Blackboard's Discussion Board section is used for asynchronous, (not at the same time), communication between the instructor and the students. Discussions can be broken down by topics with a different discussion forum for each topic. (For example, an instructor can create a “Chapter 1” discussion forum that will include questions from just that chapter.) Messages submitted to a discussion forum can be viewed by everyone in that Bb course. All of the discussion forums are located in the Discussion Board section of the Communications area in a Bb course. Links to the individual discussion forums can also be placed in other areas of the course.

Access the Discussion Board

1. Access your Blackboard course.

2. Click "Communication" from the course menu on the left. Then, click "Discussion Board". (If your course does not have a "Communication" section, access the area where your instructor has said the discussion forums are located.)

4. You are now viewing the discussion forum.

By default, messages will be grouped by threads, (messages that are related to each other. This makes it easier to follow a conversation. You will be able to see the name of each new thread, the author's name, the time the message was posted, the number of messages on the thread, and the number of messages you haven't yet read. To view all of the messages in a thread, click its link.

The "Thread Detail" page will be displayed. The first section on the page shows all of the messages on this thread. A new message, (one that you haven't yet read), will be displayed in a bold font. The title of the message, the author's name, and the time the message was posted are listed. An image of a paperclip means the message includes an attachment. Click the link for a message to view it in the second section on the page.

1. On the "Thread Detail" page shown above, select the message to which you will respond so that it is displayed in the second section. Click one of the "Reply" buttons in the second section.

2. If you are replying to someone else's message, the "Subject" textbox will list the subject of the message to which you are responding. You should keep the subject the same. If you are starting a new thread, you will need to enter a title for your message in the "Subject" textbox.

3. Enter you message in the "Message" textbox. You may use the formatting and spell-check tools as needed.

4. When you have finished composing and proofreading your message, click the "Submit" button in the lower right corner of the page to submit your message to the discussion forum. Do not click the "Save" button. If you click "Save", you will still be able to access the message, but the instructor will not be able to view it and you will not receive credit for posting to the forum.  

5. Your message has been posted to the discussion board and everyone in your class can now see it. Check your message to make sure it appears correctly

Note: If you see the word "Draft" beside your message, it means that you clicked the "Save" button instead of "Submit". You will need to return to your message, click the "Modify" button to edit it, and then click the "Submit" button at the bottom of the page.