Managing Discussions

The Discussion Window helps you to view the discussion topic with posted messages and responses. From there, you can edit the discussion topic, post responses to the discussion, and delete messages or responses.

To view the discussion, click the Course Content button on the toolbar. In the Content Library or My Course window, navigate to the discussion topic. Click Open from the options drop-down menu.

The Discussion window has several areas: the header area, the Discussion Topic and Response window, and the taskbar.

Discussion Window Header

1. The Discussion window opens. The Discussion window header displays the name of the Discussion topic, options menu, and the total number of messages and unread messages.

2. To edit the discussion topic, click the options menu and then click Edit. For more information on Adding a Discussion topic, click here.

Discussion Topic and Response Window

1. The Discussion Response Window displays the discussion topic posted for the students. To view the complete message, click Expand; to close, click Collapse.

2. Below this is the list of messages and responses posted by the students. Each message/response has an options menu with the following links:

• Open: Click Open to open the details if the posted response. The Message window displays the author who posted the message, the date the message was posted, any attachments posted with the message [click the file name with the link to open or save the attachment], and the detailed message text.
  >To reply to the message, click the Post Response link.
  >To close the window, click the button.

• Post Response: Click Post Response to open the Reply window and post response to the message. The Reply window opens, with the original message at the bottom of the window and an area to enter a reply at the top. The Reply window displays the Subject of the message.
  >To attach files in your response, click the Browse to select the file(s) and then click the Attach button. You can attach a maximum of three files with a maximum file size of 2.5MB each.
  >Type the message in the Content Editor.
  >Click to send the response to the discussion.

• Delete: Click Delete to delete the message. When prompted, select whether to delete only the message but keep responses or to delete this message and all responses. Click OK to confirm the deletion (or Cancel to cancel the deletion).

Discussion Taskbar

The Discussion Taskbar includes tools to allow you to filter the view, post responses, and more.

Filter Discussion Views

The Display list contains the following filters for discussions:

• All Messages: Displays all the Read and Unread messages posted in the discussion. You can view All Messages as:

>Threaded: Threaded view shows messages organized by thread, so responses are visually connected to the original post. Expand All and Collapse All links are shown when you choose the view as Threaded. Click on the appropriate links to expand or collapse the posted messages and responses.

>Unthreaded: Unthreaded view shows messages and responses in order by date posted.

• Unread Messages Only: Sorts the discussion messages and displays only the Unread messages.

>Threaded: Threaded view shows messages organized by thread, so responses are visually connected to the original post. Expand All and Collapse All links are shown when you choose the view as Threaded. Click on the appropriate links to expand or collapse the posted messages and responses.

>Unthreaded: Unthreaded view shows messages and responses in order by date posted.

Post a Response

To post a response, complete the following steps:

1. Click Post Response in the Discussion taskbar.

2. The Reply window opens, with the original message at the bottom of the window and an area to enter a reply at the top. The Reply window displays the Subject of the message.

3. To attach files in your response, click the Browse to select the file(s) and then click the Attach button. You can attach a maximum of three files with a maximum file size of 2.5MB each.

4. Type the message in the Content Editor.

5. Click to send the response to the discussion.

Mark Read

To mark a response as read, complete the following steps:

1. Select the check boxes next to the messages you want to mark as read.

2. Click the Mark Read link in the Discussion taskbar.

3. The responses will be marked as Read.

Mark Unread

To mark a response as unread, complete the following steps:

1. Select the check boxes next to the messages you want to mark as unread.

2. Click the Mark Unread link in the Discussion taskbar.

3. The responses will be marked as Unread.

Delete

To delete a response, complete the following steps:

1. Select the check boxes next to the messages you want to delete.

2. Click the Delete link in the Discussion taskbar (or click Delete on the options menu of the corresponding responses).

3. Delete Confirmation window opens. Choose an option from the following:

• Delete this message but keep responses: Choose this option if you want to delete only the message and not the responses posted for the message.

• Delete this message and all responses: Choose this option if you want to delete the message and the responses posted for the messages.

4. Click OK to confirm the deletion (or Cancel to cancel the deletion).