How to View and Reply to Discussion Board Threads

The instructions below will provide details on how to reply to a thread and different viewing options to assist with thread management. 

• How to Reply to a Thread
• Thread Detail Page
• How to View Discussion Board Threads

Step-by-Step Guide

How to Reply to a Thread

Instructors can reply to students' posts or even there own posts.

1. Click the Forum which contains the thread to which you want to reply.
   
    
2. From the forum, click Open. 
   
    
3. Click Reply.
   
    
4. In the Subject box, leave the default subject.
5. In the Message area, type your reply message.
6. If you wish, attach a file or document.
7. When you are finished, click Submit.
    

Thread Detail Page

• All posts on one page - all of the posts in a thread are now visible at the same time on one page. (With the ability to hide replies if it's overwhelming or confusing.)
• Role highlighting - posts made by forum managers and moderators now contain the user’s course role and forum role.
• Inline replies - when replying to a post, the content editor used to write a response appears on the same page, in the context of the discussion.
• Post First Setting - instructors can use a new forum setting to require students to post to a forum before they can see other students’ posts.
   

How to View Discussion Board Threads

To mark threads as read/unread

1. Select a thread by clicking the check box next to it.
2. Point to Thread Actions, and then click Mark as Read or Mark as Unread. 
   

To lock threads

You can “lock” discussion threads in Blackboard so that new posts are disabled, yet students can read all existing posts.

1. Select a thread by clicking the check box next to it.
2. Point to Thread Actions, and then click Lock.
   Please Note:  If a thread is locked, you will not be able to tell until you click the thread and see a lack of Reply buttons.

To view multiple posts at a time

1. Select threads by clicking the check boxes next to the threads.
2. Click Collect. 
   
   The threads will open together on a separate page. You can organize thread by date of post, author, subject, and order of thread.
    

To change paging of a forum

1. On a forum, click Edit Paging.
   
    
2. In the Items Per Page box, type the number of items you wish to view per page, and then click Go.
   
    

To change the display of the forum

1. On a forum, point to Display. 
   
    
2. There are six choices:
   • Show All
   • Published Only
   • Hidden Only
   • Locked Only
   • Unavailable Only
   • Drafts Only
3. To change the display, select from one of the choices. You will see the changes reflect immediately.

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