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This page takes you on a tour of the
Blackboard Discussion Board
features and talks about the correct way to reply to messages to keep the
discussion forums coherent.
Please read this orientation information and print out this
document if necessary before attempting to use the discussion board.
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When you click on the hyperlink
above, you will be taken to a website called Blackboard. Notice that it will
spawn a new browser window. This way you can easily bounce back and forth
between the discussion board and the course website should you need to do so.
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Once in Blackboard, you will need to log
in with a username and password. Follow the Blackboard
login instructions to activate your account and to enter the discussion
board.
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Once you have successfully logged in
to Blackboard, click on the link for English 103, then click on the icon for the
discussion board. You'll be taken to a screen that looks similar to the
one below:
Topics, Threads, Replies, and Posts
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These four vocabulary
words are unique to on-line discussion boards, and you already might be familiar
with what they mean. A "thread" is
a chain of messages all dealing with the same topic.
Think of a thread as a continuous line of conversation on the same
subject. If you wish to contribute to a particular discussion thread after
reading a person's message, click the Reply button,
and your message will appear underneath the message to which you just
replied. You have to be certain that you reply to the right message,
otherwise your message may not make sense if you reply to the wrong chain of
discussion. For this first week, there should one initial discussion topic:
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Within each topic,
you create multiple discussion threads, and each thread
can contain posts relating to that particular
subject
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Click on the Welcome topic,
and you will see a screen similar to the one below. (Don't
click on the links; they're dead and will display an error message in your
browser.)
After you login to
Blackboard and click on the Welcome Topic, read the Welcome message from me.
When you are ready, click on the Reply link to
post
your own welcome message. If you click on the Quote button, the text of
the message you are reading will be displayed in your message window so that you
can more easily comment on it. Reply to the
person (or message) you wish to respond to. When the new window appears,
the subject line will be filled in already. Just type your response in the
window. When you are ready, click the Post
button.
You will notice once we get several message up that if you reply to the last
person, your message will be indented and nested underneath that person's
name. Practice replying to my initial welcome message. Then reply to
a classmate's introduction and greet him or her to practice using the discussion
board.
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You will need to click
the purple Update Listing
button in the discussion board area to view the message you just posted.
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If you wish to start a
new discussion thread within a Topic (you cannot create new Topics), use the
beige Compose Discussion
Message bar and type a new subject in the window that pops
us. Then click the Post button in the lower
left as you would if you were replying to someone else's posting.
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Go to the
Blackboard discussion board now.
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Send any questions you
have to darrencs at fullcoll.edu, and
I'll do my best to get back to you right away.
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