What is a forum and how do I participate?

Hints and tips on how to participate in the classroom discussion forums

1. What is a forum?

A forum, also known as a discussion board, is where students and instructors/faculty may have extended conversations, question and answer sessions, case study discussions and so on. Forum messages may be graded or ungraded activities.

A common forum is the Welcome forum. You are invited to try the sample discussion forum located on this page.

How do I participate in a forum?

Forums can be accessed from the:

  • Activities block

  •  main content page

Go ahead.....try the Welcome Everyone! forum on the main page.


How they work:

Clicking on the forum name (from the main page of the course) displays the instructions or information about the purpose of this forum.

To add a Forum Post:

  • Click on "Add a new discussion topic".  This starts a new thread.
  • Enter: Subject Line.  This is important as it gives readers information about what this thread is about.
  • Enter: Message
  • Attachments can be added to the forum post.
  • Post to forum
  • There is a 15 minutes grace period for you to either edit or delete your posting before others see it.