Accessing and Participating in the Discussion Board

Question

How do I use Discussion Boards in Blackboard?

Environment

• Blackboard

Answer

To engage in discussions within your course in Blackboard, you can access the Discussion Board. The Discussion Board is organized into forums, which serve as broad topics for discussions. Within each forum, users can contribute by adding threads, which represent their replies to the forum. Threads provide a platform for sharing ideas and attachments.

Responding to a Forum or Thread

To respond to a forum, simply click on Create Thread. If you wish to reply to an existing thread, click on the thread's topic to add your response. Please note that the availability of editing and deleting posts may vary based on the instructor's settings.

1. Navigate to the desired course.
2. Access the discussion board by clicking the Discussion Board link located in the Course Menu. 
3. Select the desired discussion board by clicking on its title. 
4. To create a new thread or topic, click the Add New Thread button.
5. Enter a subject or title for your discussion post in the Subject field. Compose your message in the Message text box. If you wish to attach a file, click the Browse button and select the file.
6. Click the Submit button to post your content.

Replaying to an existing post

1. Click on the subject of the post to view its content. To contact the author via email, click the author's name next to the subject.
2. At the end of the post, click the Reply button.
3. Enter your response in the message box.
4. Click the Submit button to post your reply.

Troubleshooting Submission Issues

If you encounter difficulties when submitting to the discussion board, try the following steps:

1. Switch to a different browser.
2. Clear your browser's cookies and cache.
3. Verify that your browser is updated to the latest version.
4. Avoid copy/pasting formatted text from a website or Word document into the text box. 
5. Contact your instructor for assistance with course-related issues.