University of Southern California Discussion Boards - Blackboard 9info.marshall.usc.edu/dept/training/Documents/Blackboard/... · 2014. 6. 10. · Discussion Boards - Blackboard 9.1

© Marshall School of Business Discussion_Boards_BB9-1.docx 5/8/14 Page 1 of 24

University of Southern California Marshall Information Services

Discussion Boards - Blackboard 9.1 (Multiple Student Text Conversations)

Discussion boards allow students to participate in text conversations * with other students in a shared environment. They are similar to blogs except that where blogs allow students to follow the postings of a particular student, discussion boards allow students to follow postings from all students on a particular topic. Further, while blogs allow students to comment on one another's blogs, they do not allow for commenting on a comment as discussion boards do. These characteristics make discussion boards the tool to use should you wish multiple students to correspond with one another in a conversational manner on a specific topic. The table below summarizes the characteristics of a Discussion Board:

Forum Grading (optional)

Thread Grading (optional)

Restrict Access by Group

Student Ranking of Posts

Anonymous Comments

Threaded by Topics

Search by Student or Text Criteria

Tag Posts

* Tip: Video Discussions - You can also create video discussions by utilizing the "Record to Webcam" button within a reply. It will save the recording to your YouTube account and automatically create a link in Blackboard. See the Guide "Video in blackboard and YouTube" for more information. (Note it works best using Chrome.) Terminology ............................................................................................................................................................................ 2

Usage Approach: Students cannot see Other Student's Threads until they Create One of their Own .............................. 3

Usage Approach: Students Rank Each Other's Posts ........................................................................................................... 3

Usage Approach: Allow Anonymous Posts .......................................................................................................................... 3

Usage Approach: Focused Forum (Only the Instructor Can Create New Threads) .............................................................. 4

Usage Approach: Open Forum (Students can Create New Threads and Reply) .................................................................. 5

Creating a Discussion Board Forum (Instructor) ..................................................................................................................... 6

Editing a Forum (Edit Settings / Delete / Assign Moderator / Copy / Grade) ......................................................................... 8

How students Access Forums ................................................................................................................................................. 9

Linking to a Forum from a Content Area (Optional) ........................................................................................................... 9

Using Forums (Students & Instructors) ................................................................................................................................. 10

Part 1: Selecting a Forum .............................................................................................................................................. 10

Part 2: Creating a Thread .............................................................................................................................................. 10

Part 3: Reading and Replying to Posts .......................................................................................................................... 11

Searching / Collecting Posts .................................................................................................................................................. 12

Searching ........................................................................................................................................................................... 12

Collecting (Manually Mark) ............................................................................................................................................... 13

Tagging (Mark with Keywords) ............................................................................................................................................. 14

Tagging Posts (Instructor) ..................................................................................................................................................... 14

Enabling Tagging ............................................................................................................................................................... 14

Forum Name Jim's Post Sue's Reply to Jim's Post Mike's Reply to Sue's Reply Sue's Reply to Mike's Reply Bill's Reply to Jim's Post Sue's Reply to Bill's Post Mike's Reply to Bill's Post Greg's Post

Threaded by Conversation Topic


Tagging Posts Overview .................................................................................................................................................... 14

Tag Threads You Feel are Noteworthy .............................................................................................................................. 15

Tag Individual Replies in a Thread(s) ................................................................................................................................ 16

Viewing Tagged Threads (Instructors and Students) ............................................................................................................ 17

Viewing all Threads Again after Tagging ........................................................................................................................... 18

Grading Discussion Boards (Optional – Instructor Only) ...................................................................................................... 19

Forum Based Grading ........................................................................................................................................................ 19

Thread Based Grading ....................................................................................................................................................... 21

Moderated Forums ............................................................................................................................................................... 23

Enabling Forum Moderation ............................................................................................................................................. 23

Moderating Posts .............................................................................................................................................................. 23

How Students View Returned Postings (Students) ........................................................................................................... 24

Appointing a Moderator (Instructor) ................................................................................................................................ 24

Terminology

Discussion Board – This the area in Blackboard that contains forums (aka "chat rooms").

