral rules

1 – Uses for a Discussion Board1 – Uses for a Discussion Board

Asynchronous discussion: everyone contributes!

Midterm or final exam review

Student sharing of sound files, pictures, moviesOrganized, gradable, safe, self-contained way for instructor to give class-accessible feedback , “FAQ” information, or support a class-only “blog”

2.1 – Create a Discussion Board button2.1 – Create a Discussion Board button

2.2 – Create a Discussion Board button2.2 – Create a Discussion Board button

> Control Panel > Manage Course Menu

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3.1 – Create a Discussion Forum3.1 – Create a Discussion Forum

3.2 – Create a Discussion Forum3.2 – Create a Discussion Forum

Now scroll down

3.3 – Create a Discussion Forum3.3 – Create a Discussion Forum

A Forum can house many “threads”

The Forum sets the rules for all threads in it

Here is how you set the rules

3.4 – Is Discussion Forum accessible?3.4 – Is Discussion Forum accessible?

“No” here makes the Forum inaccessible and invisible regardless of any date criteria below. If “Yes” is clicked the date criteria controls access.

3.5 – Date window of accessibility?3.5 – Date window of accessibility?

□ Display After says when the Forum becomes available

□ Display Until (optional) indicates when the Forum “disappears”

3.6 – Allow anonymous postings?3.6 – Allow anonymous postings?

Will you allow students to choose to hide their identity and make an anonymous posting? (Not compatible with a graded form!)

3.7 – Allow posts to be modified?3.7 – Allow posts to be modified?

Will you allow students to modify or remove their postings after first making them?

3.8 – Tag posts with keywords?3.8 – Tag posts with keywords?

Do you want to have the ability to tag each post with a keyword so you can conveniently retrieve subgroups of posts?

3.9 – Replies to contain original post?3.9 – Replies to contain original post?

Give student choice of using Reply or Quote. Quote will include the posting being responded to within the body of the new posting. Reply just conveys the new posting.

3.10 – Allow post to have attachments?3.10 – Allow post to have attachments?

Can students attach files (text, Word, .pdf, html, mp3, or video) to their posting?

3.11 – Can students create threads?3.11 – Can students create threads?

A thread is a new topic in an existing forum. Do you want students to start them, or do instructors and TA’s start them?

3.12 – Can students subscribe?3.12 – Can students subscribe?

You can make it possible for students to “subscribe” to Forums or Threads. They choose if they want to subscribe, and if they want an e-mailed link or the content itself.

3.13 – Can students rate each post?3.13 – Can students rate each post?

If you check this box, students are provided a way to rate each post on a scale of 1 to 5 “stars” similar to Amazon’s reader’s review ratings.

3.14 – Will you moderate all posts?3.14 – Will you moderate all posts?

If checked, all posts go into a queue from which you (the (instructor) must release or reject them. If not checked, student posts appear without your involvement.

3.15 – Grade student participation?3.15 – Grade student participation?

Click Grade Forum and enter maximum points possible. This will give you a “grading” function that collects each student’s posts for easy assessment of their participation.

3.16 – Submit the Forum3.16 – Submit the Forum

Click Submit to create the Forum

3.17 – Resequencing Forums3.17 – Resequencing Forums

New Forum is added at bottom. Use dropdown numbers to change order.

4.1 – Create a Discussion Thread4.1 – Create a Discussion Thread

4.2 – Click on “+ Thread”4.2 – Click on “+ Thread”

4.3 – Create topic/question (message)4.3 – Create topic/question (message)

X

4.4 – How the Thread looks in Forum4.4 – How the Thread looks in Forum

5.1 – How students respond to a post5.1 – How students respond to a post

5.2 – Student enters a reply post5.2 – Student enters a reply post

5.3 – Should change subject line!5.3 – Should change subject line!

6 – Meaningful subject lines?6 – Meaningful subject lines?

7.1 – Grading a Forum7.1 – Grading a Forum

Grading a ForumGrading a Forum

Click the Grade button for the forum you want to grade

7.2 – Grading a Forum7.2 – Grading a Forum

7.3 - Grading collects a student’s posts7.3 - Grading collects a student’s posts

8.1 – Adding a grade comment8.1 – Adding a grade comment

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8.2 – Adding a grade comment8.2 – Adding a grade comment

9.1 – Making threads read-only9.1 – Making threads read-only

9.2 – Enter Discussion Board here9.2 – Enter Discussion Board here

9.3 – Enter the Discussion Board9.3 – Enter the Discussion Board

The list here will show all discussion boards in the course. Only one discussion board will list here unless you create groups and let each group have its own discussion board.

9.4 – Enter the appropriate Forum9.4 – Enter the appropriate Forum

9.5 – Change Status to Locked9.5 – Change Status to Locked

9.6 – Making threads read-only9.6 – Making threads read-only

10.1 – Re-sequencing Forums10.1 – Re-sequencing Forums

10.2 – Re-sequencing Forums10.2 – Re-sequencing Forums

11 – Discussion Board suggestions11 – Discussion Board suggestions

Create a Forum for each discussion if rules differ

Allocate time to participate in some discussions!

Use the grading feature to assess participation

Stress the importance of meaningful subject linesPose a discussion question before an in-class discussion to hit the ground runningPost topics for midterm and final exam review and critique responses for all to review

BB4BB4Blackboard Blackboard

Discussion BoardDiscussion Board

ENDEND Instructional Technology Support / IS – SAC 284

[email protected]