Creating Discussion Forums

Threads

A thread is a learner’s post in a discussion topic. Students can create a discussion thread or reply to a thread started by a classmate. A thread is part of a topic and a topic belongs to a forum.

Reply

If a user responds to another user’s post, it is a reply. A reply is a part of the original poster’s thread.

Example of how discussion topics are displayed within a forum:

Forums

The discussion forum is a category: it organizes all related discussion topics. All discussion topics must be in a forum. Instructors must have a forum before they can create a topic. The number of forums created is up to you; some people use one forum to hold all discussion topics, others prefer to have multiple forums to hold discussion topics.

To Create a Forum

1. Log in to Brightspace with your MyCarletonOne credentials.
2. On the Brightspace homepage, locate your course in one of the following ways:
   • Click on the course tile under the My Courses widget.
   • Click the Course Selector Grid  and select the course from the drop-down menu. If you are enrolled in more than 20 courses, you can search for the course name using the search bar.
3. In the navbar, click Tools.                 
4. In the drop-down menu, select Discussions.
5. Under the Discussions List tab, click the New button.
6. In the drop-down menu, select New Forum.
7. Enter a title for your new forum.
8. Enter a description for your new forum (optional).
9. In the Options section, customize your forum using one or more of the following check boxes:

10. • • Allow anonymous posts– Enables users to post anonymously; Names will not be displayed.
        NOTE: Anonymous posts cannot be evaluated.
      • A moderator must approve individual posts before they display in the forum– To ensure that posts are approved by a moderator before they display in the forum.
      • Users must start a thread before they can read and reply to other threads in each topic– To ensure user participation.
      • Display forum descriptions in topics– To provide instructors the option to display a discussion forum description within a discussion topic description.

        NOTE: For additional information on managing discussion forums, see the Managing Discussion Forums page.

11. • Visible with access restricted before start / after end: Students can see that the Forum exists but cannot see any of the Topics in it. Only the Forum title, Start/End Dates, and restrictions will be visible to the students.
    • Visible with submission restricted before start / after end: I.e., read only. Students can enter the Forum’s Topics to view the description and attached rubrics and to read threads and replies. But they cannot post new threads or replies in the Topics.
    • Hidden before start / after end: Students will not be able to see that the Forum (or any Topic in it) exists, and it will not appear in the Calendar.Under the Restrictions tab, you have the option to set Start and End Dates to limit when students can access the Forum and customize the extent of their access outside of those times:

    NOTE: Forums are set to Visible with access restricted by default. You can change this default for your course by clicking on the Settings button at the top of the Discussions page and adjusting the Availability Condition Defaults.

12. Click Save and Close.

You have now created a Discussion forum and need to add at least one topic in order for students to be able to post.

To Copy a Forum

Copying a forum in your course can help save time when you have multiple discussion forums in your course with the same settings.

1. Log in to Brightspace with your MyCarletonOne credentials.
2. On the Brightspace homepage, locate your course in one of the following ways:
   • Click on the course tile under the My Courses widget.
   • Click the Course Selector Grid  and select the course from the drop-down menu. If you are enrolled in more than 20 courses, you can search for the course name using the search bar.
3. In the navbar, click Tools.   
4. In the drop-down menu, select Discussions.
5. Under the Discussions List tab, click the More Actions button.  
6. In the drop-down menu, select Copy.
7. Click Copy a Forum.
8. Under Forum to Copy, select forum to copy.
9. Under New Forum Title, enter a title for the new forum.
10. By default, topics and pinned threads within the forum will be copied. If you would not like either of these options, you can de-select it.
11. Click Copy.

You have now copied a forum.

Topics

A Topic holds all of the discussion posts and threads on a given subject and it  MUST  be part of a forum. This is where the discussions are read and responded to.

To Create a Topic

1. Log in to Brightspace with your MyCarletonOne credentials.
2. On the Brightspace homepage, locate your course in one of the following ways:
   • Click on the course tile under the My Courses widget.
   • Click the Course Selector Grid  and select the course from the drop-down menu. If you are enrolled in more than 20 courses, you can search for the course name using the search bar.
3. In the navbar, click Tools.        
4. In the drop-down menu, select Discussions.
5. Under the Discussions List tab, click the New button.
6. In the drop-down menu, select New Topic.
7. Under the Properties tab, enter the following New Topic Details:
   1. From the Forum drop-down list, select the forum you want to place your topic in or click New Forum to create a new forum for your topic.
   2. Enter a topic title.
   3. Enter a topic description (optional).
   4. Under Options, you can select one or more of the following settings:
      • Allow anonymous posts – Selecting this option allows users to post anonymously to the topic. Anonymous posts display with the author “Anonymous” in the thread.
      • A moderator must approve individual posts before they display in the topic – Selecting this option will require a moderator to approve posts in this topic before they display to users.
      • Users must start a thread before they can read and reply to other threads – Selecting this option will require a user to start a new thread in the topic before viewing or replying to other threads in the topic. If this topic requires post approval, users will not be able to view or reply to other threads until their thread is approved.
   5. Under Rate posts, you have the option to enable post ratings for the discussion topic. You can choose from the following rating schemes:
      • No Ratings (Default) hides all rating controls from users.
      • Five-Star Rating Scheme allows users to assign each post a score out of five.
      • Up Vote/Down Vote Rating Scheme allows users to increase or decrease a post’s rating.
      • Up Vote Only Rating Scheme allows users to increase a post’s rating.
8. To grant everyone access to the topic and restrict learners to only see threads from their own group or section, under Topic Type, select Group or section topic.

   WARNING!: You cannot edit the topic type once you save the topic.

9. Enter your New Topic Details including title, description, options, ratings.

   TIP: Options have three additional settings that may be beneficial for a discussion forum including anonymous posting, posts to be approved by a moderator, and posting before viewing other threads on the discussion forum. Use your discretion which option(s) you would like to apply to your discussion topic.

   NOTE: Forums are set to Visible with access restricted by default. You can change this default for your course by clicking on the Settings button at the top of the Discussions page and adjusting the Availability Condition Defaults.

10. Under the Restrictions tab, you have the option to set Start and End Dates to limit when students can access the Topic and customize the extent of their access outside of those times:
    • Visible with access restricted before start / after end: Students can see that the Topic exists but cannot enter it. Only the Topic title, Start/End Dates, and restrictions will be visible to the students.
    • Visible with submission restricted before start / after end: I.e., read only. Students can enter the Topic to view the description and attached rubrics and to read threads and replies. But they cannot post new threads or replies.
    • Hidden before start / after end: Students will not be able to see that the Topic exists, and it will not appear in the Calendar.

      NOTE: Forum availability restrictions take precedence over any availability restrictions set on Topics. As such, you can use this combination of access and visibility settings to provide students with general instructions for the Discussion activity in the Forum description prior to giving them access to the Topics and its specific instructions.

11. Click Save and Close. You have now created a topic under a discussion forum. You may wish to add more topics to the discussion forum by repeating the steps above.

To Copy a Topic

Copying a topic in your course can help save time when you have multiple discussion topics in your course with the same settings.

1. Log in to Brightspace with your MyCarletonOne credentials.
2. On the Brightspace homepage, locate your course in one of the following ways:
   1. Click on the course tile under the My Courses widget.
   2. Click the Course Selector Grid  and select the course from the drop-down menu. If you are enrolled in more than 20 courses, you can search for the course name using the search bar.
3. In the navbar, click Tools.
4. In the drop-down menu, select Discussions. 
5. Under the Discussions List tab, click the More Actions button.   
6. In the drop-down menu, select Copy.
7. Click Copy a Topic.
8. Under Forum to Copy, select the forum where the topic lives.
9. Under Topic to Copy, select a topic to copy.
10. Under New Topic Title, enter a title for the new topic.
11. Under Copy Destination, select the forum where you want the new topic to be added.
12. By default, pinned threads within the topic will be copied. If you would not like to copy pinned threads, de-select this option.
13. Click Copy.

You have now successfully copied a discussion topic.

Threads

A thread is a learner’s post in a discussion topic. Students can create a discussion thread or reply to a thread started by a classmate. A thread is part of a topic and a topic belongs to a forum.