Forums – Think of these as different rooms students can walk into to have a conversation on a particular topic. For example, you might have one forum called "Global Warming" that students can go into and talk about issues pertaining to the environment and another called "Homework Questions" where students can go into and seek advice from other students on homework questions. Communication between separate forums is not possible. Forums must be created by the instructor (except for group forums).

Thread – Within a forum, a student can post a new idea pertaining to the forum's topic rather than responding to a posting made by another student. When students make this type of "top level" posting, it is called creating a "New Thread". All of the replies to the new posting (and the replies to the replies) are known as a thread.

Post – This term refers to typing content for others to read and can refer to either creating a new thread, replying to a new thread, or replying to a reply in a thread.

GLOBAL WARMING FORUM

Jim's Thread: It is just media hype Sue's Reply to Jim's Post Mike's Reply to Sue's Reply Sue's Reply to Mike's Reply Bill's Reply to Jim's Post Sue's Reply to Bill's Post Mike's Reply to Bill's Post Greg's Thread: Easily solved with technology Bills Reply to Greg's Post

HOMEWORK QUESTIONS FORUM

Jim's Thread: What is Delta in Ex. 1? Sue's Reply to Jim's Post Greg's Thread: Does T=8 is Ex. 2? Bills Reply to Greg's Post

This is a thread.

This is a thread.

Discussion Board

This is a thread.

This is a thread.

Forum

Forum


Usage Approach: Students cannot see Other Student's Threads until they Create One of their Own

One forum option is to specify that student's cannot see other student's posts within a forum until they post a thread of their own. This helps to ensure that what students initially post is their own idea and uninfluenced by the postings of others. The downside of this approach is that you cannot use Thread Grading (although you can use Forum Grading). Note the following when using this approach:

Students cannot post anonymously.

Students cannot edit or delete their own postings and replies.

Enabling this option is done in the forum's settings as indicated in the image to the right.

Usage Approach: Students Rank Each Other's Posts

This options allows students to rate each other's posts on a 1-5 scale. The average rating for the post is displayed next to it. Note that this is not connected to the Grade Center but instructors can consider the rating when using the other grading options (grading is not mandatory).

Usage Approach: Allow Anonymous Posts

When enabled, this gives students (and instructors) the option to post new threads and replies anonymously. While it does have a potential for abuse, when dealing with sensitive issues it tends to foster more honest input. Note the following:

Grading cannot be enabled for a forum that allows anonymous input.

Not even the instructor can see who the author of an anonymous post was.

This option controls whether or not students can rate each other's posts.

When enabled, this option appears when composing a reply or new thread giving users the choice of posting anonymously or not.

This option controls whether or not users have the option of posting anonymously or not. Note that forum grading cannot be used when anonymous posts are allowed.


Usage Approach: Focused Forum (Only the Instructor Can Create New Threads)

Using this approach, only the instructor can post new threads. Student input is limited to replying to the thread posted by the instructor or replying to other students' replies. This tends to create a forum that keeps the conversation fairly focused on a specific topic but may stymie new ideas. Grading can be set to No Grading or either Forum or Thread based. See below for an illustrated example of a focused forum.

Name Global Warming Forum

Sue 10

Mike 8

Jim 9.5

Tim 6

Name Electric Cars

Hydrogen Cars

Hydrocracking

Sue 10 8 8.5

Mike 8 7 10

Jim 9.5 3 8

Tim 6 10 7.5

Global Warming Forum

Electric Cars Sue's Reply to Thread

Mike's Reply to Sue's Reply Sue's Reply to Thread

Hydrogen Fuel Cars Sue's Reply to Thread

Mike's Reply to Sue's Reply Jim's Reply to Mike's Reply Tim's Reply to Thread

Hydrocracking Sue's Reply to Thread Mike's Reply to Thread

Jim's Reply to Mike's Reply Tim's Reply to Thread

Instructor Created Thread Topic

Students can reply but not post new topics.





Forum Based Grading When using "Grade Discussion Forum", a single Grade Center column is created for the forum and students are given an overall grade for their work in all threads they may have participated in.

Grading

Thread Based Grading When using "Grade Threads", a Grade Center column is created for each thread the instructor created in the forum. Students are given a separate grade for each thread in the forum.

OR

This option controls whether or not students can post new threads.

These options control the grading scheme used in the forum.

