Some courses include a Forum activity, which acts as an online message board. Users can add (or post) discussion topics, which other learners in the course can read and reply to.
Forum settings and requirements vary from course to course. For example,
- Some forums encourage learners to get to know each other, while others focus on discussing the topics covered in the course.
- Some forums are optional, while others require you to post a specific number of new discussion topics and/or comments to receive credit.
- Some forums are only used by instructors to post course news or announcements, and learners aren’t expected to contribute.
- Some forums include a link to a relevant webpage or resource in the description, which you should review before contributing to the discussion.
The best way to find out the rules and expectations for a specific forum is simply to read the instructions!
To open and begin a Forum activity:
- From inside the course, click the Forum name to open it.
Note: if the forum link appears “grayed out” and doesn’t respond when clicked, there are probably other activities you must complete before the forum is available for you to open. - Every forum has different requirements, so carefully read the forum details and instructions before you begin. Most Forums ask you to:
- post a new discussion topic, and/or
- post a reply to an existing discussion topic.
You can review the details of existing discussion topics, including:
- Discussion: the name of the topic
- Started by: the name of the learner who posted the topic
- Replies: the number of replies that have been posted to the topic
- Last post: the date and time of the latest post to the topic, and who posted it
Select Add a new discussion topic to begin a new topic (learn more) OR select an existing topic to view the discussion and add a reply (learn more).