Blackboard: Instructions for Discussion Board Participants
Accessing the discussion board
1. If your instructor has added a button for the Discussion Board to the left navigation bar, click that button. If you don't see a button for the Discussion Board, click Communication. A link for the discussion board will appear in the list of Communication tools to the right.
2. From the discussion board list, click the link for the discussion forum you want to enter.
Reading and replying to a message
We recommend that you first compose your message in a word processor and then copy and paste it into the message textbox. If you are composing online and lose your Internet connection, any text that you have entered will be lost.
Internet Explorer 7 (IE 7) with Vista and Blackboard: I can see the Visual Text Box Editor but appears broken. How can I fix it? If you are using Blackboard with Internet Explorer 7 and Vista.
Internet Explorer 7 (IE 7) with Windows XP and Blackboard: I can see the Visual Text Box Editor but appears broken. How can I fix it? If you are using Blackboard with Internet Explorer 7 and Windows XP.
If someone has already has posted messages to the discussion forum, you will see the subject, author, and date/time that the message(s) were posted.
1. Click the link for a message's subject line to read that message.
2. To reply to the message that you are reading, click the Reply button at the bottom right corner of the message.
3. A response window will appear. In the first half of the window is the form to enter and submit your reply. Below it is the text of the message to which you are responding.
4. If you'd like, you can customize the default Subject line.
5. Enter your response in the Message textbox. You'll notice some formatting Options below the textbox. Unless you are entering a message composed entirely in HTML code, you'll want to keep the Smart Text option. Smart Text allows you to use the enter and space keys to insert white space into the message and also add HTML code to format parts of your message. Smartest of all, it converts full web addresses (with the http:// prefix, e.g., http://www.unc.edu) to hyperlinks. Note that if you are pasting text from a word processor into the message textbox, any formatting you apply will not display in Blackboard, only plain text and line breaks.
6. If you would like to attach a file to your message, click the Browse button, select the file you would like to add, and click Open to attach the file.
7. Click Preview to reread your message before submitting it. If you are satisfied with your message, click Submit. If you'd like to edit your message, click Back. If you'd like to abandon your message, click Cancel.
Adding a new discussion topic (thread)
1. To create a new discussion topic within a forum, click the Add New Thread button in the top left corner of the list of messages.
2. On the Create New Message screen, enter a subject line in the Subject textbox.
3. Follow steps 5-7 in "Reading and replying to a message," above.
Reading message attachments
1. If a message has an attachment, a paper clip will appear next to its subject line in the list of messages. Click the link for a message's subject line to open the message; clicking the paperclip won't work!
2. In the message header, you'll see an Attachment: line. Click the filename link to open the file.
3. If you are using Netscape to view Blackboard, you will be prompted to save or open the file. Select Open. If you have the necessary software loaded on your computer needed to view the file attachment, that program should start up and open the file. For example, if the attachment is a PowerPoint file (.ppt), PowerPoint should automatically launch and open the file.
4. If you are using Internet Explorer to view Blackboard, the file attachment may open within the Blackboard page or you may be prompted to either save or open the file. If this is the case, select Open. If you have the necessary software loaded on your computer needed to view the file attachment, that program should automatically launch and open the file.
Sorting messages
1. Scroll down to the bottom of the list of messages. Sort By: options will appear to the left.
2. Options are by date, author, subject, or default. Default sorts threads chronologically with replies included below initial messages.
Other viewing options
When the list of messages has become long, you can click the minus sign to the left of a thread to collapse the list, and only the initial message in the thread will then display. You can expand a thread by clicking the plus sign that appears to the left of a collapsed thread. Options for Expand All and Collapse All(threads) appear at the top right of the message list.
If you haven't read a message, it will have a yellow New icon. You can view all of these unread messages by selecting View Unread Messages at the top left. Once clicked, this option is replaced by View All Messages. Click View All Messages to display all messages in the forum. Note that all threads must first be expanded for these viewing options to work correctly.
Collecting several messages into a single window for viewing, printing, or saving to a file
1. Make sure that all threads are expanded by clicking Expand All.
2. Click Show Options.
3. A toolbar appears, as do checkboxes next to the messages.
4. Click the check boxes next to the postings you want to view, print, or save. If you want to view all of the postings, click Select All.
5. Click Collect to display the contents of all selected posts in a single window.
6. If you want to print the messages, click once anywhere in the area that the messages appear, and click Print on your browser's toolbar.
7. If you want to save the messages to a file,
1. Go to your browser's Edit menu and click Select All. The message text will be highlighted.
2. Then return to the Edit menu and click Copy.
3. Open a new Microsoft Word document.
4. Go to the Edit menu and choose Paste Special.
5. In the Paste As Options window, select Unformatted Text and click OK.
Click OK to return to the default message list.
Document Overview
Tags: Blackboard CourseInfo , discussion boardSubjects: Blackboard
Audience: Everyone
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License.