Grade Center

Note that anonymous posting is not permitted when grading is enabled.


Usage Approach: Open Forum (Students can Create New Threads and Reply)

Using this approach, students (and the instructor) can post new threads and reply to threads and reply to replies. This tends to encourage creativity and innovation from students but the discussion may tend to wonder off the talking points the instructor wishes students to adhere. If graded, Forum based grading must be used; thread based grading is not possible when students are allowed to create their own threads. The illustration below shows an example of an open forum.

Name Global Warming Forum

Sue 10

Mike 8

Jim 9.5

Tim 6

Global Warming Forum

This is all media hype. Sue's Reply to Thread

Mike's Reply to Sue's Reply Sue's Reply to Thread

It’s the solar power makers trying to … Sue's Reply to Thread

Mike's Reply to Sue's Reply Jim's Reply to Mike's Reply Tim's Reply to Thread

The Republican's need to …. Sue's Reply to Thread Mike's Reply to Thread

Jim's Reply to Mike's Reply Tim's Reply to Thread

Student Created Thread Topic

Students can reply and post new threads.





Forum Based Grading Only If students are able to create new threads, only Forum Grading can be used. (Thread Grading is not possible when students can make their own threads.) Forum Grading creates a column in the Grade Center for each forum you are grading but not each thread. Students are graded based on their performance throughout any or all threads in the forum. Grading

This option controls whether or not students can post new threads.

These options control the grading scheme used in the forum.

Grade Center

Note that anonymous posting is not permitted when grading is enabled.


Creating a Discussion Board Forum (Instructor)

As stated above, a forum is analogous to a "chat room" and is where communication takes place. Except for group forums, only the instructor can create forums. The steps in this section cover how the instructor creates a forum in the discussion board. 1. Access the course you wish to make a discussion board within.

4. Click "Create Forum".

Edit/Delete an Existing Forum You can use this button to edit, delete, or manage student roles in an existing forum. Hover over a forum name to make the button appear.

3. From the left menu click "Tools" then "Discussion Board".

5. Type a name for the forum.

6. Type any instructions you would like to give your students.

Show/Hide Toolbars


7. For your students to access the forum, "Available" must be set to "Yes".

(Optional) If desired, you can specify a time period when the forum is available. ("Available" still needs to be set to "Yes" when using this option.)

8. VIEWING THREADS/REPLIES (Select one)

Standard View – Students can see threads even if they haven't posted any threads of their own. Participants Must… - Students must post a new thread of their own before they can see other user's threads and replies.

9. GRADE (Select one)

No Grading – The forum is not graded. (Students can still rank each other's posts.) Grade Discussion Forum – Students are graded by the instructor on their overall performance within all threads in the forum. A column for the forum is created in the Grade Center. Grade Threads – Students are graded by the instructor on their participation within an instructor created thread. A column is created in the Grade Center for each thread the instructor creates. (Students cannot create new threads using this option. For students to use the forum, the threads must be created by the instructor. Further, only Standard View can be used with Grade Threads.)

10. SUBSCRIBE (Select one) Subscribe allows students to receive email alerts when something is posted. There are two options: Thread - If they subscribe to a thread, they will receive an email whenever anyone replies to a particular thread. Forum - If they subscribe to a forum, they will receive an email whenever anyone posts to the forum.


Editing a Forum (Edit Settings / Delete / Assign Moderator / Copy / Grade)

Should you need to change any of the setting you have made in the section above, follow the steps below. Note that some settings cannot be changed once students have begun posting to the forum. 1. From the left menu, click "Tools" then "Discussion Boards".

11. CREATE AND EDIT OPTIONS Most of these options are self-explanatory; however, some may not be available depending upon which view and grading options you selected above. Note that if you select Force Moderation of Posts, you or an assigned moderator must approve each post before students can view them.

12. ADDITIONAL OPTIONS Allow Post Tagging – This allows you to

tag posts with keywords so you can find them later; however, this feature can dramatically slow down forum performance.

Allow Members to Rate Posts – This allows students to rate each other's posts on a 1-5 scale.

13. Click "Submit".

2. Hover your mouse on the name of the forum.

3. Click the drop down arrow that appears.

4. Select a command. Edit – Returns you to the creation screen. Manage – Assign a forum moderator. Copy – Copies the forum with or without content. Delete – Erases the forum.

