Discussions

You may be able to access Discussions two different ways:

1. Through the content area of the course.
2. Through the Discussion tool.

Accessing a Discussion Through Content

You can view discussions within the Content section of your course.

Within the Table of Contents, the discussions icon () will indicate your professor has added a discussion board the module.

1. Click on the name of the Discussion Topic from the Table of Contents. 
2. To the right of the Discussion Topic's title you will see a Status Card in a box. This will tell you if you have Posted or Not Posted to the discussion forum. Once your professor has graded your discussion, your score will show up in the Status Card.
3. Under Activity Content, you will see a Description of what your professor expects you to do for the discussion. Read the directions carefully.
4. Under Evaluation Criteria, you will see how many points the discussion is worth and a rubric if your professor is using one to score the discussion. *Helpful Hint: If there is a rubric, click on it to review it carefully so you can ensure you meet all of the required criteria for the post.
5. Under My Work, click on Open Discussion to Start a New Thread to participate in the class discussion.

Accessing a Discussion Through the Discussion Tool

Click on "Communication" on the navigation bar and select Discussions.

The main discussion area displays a list of current, active discussions.

From the main discussion area, you will see Discussion Forums and Discussion Topics. The forums help to organize the discussion topics. For example, you may have 3 discussion topics inside the Module 2 Discussion Forum.

Click on the blue hyperlinked name of a discussion topic to participate in that discussion. The discussion topics area is where you post and respond to your classmate's posts.

Add a New Post

1. Once you've clicked Communication> Discussions in the Navigation bar, go into the Discussion Topic by clicking on the blue hyperlinked name of the discussion topic.
2. Click Start a New Thread to add a new discussion post. 
3. Give the post a Subject title and type the text of the post in the larger box.
4. If desired, add an attachment to your post by following the steps listed in Add Attachments.
5. Click Post to submit your discussion post. 

Add an Attachment

1. Click Add Attachments within your post, as described in the previous section. 
2. Click Upload or Choose Existing to locate a file on your computer, Record to record video or audio, OR you can simply drag and drop a file in the box shown. 
3. Click Post when finished. 

Download an Attachment

1. Open the post.

2. Click the attachment.

Some files may open up in their specified program, such as Microsoft Word. Other files may download to your computer in the folder you specified. This will depend on your personal computer settings.

Images may open up in a new window. To save the image, right-click (or Command-Click for a Mac), choose Save Image As from the menu, and browse to the location to which you want to save the file.

Edit a Post

You can edit your post (unless editing has been restricted by the professor). Editing allows you to fix a misspelled word or clarify your post.

To edit your post, click on the drop-down arrow next to the title of your post and click Edit Thread.

A pop-up window with your post will open up. Make changes to the post then click Update. 

Reply to a Post

To reply to an existing post, select the existing posting from the list of messages in the Topic and click Reply to Thread. 

Type your message in the text box that opens up.

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This 2-minute video demonstrates Discussions in eLearn: