Creating Discussion Forums and Topics

Step 1: Click on "Discussions" in the yellow navigation bar at the top of the page.

Step 2: Forums are generally considered “headers” or an organizational tool for grouping topics together. Many instructors label their forums by week: Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, etc. NOTE: Forums by themselves are invisible to students.  You must have at least one Topic inside a forum in order for students to be able to see it.

Click “New Forum” to create a Forum.

Step 3: If you need to control when the forum is available,  set additional release parameters under “Availability” and click “Save” when you’re done.

Step 4: Topics are where the discussion actually occurs. Topics are placed under headers. To create a Topic, click “New Topic”.

Step 5: After clicking New Topic, select the Forum where you’d like the Topic to appear. Title the Topic.

Step 6: In the “Description” window, type the actual question you want students to address in the discussion.

Step 7: Again, under “Availability,” set dates, if appropriate and/or necessary.

Step 8: Click “Save”