Note that not even instructors can see the author of Anonymous Posts.


How students Access Forums

Linking to a Forum from a Content Area (Optional) If desired, the instructor can also place a link to a forum in a content area. The steps below cover that. 1. From the left menu, click one of your

content areas ("Content" for example) or make a new content area.

Students can access forums from the left menu through either:

Discussions or

Tools – Discussion Boards

They then click the name of the forum they wish to enter.

2. From the horizontal menu, click "Tools" then "Discussion Board".

4. Select a forum.

3. Click "Select a Discussion Board Forum".

5. Click "Next".

6. Set any desired availability options then click "Submit".


Using Forums (Students & Instructors)

This section covers how students can use forums.

Part 1: Selecting a Forum The first steps is to find a forum to go into.

Part 2: Creating a Thread This next screen displays the subject lines of posts but not the actual content. To read the content, you will need to click the subject line. To add a new thread, click "Create Thread".

a. Forums can be accessed from the left menu through "Discussion", or through "Tools – Discussion Boards". (Instructors can also place them in content areas.)

b. Click the name of the forum you wish to enter.

List View vs. Tree View - Both of these views display subject lines only. The difference is that tree view displays the reply subjects allowing you to jump to a specific reply but does not allow tagging.

Note that some of the buttons shown here may not be available to students because they are instructor only buttons (Grade Discussion Forum) or the instructor did not enable the feature (Create Thread or Subscribe).

Start a New Thread a. To add a new

conversation thread to the forum, click "Create Thread".

b. Type a thread Subject. (This displays on the list shown in the screen above.)

c. Type the post's content. d. If desired, attach a file. e. Click "Submit" to post now

or "Save as Draft" to post later.


Part 3: Reading and Replying to Posts Follow the steps in this section to read and reply to posts. a. Access the forum you wish to converse within.

b. Click a thread to open it and view its postings.

c. Hover your mouse over a post to make buttons appear.

d. Click "Reply" to reply to a post.

Rate a Post/Reply If enabled, click the stars to rate a posting.

Email Author Send an email to a post's author (not available for anonymous posts).

Hierarchy Replies are always indented and are below the post they are replying to. Replies to replies are indented further.

Flag Icon Indicates the posting was flagged.

Unread Icon Indicates the posting has not been read.

Instructor Posting Icon Indicates the posting is from the instructor or moderator.


Searching / Collecting Posts

Both students and instructors can use either of these features to gather posts based on author or content into a condensed, easily viewable and printable screen.

Search - Allows you to perform a text or date search the current forum or all forums within a course. Search looks for matching text in the author's name, subject line, and message content.

Collect – Allows you gather posts within the current forum by manually checking them and then clicking "Collect".

Searching 1. Access a forum or discussion board. (If searching a specific forum, access the forum.) 2. Click the "Search" button.

In this example, only one post was found. It is shown below.

3. Type the text you wish to search for. Authors, subjects, and message content areas are searched.

4. Specify the range of forums you would like to search.

5. (Optional) If desired, specify a date range.

6. Click "Go".

Filter Allows you to further filter your results by author (see below).

Print Preview

Mark Read/Unread Allows you to mark the posts found read or unread.

Sort Posts

Click "OK" to close this view.


Collecting (Manually Mark) Collecting allows you to condense selected posts into an easily printable screen. Collecting must be performed from within a specific forum or from within one of a forum's threads. Unlike Search, Collecting cannot be performed across multiple forums. Collection Tips

The basic steps are to click the check boxes next to a message and then click "Collect". Some tips are shown below.

Collect Top Level Threads Only (Tree View) To collect original threads but not their replies: 1. Click "Tree View". 2. Click "Collapse All". 3. Click the Select All box. 4. Click "Collect".

Collect an Entire Thread (List View) To collect the original thread posting and all its replies (but no other threads): 1. Click "List View". 2. Click the box next to the thread. 3. Click "Collect".

Note that after you collect, you can filter and print just as you could with Search. Click "OK" in the lower right to close a collection.


