{"id":61350,"date":"2012-12-11T13:37:49","date_gmt":"2012-12-11T18:37:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bu.edu\/tech\/?page_id=61350"},"modified":"2025-06-05T08:38:10","modified_gmt":"2025-06-05T12:38:10","slug":"collaboration","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/tech\/services\/teaching\/lms\/blackboard\/instructors\/coursemgmt\/collaboration\/","title":{"rendered":"Collaboration Tools (Original)"},"content":{"rendered":"

These collaboration tools provide many options for instructor and student interaction. They support real-time communication, file sharing, and collaborative editing, which enhance engagement and learning outcomes. Learn how to add other types of content with our tutorials on developing your course content<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Discussion Boards<\/h3>
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The main\u00a0<\/span>discussion board<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>page displays a list of forums. A\u00a0<\/span>forum<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>is where participants discuss a topic or a group of related topics. Within each forum, users can create multiple threads. A\u00a0<\/span>thread<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>includes the initial post and all replies to it. You can create forums and threads to organize discussions into units or topics relevant to your course.<\/p>\n

Working with Your Course’s Discussion Board<\/strong><\/p>\n

The\u00a0<\/span>Discussion Board<\/span>\u00a0<\/strong>page contains a list of all the forums you’ve created. You must first create one or more forums before users can start message threads. You can also search for discussion content. By default, the search field appears collapsed to save screen space.<\/p>\n

The discussion board is commonly accessed from the course menu, although you can provide a link to it in another course area, such as in a content area. As an instructor, on the\u00a0<\/span>Control Panel<\/span>, expand the\u00a0<\/span>Course Tools<\/span>\u00a0section and select\u00a0<\/span>Discussion Board<\/span>. From this link, access the course discussion board and the group discussion boards for the groups in your course.<\/span><\/p>\n

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  1. In section A of the graphic above, there will be an array of headings across the top of the board. To sort the list of forums based on a column, select the column heading.<\/li>\n
  2. To view the posts in a forum, select the forum title, as shown in section B. Forum titles in bold contain unread posts.<\/li>\n
  3. For each forum, view the total number of posts, the number of unread posts, the number of replies to you, and the number of participants, as shown in section C. For quick access to the forum’s unread messages, select the link in the\u00a0<\/span>Unread Posts<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>column.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

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    Creating a Forum<\/strong><\/p>\n

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    1. Access your course page, and then navigate to Control Panel<\/strong>\u00a0>\u00a0Course Tools<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0>\u00a0Discussio<\/span><\/strong><\/strong>n Board<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0>\u00a0Create Forum<\/span><\/strong><\/li>\n
    2. Select the discussion board where you want to create a forum, and the\u00a0Create Forum<\/span><\/strong> option appears.<\/li>\n
    3. Forum settings allow you to use discussions in different ways. For example, to fully control a forum, you create all threads, moderate, and grade the posts. For a student-led discussion, allow students to create new threads and posts anonymously.<\/li>\n
    4. Type a name and optional instructions or a description. On the main discussion board page, the description appears after the forum name.<\/span>\n
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      • The forum description appears when students create a thread and when they encounter a thread with the post first setting. Forum descriptions are often used as prompts and are visible where students post.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
      • In the\u00a0<\/span>Forum Availability<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0section, select\u00a0<\/span>Yes<\/span><\/strong>.<\/span>\n
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        • You can create forums ahead of time and set the availability to\u00a0<\/span>No<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>until you want the discussion to start.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
        • Select the\u00a0<\/span>Display After<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>and\u00a0<\/span>Display Until<\/span>\u00a0<\/strong>check boxes to enable the date and time selections. Display restrictions affect when the forum appears.<\/li>\n
        • Select the\u00a0<\/span>Forum Settings<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0based on your specific needs.<\/span>\n
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          • To promote originality, creativity, and a variety of responses, you can choose\u00a0<\/span>Participants must create a thread to view other threads in this forum<\/span><\/strong>, which is the post first setting. Students must respond before they can read their classmates’ posts. In\u00a0<\/span>Standard View<\/span><\/strong>, everyone can see all previously created threads in the forum.
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          • You can create a graded forum or thread and a column is created automatically in the Gr<\/strong><\/span><\/span>ade Center<\/strong>. <\/span>
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            • Select\u00a0Grade Discussion Forum<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0and type a point value to evaluate participants on performance throughout a forum.<\/span><\/li>\n
            • Select\u00a0<\/span>Grade Threads<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0to evaluate participants on performance in each thread.<\/span><\/li>\n
            • If you’re grading posts and want to retain the posts as<\/span><\/span>they were at the time of grading, clear the check box for\u00a0<\/span>Allow Author to Edit Own Published Posts<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0in the\u00a0<\/span>Create and Edit<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0settings.<\/span><\/li>\n
            • If you enable grading for the forum, select the check box for\u00a0<\/span>Show participants in needs grading status<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0and select the number of posts from the menu. Applying this setting displays the\u00a0<\/span>Needs Grading<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0icon in the Grade Center and places the posts in the queue on the\u00a0<\/span>Needs Grading<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0page after students make the specified number of posts. If you select a grading option and do not select the check box, the\u00a0<\/span>Needs Grading<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0icon doesn’t appear in the Grade Center and posts don’t appear on the\u00a0<\/span>Needs Grading<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0page.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
            • When you enable grading, you can provide a\u00a0<\/span>Due Date<\/span><\/strong>. Due dates are used to organize and assign gradable items to grading periods in the Grade Center. Graded posts made after the due date are <\/span><\/span>marked\u00a0<\/span>LATE<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0on the\u00a0<\/span>Grade Details<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0page in the Grade Center and on the\u00a0<\/span>Needs Grading<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0page.
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              • Point to\u00a0<\/span>Add Rubric<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0to open the menu and associate a rubric to use for grading.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
              • You can allow students to subscribe to this forum or threads within the forum. Students who subscribe to a forum or thread receive notifications when activity occurs.<\/span><\/li>\n
              • In the\u00a0Create and Edit\u00a0<\/strong>section, you can choose the student’s ability to create and edit within the forum.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
              • Select\u00a0<\/span>Submit<\/span><\/strong>. On the\u00a0<\/span>Discussion Board<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0page, the new forum appears at the bottom of the list.<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n


                \nViewing and Monitoring Forums<\/strong><\/p>\n