Brightspace/Classes: Creating Discussion Forums & Topics

Introduction

This article details how instructors can create a discussion forums and topics in the Brightspace/CLASSES Discussions area.

The Discussions tool is set up with Forums, Topics, and Threads.

• Discussion Forum – This is a heading or category that discussion topics will live inside. Students can’t do anything in an empty forum. It must have topics inside of it for discussion to take place.
• Discussion Topic – The topic is where you state what is to be discussed. Students will then reply by starting a thread. You must designate what forum your topic is to reside in.
• Discussion Thread – When a student posts their response to a topic, it will start a thread. This allows the instructor and other students to react to what they have said

Instructions

The first step is to create a Forum.

1. Click on Activities and Discussions in the blue navbar.
   
2. On the Discussions List page, click the New button and select New Forum from the drop-down menu.
   
3. Enter the Forum name in the Title field.
4. Enter instructions or other text in the Description box.  If you will intend to include instructions at the Topic level, you may leave this blank.
   
5. Directly under the Description box, you will see four check boxes to select one or more Options:
   
   Options can be set at the Forum or Topic level.  Any settings applied at the Forum level will apply to all Topics contained in a Forum.
   • Allow students to post anonymous messages.
   • Require students to start a thread before they can read or reply to other threads in that topic.
   • Choose whether an instructor must approve all messages before they are posted.
   • Display the Forum description in all Topics contained in that Forum (not commonly used).
6. You have completed the necessary steps for creating a Forum.  If you want to control when students will be able to see or post to a Forum, select the Restrictions tab. Instructions for restricting availability are included in the help section: Adjusting Availability and Locking Options.  Availability and Locking Options set at the Forum level also apply to all Topics nested in that Forum.
7. Remember to choose one of the Save options at the bottom of the page.

Now that you have a forum, which acts like a "folder" for discussions, you can proceed to create a Topic.

Instructions

1. Go into your Classes course, and in the blue navigation bar, click on Activities and select Discussions
2. On the Discussions page, click the chevron button next to the forum and select Add Topic from the drop-down menu
   
3. Enter the Topic name in the Title field
   • If you accidentally placed the topic under the wrong forum, you can click the Change Forum button to make a correction.
     
4. Enter instructions or prompts in the Description box.
    
5. Click and expand the Availability Dates & Conditions section
   
6. Add a Start Date and End Date as applicable
   
    
7. Add Release Conditions as applicable
   
8. Add Group and Section Restrictions as applicable
   
9. Click and expand the Post & Completion section
   
10. Choose whether:
    • Learners can hide their names from other learners
    • If learners must start a thread before viewing or replying to other learners
    • Their posts must be approved before they are displayed in the topic
       
11. Click and expand the Evaluation & Feedback section
    
12. Add Rubrics as applicable
    
13. Add Learning Objectives as applicable
    
14. Choose evaluation options:
    • Allow evaluation of individual posts
    • Allow learners to rate posts
       
15. Select whether the topic should be visible to learners and click Save and Close