Discussions Tool

• Add New Message
• Reply to a Posting
• Post an attachment
• Download an attachment
• Flag Message
• Print Posting
• FAQ

If you have access to discussions, you can click the Discussion link on your course navigation bar:

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

Select the discussion you want to join from the displayed list.

Add new message

1. Go into the Topic (blue link) and Click to add a new message.
   The Compose box displays at the bottom of the main Discussion page.
2. Give the message a Subject title and type the text in the larger box. (To include an attachment, refer to the section below.)
3. Click to add your post and view it as a yellow highlighted item in the main discussion list.

Reply to a posting

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

The Add Message: portion of the discussion panel displays, allowing you to reply to the posting much like you would to an email.

Post an attachment

To a new message:

1. Click to add a new message as described in the previous section. Scroll down the screen until you see the Browse Command
2. Click to locate the file that you want to upload (either from PC or from a network location).

To a current discussion posting:

1. Select the posted message to which you want to add an attachment. The Add Messages window displays.
2. Click to add a new message as described in the previous section.
3. Click to locate the file that you want to upload (either from PC or from a network location) and change the message text to describe the new attachment, if applicable.

Download an attachment

1. Select the postings with the attachment you want to download.
2. Click the view messages in a printable format icon ( ) to view the selected messages
3. Save the attachment by right-clicking (Command Click for a Mac) the attachment yperlink and choosing Save Target As from the menu, and browsing to the location to which you want to save the file.

Flag message

“Flagging” a message allows you to make a particular discussion post (time-sensitive or important) more visible to users.

If you want someone in particular to view a message, create a new posting, or open an existing posting, click

displays beside the Subject text.

• Sort by flagged in the main discussion window by clicking the at the top of the list.
• Remove all flags in messages in the list at once by clicking and confirming the removal
• Flag multiple posts by checking the applicable posts and clicking

Print posting

1. Select the postings you want to print.
2. Click the view messages in a printable format icon ( ) to view the selected messages.
3. Choose the Print menu item under file in your browser navigation bar.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there any way to search a discussion board for relevant text?

You can search postings by selecting the "search" icon located in the discussion nav bar next to the vew: drop down menu.

What does the red flag mean?

Flagging refers to the process of marking a discussion or topic with a flag to make it more visible to users. This usually indicates an important message or discussion.