Discussions

The Discussion tool is used to communicate with classmates, group members, or your instructor on assignments and readings, and to share course related files. To access a discussion area, click the Discussions link on your Course Home navigation bar.

The main Discussions page displays a list of active discussions.

Note: Access to this area is dependent on the permissions set up for you by your organization or instructor.

Select the discussion you want to join from the list. The discussion area displays.

Unread messages appear in bold. Selected messages appear highlighted.

Adding a new message

From the discussion page for the discussion you want to post a message in:

1. Click Add Message. The Add Message box displays.
2. Type a Subject.
3. Type a discussion message in the text box.
4. Click the Browse button, select a file, and click Open to add an attachment to the message. Note: Depending on the permissions set by your organization or instructor, you may not be able to add attachments.
5. Click Submit. Your message appears in the main discussion pane.

Reading a message

To read or select an existing message, click on the message’s subject line from the main list in your discussion area. You can use the Next and Prev buttons at the top of a message to move between related messages.

Replying to a message

1. Select an existing message from the main list in your discussion area.
2. Choose whether you want the original message to appear in the reply using the drop-down menu beside the Reply button, and click Reply. The Add Message box displays with the Subject field filled in.
3. Type your response message in the text box.
4. Click the Browse button, select a file, and click Open to add an attachment to the message. Note: Depending on the permissions set by your organization, you may not be able to add attachments.
5. Click Submit. Tip: If the message text becomes too long, you can delete the message history from the bottom of the message text.

Modifying or deleting an existing message

To modify or delete an existing message, select the message in the discussion area list, and click Edit or Delete.

Note: You cannot delete postings that have replies attached to them.

Note: Depending on the permissions set by your organization, you may not be able to modify or delete postings.

Searching for a message

1. If the Search field isn’t visible, click the Search icon at the top of the discussion page.
2. Do either:
   
   1. Type your search criteria (any portion of text from the message), and click Search.
   2. Click the Advanced Search link, enter your search criteria and conditions, and click Search.

Flagging a message

“Flagging” a message allows you to mark a particular discussion message as important. You can add a flag to a new or existing posting by clicking the Flag Message button when the posting is selected.

The Flag icon displays beside the Subject text.

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

Printing a message

1. Check the postings you want to print.
2. Click the View Messages in a Printable Format icon.
3. Use your browser’s print functionality.