Tagging (Mark with Keywords)

Tagging allows the instructor to mark threads and replies using keywords. For example, the instructor may wish to tag posts based on quality (e.g. "Good"), subject (e.g. "Science"), position ("Pro" or "Con"), person (e.g. "Murdoch"), or any other qualifier they may deem appropriate. Once tagged, the instructor and students can use tagging to view only those posts containing the tags they select from a drop down list.

Note: Tagging is a great idea but using it is not intuitive and may be more trouble than it is worth. Both the instructor and students must follow some very specific steps. If you decide to enable tagging, I suggest providing your students with step-by-step instructions.

Tagging Posts (Instructor)

The steps in this section cover how instructors enable tagging and tag posts. (Students can filter by tags by not create tags.) The first step is to enable tagging in the forum. You can do this when you create the forum but because tagging can slow down forum usage, you may wish to wait until your students have completed most of their postings and then enable tagging.

Enabling Tagging

Tagging Posts Overview As mentioned above, tagging can be a little cumbersome. The two methods shown on the next page show two approaches:

Method 1: Tag Threads You Feel are Noteworthy – Use this method when you wish to mark a thread as a conversation you wish your student's to read or label in some way (e.g. "Read Me", "Good", "Off Topic", "Homework Example", etc.). Note that it marks the initial posting itself but not the replies within the thread.

Method 2: Tag Individual Replies in a Thread– Use this method when you wish to read through all of the threads and tag individual replies manually. For example: "Pro", "Con", "Case 1", etc. The result is analogous to an index in a book.

Note that both methods require that you do a collection, the real difference is technique.

The first step is to enable tagging in the forum. 1. Locate the forum ("Tools" – "Discussion Boards"). 2. Hover your mouse over the name of the forum. 3. Click the down arrow that appears and select "Edit".

4. Check "Allow Post Tagging". 5. Click "Submit".


Tag Threads You Feel are Noteworthy Use this method when you wish to mark an entire thread as something you wish your student's to read (e.g. "Read This", "Good", "Off Topic", "Homework Example", etc.). 1. Access the discussion board ("Tools – Discussion Boards").

2. Click the forum containing the threads you wish to tag.

3. Click "Tree View".

5. Check the threads you wish to tag.

6. Click "Collect".

4. Click "Collapse All".

7. Click "All" to select all posts.

8. Type the text you would like to tag the posts with and click "Add".

9. Click "OK".

Tagging Individually Note that you can also tag posts individually by clicking the individual post's "Add" buttons. Once clicked, a text box will appear that will allow you to type your text.

Note that only top level threads are returned. This is because you did a collection on a collapsed "Tree View".


Tag Individual Replies in a Thread(s) The steps in this section cover how to mark individual replies in a thread manually. You might to do this to categorize replies. For example: "Pro", "Con", "Good", etc. 1. Access discussion boards ("Tools – Discussion Boards").

2. Click the forum containing the threads you wish to tag.

3. Click "List View". (When you select a thread in List View all replies in the thread can be collected.)

4. Check the threads you wish to collect. (Their replies will be collected too.)

5. Click "Collect".

6. Click the "Add" button within the post(s) you wish to tag.

7. Type the tag text and click "OK".

Deleting Tags The only way to delete a tag is to click the red check to the right of the tag.

Selecting Tags from List To reuse existing tags, click "Add" then "Choose from Existing".

Tag Multiple Posts at Simultaneously You can use this area to tag all selected posts at once.

8. Click "OK".


Viewing Tagged Threads (Instructors and Students)

If the instructor has enabled tagging and tagged threads, students can display those posts containing the tags they pick from a list. Note two important things:

Viewing tags can only be performed in "List View".

Blackboard does not automatically display all replies after you exit your session. You must use "Show all Tags" to see all postings again.

1. Access discussion boards ("Tools – Discussion Boards").

2. Click a forum.

3. Click a "List View".

4. Click "Tags". All threads containing the tag appears.

6. Click the check boxes for the threads you wish to view.

7. Click "Collect".

Note that some of the replies displayed may not have the tag you specified. This is because Blackboard collects all replies within the tagged thread.

8. Click "Filter".

8. Click the "Tags" drop down and click the tag you wish to filter by. Then click "Go".

5. Click a tag.


Viewing all Threads Again after Tagging After collecting tagged threads, blackboard will remember your tagging and keep threads that do not match hidden even after you leave the discussion board and come back. To see all threads within a forum, follow the steps below. 1. Open the forum. 2. Click "List View" (They remain visible in Tree View but not List View.) 3. Click "Tags" then "Show All Tags".


