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Student Help: Discussions Tool

The Discussion Board allows students and instructors to post messages and questions that may be read by everyone in the class or restricted to a specified group of people. Instructors may use this tool in a variety of ways, such as disseminating general information, collecting homework assignments or essay drafts, or facilitating discussion on group projects. You can use this tool to communicate with other students in your class.

1. How do I read the messages?
2. How do I respond to a posted message?
3. How do I add a new message?
4. Why don't I see the message I or somebody else just posted?
5. How do I get the messages displayed chronologically instead of by subject?

1. How do I read the messages?

1. Click on the Discussion Board icon.
   
   
   
   
2. A table showing the topics under discussion will appear. Click on the title of the topic you're interested in to see the messages under that topic.
   
   
   
   
3. NOTE: The default setting shows only the messages you haven't read yet for each topic. To see all messages, click on the button Display: All near the top of the screen.
   
   
   
   
4. Click on the magnifying glass next to the thread that you wish to read (a "thread" is the entire group of messages on a given subject). The will open a smaller window showing all of the messages in that thread, starting with the original post.
   
   
   
   
5. To only view individual messages in a thread, click on the green arrow next to the subject. This will expand the thread and show you every message it contains. Then click on the subject line of the individual message you wish to read. The message will open in a smaller new window.
   
   

NOTE: If nothing happens when you click on a message, you may have software that disables pop-up windows on your computer. Pop-up blockers will prevent discussion messages from opening since these messages open in new windows. Please see Browser Settings for further instructions on configuring your web browser and enabling pop-up windows in WebCT.

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2. How do I respond to a posted message?

1. In the smaller window displaying the message you just read, click on the REPLY button to respond without including any text from the original message.
   
   
2. If you want to include the original message (or portions thereof) in your response, click on the QUOTE button instead.
   
   
3. In both cases, type your response in the Message box in the new window.
   
   
4. To see how your response will look onscreen, and to check for any typos, click on the PREVIEW button. Close the preview. If you are satisfied, click on the POST button of the reply window. To make changes before posting, click on the EDIT button. If you don't want to post your response after all, click on CANCEL .
   
   
5. NOTE: Once a message has been posted, only the instructor is able to delete it. Even the instructor, however, cannot edit a message once it is posted.

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3. How do I add a new message?

1. Click on the Compose Message button near the top of the message listing.
   
   
   
   
2. If there is more than one discussion topic available, you can choose the one you wish from the pulldown menu next to Topic (e.g., in cases when each TA in a class has a separate Topic group). Most often, you will post on "Main."
   
   
3. Enter the subject of your message next to Subject.
   
   
4. Type your message in the large box next to Message.
   
   
5. To see how your message will look onscreen, and to check for any typos, click on the PREVIEW button. Close the preview. If you are satisfied, click on the POST button of the compose window. To make changes before posting, click on the EDIT button. If you don't want to post your message after all, click on CANCEL.
   
   
6. NOTE: Once a message has been posted, only the instructor is able to delete it. Even the instructor, however, cannot edit a message once it is posted.

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4. Why don't I see the message I or somebody else just posted?

To see messages posted since you opened the Discussion Board (or since the last time you did this), click on the Update listing button.

NOTE: During an ongoing session, you will have to do this periodically to see the new messages appear.

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5. How do I get the messages displayed chronologically instead of by subject?

Click on the word Unthreaded above the list of messages. This will cause the messages to appear in the order they were posted, rather than grouped by subject. Click Threaded to switch back to threaded view.

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