To Create a Thread

1. Log in to Brightspace with your MyCarletonOne credentials.
2. On the Brightspace homepage, locate your course in one of the following ways:
   • Click on the course tile under the My Courses widget.
   • Click the Course Selector Grid  and select the course from the drop-down menu. If you are enrolled in more than 20 courses, you can search for the course name using the search bar.
3. In the navbar, click Tools. 
4. In the drop-down menu, select Discussions.
5. Click the topic where you want to create a thread.
6. Click Start a New Thread.
7. Enter a subject.
8. Enter your post.
9. Set any of the following posting options:
   • To keep the thread at the top of the list, select the Pin Thread checkbox.
   • To post anonymously, select Post as Anonymous.
   • To receive updates on the thread using your selected notification method, select Subscribe to this thread.
   • To attach a file, in the Attachments area, click Browse to locate the file that you want to attach.
   • To attach an audio recording, in the Attachments area, click Record Audio > Record. To make adjustments to your microphone selection and volume, click Flash Settings. To listen to your recording, click Play. To erase your recording, click Clear. If you have prerecorded audio and are using a supported browser, you can drag audio files onto the attachments upload target.
   • To attach a video recording, in theAttachments area, click Record Video > Allow > Record. When you finish recording, click Stop. To erase your recording, click Clear. To add the recording, click Add. If you have pre-recorded video and are using a supported browser, you can drag video files onto the attachments upload target.
   • To post your thread to more than one topic, clickPost to other topics. Click Add Topics. Select the topics that you want your thread to appear in. To post in every topic simultaneously, select the Select All check box and then click Add Topics.
10. Click Post. If the topic is moderated, your post will not appear until a moderator approves it.

To Reply to a Thread

1. Log in to Brightspace with your MyCarletonOne credentials.
2. On the Brightspace homepage, locate your course in one of the following ways:
   • Click on the course tile under the My Courses widget.
   • Click the Course Selector Grid  and select the course from the drop-down menu. If you are enrolled in more than 20 courses, you can search for the course name using the search bar.
3. In the navbar, click Tools.                   
4. In the drop-down menu, select Discussions.
5. Locate the thread you want to reply to.
6. Do either of the following:
   • To reply to the main thread post, click Reply to Thread.
   • To reply to a particular post inside the thread, click Reply.
7. Enter your reply in the HTML Editor. To include the original post’s text in your reply, click the Add original post text
8. Set any of the following options:
   • To post anonymously, select Post as Anonymous.
   • To receive updates on the thread using your selected notification method, select Subscribe to this thread.
   • To attach a file, in the Attachments area, click Browse to locate the file you want to attach.
   • To attach an audio recording, in the Attachments area, click Record Audio > Record. To make adjustments to your microphone selection and volume, click Flash Settings. To listen to your recording, click Play. To erase your recording, click Clear. If you have pre-recorded audio and are using a supported browser, you can drag audio files onto the attachments upload target.
   • To attach a video recording, in the Attachments area, click Record Video > Allow > Record. When you finish recording, click Stop. Click Clear to erase your recording or Add to add the recording. If you have pre-recorded video and are using a supported browser, you can drag video files onto the attachments upload target.
9. Click Post.

You have now replied to a thread within a topic.

Group Discussions

Enabling a Group Topic Type

Enabling a group topic type allows you to create a single discussion topic that separates students, based on group enrollment, into smaller sub-sections of discussions (i.e. a student will only be able to post for a select number of peers to see and they will only be able to see posts from these peers). This is the best option for graded discussions.

1. Log in to Brightspace with your MyCarletonOne credentials.
2. On the Brightspace homepage, locate your course in one of the following ways:
   • Click on the course tile under the My Courses widget.
   • Click the Course Selector Grid  and select the course from the drop-down menu. If you are enrolled in more than 20 courses, you can search for the course name using the search bar.
3. In the navbar, click Tools.                             
4. In the drop-down menu, select Discussions.
5. Under the Discussions List tab, click the New button.
6. In the drop-down menu, select New Topic.
7. Under Topic Type, select Group or section Topic.
8. In the drop down menu, choose the group category that you wish to group students by.

   NOTE: To group students by tutorial section, DO NOT USE the Sections topic type. Choosing the Section topic type will give students the option to post their entry to their tutorial group OR for the entire class to see. This is because every student is a member of two sections in a course: the course section (e.g. section A) and their tutorial section (e.g. section A01). If you want to separate students by tutorial sections, these groups need to be recreated in the Groups area of your Brightspace course. Contact TLS for support  to create your tutorials in the Groups area.

9. Click Save and Close.

Setting Group Restrictions

You will find the group restriction option under the “Restrictions” tab of a discussion.

The group restrictions option is not required when using the Group Topic Type option. It is best to only enable the Topic Type option and to leave the group restrictions option untouched.

If you have a unique use case for enabling the Group and Section Restrictions options, it is recommended to reach out to TLS for support to ensure the settings you have enabled are going to work properly for your desired outcome.