Grading Discussion Boards (Optional – Instructor Only)

Instructors can setup grading to be based upon student participation for an entire forum or for threads within a forum. The difference explained below. (See Section A for information on how to activate grading.) Students will be able to view their own grades by going to "My Grades". (My Grades is not visible to instructors.)

Forum Based Grading - If grading is forum based, a single column is created in the grade center for the forum and students are graded based on all of their posts throughout the entire forum.

Thread Based Grading – If grading is thread based, a separate column is created in the grade center for each thread created in the forum and students are given a separate grade for their participation in each thread. (Only instructors can create threads when grading is thread based. Students are limited to replies only.)

Forum Based Grading Follow the steps in this section when grading is forum based.

1. Access the course containing the forum.

2. From the left menu click "Tools"

then "Discussion Board".

3. Click the forum you will be grading.

4. Click "Grade Discussion Forum".


5. Click the "Grade" button next to the student you wish to grade.

Show / Hide Student's Statistical information

Next User (Click "Submit" first to save).

Show / Hide Feedback Section

All Posts This area shows all of the selected student's posts (new threads and replies) throughout the entire forum.

6. Type a numeric score.

7. Type feedback if desired.

8. Click "Submit" to save the score and feedback.

9. To grade the next student, click the "Next User" button or click "OK" to return to the previous screen.


Thread Based Grading Follow the steps in this section when grading is "Thread" based.

1. Access the course containing the forum.

2. From the left menu click "Tools"

then "Discussion Board".

4. Click the "Grade Thread" button next to the thread you wish to grade.

3. Click the name of the forum whose threads you wish to grade.

Note that if the button just has "Grade" rather than "Grade Thread" but the forum is set to thread grading, you will be prompted to type the points possible when you click "Grade".

5. Click the "Grade" button next to the student you wish to grade.


Show / Hide Student's Statistical information

Next User (Click "Submit" first to save).

Show / Hide Feedback Section

Student's Replies in the Thread This area shows all of the selected student's replies to the selected thread.

6. Type a numeric score.

7. Type feedback if desired.

8. Click "Submit" to save the score and feedback.

9. To grade the next student, click the "Next User" button or click "OK" to return to the previous screen.

Average rating post received from other students.


Moderated Forums

Though not used extensively at the university level, when enabled, this requires the instructor (or appointed moderator(s)) to approval all student's threads and replies before posts appear in the forum.

Enabling Forum Moderation To enable, follow the steps below. 1. Open the forum in "Edit" view. 2. Check "Force Moderation of Posts". 3. Click "Submit".

Moderating Posts The moderator or instructor approves or rejects posts from within the forum the post is made in. 1. Open the forum whose posts you wish to approve or reject. 2. Click the "Moderate Forum" button at the top of the screen.

All postings awaiting approval will be listed. 3. Click the "Moderate"

button next to the posting you wish to read.

This area contains the subject of the post and the message the student typed.

4. Click "Publish" to post the student's message to the forum or "Return" to not post it. (See the next page on how students are notified of rejections.)

5. If rejecting the post, type the reason you wish the student to see.

6. Click "Submit" then go on to the next post.


How Students View Returned Postings (Students) To view rejected posts, students must access the forum they posted in and invoke "Tree View". Note that this is the only location rejected posts appear. Blackboard does not email rejection notifications. 1. Access the forum you are checking for rejected posts.

Appointing a Moderator (Instructor) By default, the instructor of the course is the moderator. If you would like to appoint a TA to moderate, follow the steps below.

2. Click "Tree View".

3. To read the reason for a returned post, click "Explanation for returned post". You can also rewrite and resubmit the post by clicking this link.

Your status of your posts appears here.

1. Access Discussion Boards ("Tools" – "Discussion Boards".)

2. Hover your mouse over the name of the forum you wish to affect until a drop down arrow appears.

3. Click the drop down arrow and select "Manage".

4. Check the box to the left of the person(s) to be made moderators. 5. Click "Edit Role". 6. Click "Moderator". 7. Click "OK".