How do I create a discussion board forum in Blackboard?

Tell Me

1. Make sure Edit Mode is ON

2. Click on the Discussions link on the Course Menu

3. Click on the Create Forum button

4. Enter a Name and Description of the forum

5. Select forum availability

6. Select appropriate forum settings:

7.  

   • Allow Anonymous Posts: students will have the option of posting replies or messages anonymously

   • Allow Author to Delete Own Posts: students will be able to remove previously posted messages

   • Allow Author to Edit Own Published Posts: students will be able to edit their original postings

   • Allow Post Tagging: allow text labels or tags to be used to group similar messages together for search purposes. NOTE: For faster Discussion Board page loading,

   • disable message tagging

   • Allow Users to Reply with Quote: students can include the text of the original message in any replies to that message

   • Allow File Attachments: students may attach files to their messages and replies

   • Allow Members to Create New Threads: students may introduce a new subject to the Forum. Otherwise, students will only be allowed to reply to the original thread

   • Allow Members to Subscribe to Threads: students can choose to receive emails when a new post is made to the discussion board.

   • Allow Members to Rate Posts: students can evaluate posts based on a fixed, 5 point scale

   • Force Moderation of Posts: a designated moderator must approve all posts before they can be viewed by other students

   • No grading in Forum: do not use the discussion grader

   • Grade Discussion Forum: Points Possible: assign the total point possible for the entire forum

   • Grade Threads: enable grading of individual threads within the forum

8. Click Submit

Tell Me

In Blackboard Ultra, discussion posts can be added directly into the course content, or they can be added through the Discussions page from the course navigation.

To have the discussion in your course content:

1. Locate the item, module, or folder where you would like to place the Discussion in. Hover your cursor to the center of the item,          and click on the purple + icon. 

2. Click Create

3. Under Participation and Engagement, click Discussion

4. You can rename the thread, provide the prompt for the discussion, and change the settings of the discussion.

5. Select appropriate discussion settings:

• Display on Course Content Page: Using the above method, this will be selected by default.

• Post First: Students will not be allowed to see other threads and replies to threads until they post their own thread. 

• Grade Discussion: Determine if the discussion will be assigned grades. After checking this box, you will be prompted to complete the assignment settings. 

• Align with Goals: If you have created course goals in Blackboard, you can select the goals and attach them to a particular discussion board.

• Group Discussion: Allows the instructor to ensure that the discussion will be visible only to a particular group in the course. 

You can have a Discussion board that does not live in your Course Content from the Discussion page, located in your Course Navigation. This page will also list all discussion boards in your course.