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Discussions Home

Desire2Learn, MNSU

The Discussion area is where you can read and post messages for discussion on the course. As an instructor you may create new discussion rooms, set group permission and view statistics.

Some of the major features of discussion tool are as follows:

• Forums and Topics List
• New Forum
• New Topic
• Copy
• Re-Order
• Delete

You may set the discussion room preferences from My Preferences located on the My Home or Course Home page. (See Tutorial.) To access the Discussion tool click Discussion located on the navigation bar, on the Course Home page. You are brought to the Discussion page, you should see the discussion tools shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1

Modify Forums and Topics:

To create a discussion forum click the Modify Forums & Topics button on the Discussion page. See Figure 1.

Add Forum

A Forum is similar to classroom. You are be able to discuss on a topic after you have entered the Forum. If you are already viewing the Discussion page skip to step 3.

1. Click Discussion link located on the Course Home page.
2. Click Modify Forums and Topics button.
3. Click Add Forum button.
4. Type the title in Forum Title field.
5. Type a description of the forum in the Description field.
6. Click Save button.

Add Topic

Before adding a discussion topic you need to create a discussion forum, if you haven't already done so. To add a forum follow the directions from the Add Forum section of this tutorial.

1. Click the Discussion link located on the Course Home page.
2. Click the Modify Forums and Topics button.
3. Click the Add Topic button beside the forum name. See Figure 3. You are brought to the Add Topic screen shown in Figure 4.
4. Type the title in the Topic Title Field.
5. Type a description of the topic in the Description field.
6. Click the Save button.

Rearranging Forums and topics

Once you have created a number of forums and topics, you can rearrange their order. Begin by navigating to the Re-Order Screen if you are not already viewing it. To do this click the Discussion link in the NavBar, then click the Re-Order button.

1. Once you are viewing the Re-Order screen you will see numbers on the sides of forums or topics on the Discussion screen. See Figure 5.
2. Change the order by numbering the topics and forums in the order you want then to appear.
3. Click the Submit button.

You will notice that the forums or topics have been rearranged in the order you chose.

Delete Forums and Topics

1. Click Discussion link located on the course navigation bar.
2. Click Delete button.
3. Check the box beside the forums or topics that you wish to delete.
4. Click the Delete button.

Deleting a forum will automatically delete topics in that forum.

View Statistics

You may view the statistics about the how many times each participant has posted and read messages. You may view the individual student's statistics by clicking on their name.

1. Click the Discussion link on the Course Home page.
2. Click the Statistics button. It will show you how many times each participant has posted and read messages.
3. Use the View Statistics for drop down menu to view statistics based on Users, Forums or Threads.
4. Use the Display Statistics As drop down menu to select how statistics are displayed. You can view statistics in a table, graph, or both.

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Desire2Learn Support Contact Information

Phone: (507) 389-3295      |       Email: desire2learn@mnsu.edu