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Home & Login InfoStudents Frequently Asked Questions

Discussions Tool

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

Discussions link

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

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

Discussions

Add new message

1. Go into the Topic (blue link) and Click Compose 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 Submit to add your post and view it as a yellow highlighted item in the main discussion list.

Post a reply to an existing posting

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Reply to a posting

Add a reply

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

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

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Post an attachment

To a new message:

1. Click Add a file to add a new message as described in the previous section. Scroll down the screen until you see the Browse Command
2. Click Browse button 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 Reply button to add a new message as described in the previous section.
3. Click Browse button 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.

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Download an attachment

1. Select the postings with the attachment you want to download.
2. Click the view messages in a printable format icon ( 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.

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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 Flag Message

Red flag icon displays beside the Subject text.

Subject:

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

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Print posting

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

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FAQ

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.

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