A discussion board (sometimes also called a messageboard or a bulletin board) is a place where course users can post discussion items and reply to other posts. This is similar to a live chat system, but is designed so that students do not have to be online at the same time to communicate.

How do I view a discussion board?

• Click Discussion Board on the left-hand menu or
• Click the Communication link in the left-hand menu and then Discussion Boards to view a list of boards available – there may be more than one.
• Select the appropriate board and you will see the list of messages ready to read.

The discussion board message list
Discussion board conversations are logged and organised. Conversations take place in separate forums and are grouped into threads that contain a main posting and all related replies.

You will be able to choose Tree View or List View 1.  With Tree Views, the Threads can be viewed without the need to click on the forum.

You are able to see statistics relating to each forum indicating the number of messages in each one.

The Search Tool 2 will always be visible across the top of the screen when entering the discussion board content area.

 The discussion boards are listed by forum.

You then select a forum by clicking on the underlined subject 2 to see the threads within.

You can change the order of the presented threads by clicking on the headings at the top of the columns.
The current sort criteria will be noted by a small coloured arrow 3.

Messages are displayed as a list of message titles, followed by the name of the person who posted the message, followed by the date of the message. Messages are displayed grouped with any replies to that message. 1

Replies are displayed with an indent from the message to which it refers.

Messages that you are yet to read will be displayed in bold.

Each message can be read by clicking the message title in the left column.

For more options there is an Action Bar which includes:

There is also a field, New Replies to my Post, for your posts.  Clickable number links for Unread Posts and New Replies to my Post are also an available option. You may be able to rate a thread or forum with star ratings if this is activated by the course instructor. You cannot rate your own posts and you can only rate a post once.

Depending on options chosen by the course coordinator, you may also find the following available:

• Allow Users to Reply with Quote.  Allows users to include the text of the original message in any replies to that message. This is enabled by default.
• Enable forum members to rate individual posts.
• Users can save posts as drafts, allowing them to work on a post over more than one Blackboard session until the post is ready for publishing

Reading discussion board posts
Clicking a message subject in the list of messages will display that message.

When you've finished reading the message, you can:

• View any replies to the message in the Thread Detail area.
• Reply to the current message by clicking Reply.
• Close the message and return to the message list by clicking OK.

Collating discussion board posts

If you want to filter certain posts to a separate screen, you can select the appropriate check boxes 1 and then click on Collect 2. This will provide your chosen messages on one screen. Whilst collected together, you have the option to print the selected group of posted messages. Navigating away from this screen will remove the selection.

Users can group posts into Collections.  Collections can also be sorted and filtered for easy viewing and printing. You can filter by Author, Status, Read Status, Date or Order.

You can choose to Flag a message to remind you to return to it at a later date. You must select the check box at the left of a message to set this option.

When you are finished with the flag reminder, you then select the message check box and click on Clear Flag.

There are also the options of Mark Read and Mark Unread.

Writing a new message
You may be able to start a completely new thread (if this has been enabled by your academic staff).

• To post a new message, click the Thread button (right) at the top of the list of messages.
• This will display the Add Thread screen:

• You will see 2 main fields: Subject and Message. Complete both of these fields and click Submit 1 at the bottom to post the message.

Attachments
You may also be able to attach a file to your message before submitting it (if this has been enabled by your course co-ordinator).

If so, there will be an Attachment field below the message.

• To attach a file, click the Attach a file link. You will be presented with further options.
• Click the Browse... button to locate your file.
• Click Open. The file will be listed in the Attachment field.
• When you click Submit, the file will be transmitted to Blackboard with the message, and others will be able to download the file when they view your message.

Tips for writing messages

1. Do not use any form of electronic communication, including email or discussion boards, to attack members of staff or fellow students.
   Remember that you may not be able to delete messages that you send.
   Use of the University network is subject to a code of practice. Click here to read the University's Internet Code of Practice .
2. Make subject headings specific to the contents so that readers of the discussion board can establish whether the message is relevant to them prior to opening it. Visiting a discussion board full of messages with subjects such as “Hi” and “Help me!” can be very frustrating.
3. Messages should be pertinent and relevant to the subject matter of the specific discussion board. Your colleagues will appreciate your ability to keep to the point of discussion.
4. The Message field contains lots of controls designed to format your text, similar to a word processing application. This can help emphasise certain parts of your messages by expressing yourself in bold or italics.
   Make sure that your text is easy to read. Don't use a lot of unusual colours or font sizes – use these features to enhance the meaning of your message.
   The Preview button at the top of the Message field will display the message as written and provide the opportunity to correct it before being sent. It's strongly advisable to preview every message before clicking Submit .
5. Click on Save to keep a draft of the message. You can return to it and complete it before submitting at a later date.
6. Click Cancel to return to the list of messages without sending the message.

Replying to threads and posts

You can then compose a response to the message. Compose your message as outlined in (Writing a new message). The only difference here is that the Subject field is already completed for you (but can still be edited if required).

You are able to bring the original post you are replying to into view by clicking the Show or Hide Parent Post link.

Message list management
Busy discussion boards can be complicated to keep track of, and it's useful to be able to filter out messages that are of lesser interest. Use the following to filter your messages:

• Displaying Messages

You can select to display messages using the options below. Show All will display all posts including those that have been locked, or hidden (archived). This will also display your own draft messages.

• Read/Unread Messages & Total Posts

At the far right of the discussion board, you'll see that posts are marked as read or unread. When you view a message, the post will be automatically marked as read and the counter will revert to zero.

The number of replies to a thread is displayed under the column marked Total Posts. It indicates how many replies have been posted to a thread.

• View many messages simultaneously

The Collect button will allow you to view any selected messages in the same window. All messages viewed in this window can be replied to individually.

You can also print these messages and sort their display by Author, Date, Subject or Thread.