Discussion Forum Overview for Students

To help you get started, here are answers to some frequently asked questions about using the discussion forum.

What is a discussion forum?

The discussion forum is a database that stores, sorts, organizes, and manages messages submitted by students and their instructor as contributions to ongoing class discussions. The forum allows participants to read, create, and respond to messages in a way that "threads" the messages and responses together. We call this interweaving of messages and responses a thread. It is displayed in a threadmap.

What do I need to get started?

Your instructor will provide you with the URL (Web address) for the discussion forum and a password. Your username and password for the forum will probably be different from other usernames and passwords you use (such as for email). Your username is always: firstname lastname. Your password will be assigned by your instructor.

To login to the database:

  1. Go to the discussion forum URL in your Web browser.
  2. Type in your username and password when you see the login box.
  3. Click OK.

Note: To use the forum, you must have a computer capable of running Netscape 3.02 (or better) or Internet Explorer 4.0 (or better). You must also have a connection to the Internet. A minimum of a 28.8 modem connection is recommended.

How does the discussion forum work?

The forum allows you to read, create, and respond to messages from your classmates and instructor in a Common Area. You may also be assigned to teams where you can take part in private discussions with your teammates in a Team Area. The Common Area and Team Area work exactly alike, except that while messages in the Common Area are seen by the entire class, messages in the Team Area are seen only by members of each specific team. Your instructor sees all of the messages in both areas.

How do I navigate the forum?

On the left-hand side of the front page of the forum is a list of ways in which you can view sorted messages: By Thread (topic), By Date, By Author, etc. There may be a button entitled Go to Team Area (or Go to Common Area, if you are on the front page of a Team Area). Clicking on any item will take you to the view or area of your choice.

What are those blue triangles all about?

A blue triangle, or twisty, next to a message indicates that there have been responses to that message. Clicking on the twisty reveals a list of the responses. To hide the responses, simply click the twisty again. (Use Expand and Collapse to open or close all threads at once.)

How do I join the discussion?

There are two ways to participate. One is by introducing a new thread or topic. The other is by responding to a thread that someone else has started.

To introduce a new topic…

Click on the Create: Thread link in the top left corner of the page. You will be presented with a form to complete as follows:

  1. Enter a topic for the message in the text box.
  2. Select a category from the drop down menu (if it is present; it may not be used in your forum).
  3. Click in the text box and type your message. (The text box scrolls, so feel free to write as much as you would like.)
  4. If your message is still a draft or if you want to make it available only to the instructor, select the appropriate radio button above the "Topic." (To make a draft public, edit the thread and uncheck the radio button.)
  5. Click on the Submit this Form button to submit your message.
  6. In the following screen, choose the link for the view to which you’d like to return.

To respond to someone else’s message…

Click on Response in the Create: Thread | Response item at the top left corner of the page and fill out the form (similar to the new thread form described above).

Note: The Response link is only available when you are reading someone else’s message.

What if I don’t like my entry after I’ve submitted it?

You can edit a message, or even delete it, within thirty minutes of submitting it to the forum.

To edit a thread or response…

  1. Click on Edit in the left side of the footer.
  2. Make changes to the text.
  3. Click the Submit this Form button to submit the edited message.

To delete a thread or response…

  1. Click on Delete in the left side of the footer.
  2. Click OK to confirm that you want to delete the message.

Can I place a link to another URL in a forum entry?

You can place a link to another URL in any entry in the discussion forum by typing in the URL (Web address) of the desired web page, as long as your URL begins with http:// and this address is preceded and followed by text, a space, a period, or a carriage return. Then, the address will show up as the link in your text field.

If the above method doesn't work for you (for instance, your URL does not begin with http://) or you want a descriptive label (such as COLLEGIS Research Institute) to appear as your link instead of the address, then you must enter the HTML code for a link. This is called an anchor, and the code is as follows:

<a href="your URL goes here">Your descriptive label goes here</a>

<a href=""> and </a> are the opening and closing HTML tags that make the descriptive label a link. The URL is placed between the quotation marks.

For example:
<a href="http://www.COLLEGIS.org">Collegis Research Institute</a>

will be rendered:
Collegis Research Institute

How do I access an attached file?

Browsers differ in how they handle access to attached files.

If you are using Internet Explorer…

In addition to the four file types supported by all browsers (.txt, .html, .gif, .jpg), Internet Explorer will automatically open Microsoft Word (.doc), Excel (.xls), and PowerPoint (.ppt) files right in your browser. If you wish to print or save, click on File and then Save As or Print.

If you are using Netscape…

When you click on an attached file in your Netscape browser, it will offer you the option of opening the file or saving it to disk. (It will not automatically open Microsoft files the way Internet Explorer does.) You can also click on File and then Print. To get Netscape to open Microsoft word (.doc), Excel (.xls), Powerpoint (.ppt) or any other than the four automatically supported file types, you must set a mime type for them.

To accomplish this:

Click on Edit, Preferences, and Applications (in the left window in the dialog box under navigator). Click on New Type. Fill out the additional dialog box that pops up as follows:

Enter:

Click on OK. If you wish to enter a second mime type, click on New Type and begin the process again. When you are done, click on OK in the first dialog box.

How do I hand in an assignment?

Click on Assignments on the left side and then on the relevant assignment. At the top of the page, click the Turn in Assignment Here link. You may either enter your assignment in the text field (good for short answers) or write your instructor a note in the text field and attach (upload) a file containing your assignment.

To upload a file and attach it:

    1. Click on Browse.
    2. Locate and select the desired file (from your hard drive or network) in the popped-up window.
    3. Click Open in the window (the file name will then appear in the text box next to Browse).
    4. Click Attach Now.
    5. Click Save this form.

You can edit your assignment for 15 minutes after you hand it in. Once your instructor has graded your assignment, it will be available to you again to review. There may be a grade and/or a field with comments. (Only you and your instructor will be able to see your assignment in the forum.)

Note: Assignments in a Team Area work exactly the same way, except that the assignment and the grade are available to all team members.

Where can I get help and learn more about the discussion forum’s features?

Clicking on the Help button on the lower right-hand side of each page will take you directly to the online help feature.

Is there anything else I need to know to get started?

Before you begin using the course database, you will need to set your browser to check with the server each time you enter a page. Your browser caches a certain number of pages and holds them for a certain length of time (for Internet Explorer, it is twenty days), so unless you click Refresh or Reload each time you return to a page, you will not see any new information unless you have set your browser to update the page automatically. To accomplish this:

In Internet Explorer: Select View, Internet Options, and General. Click on the Settings button. Under Check for newer versions of stored pages, click on Every visit to the page.

Netscape handles this in one of two ways. In earlier versions (3.x), select Options, Network Preferences, and Cache. Under Document in cache is compared to document on network, select Every Time. In later Netscape versions (4.0x), select Edit, Preferences, and Advanced. Double click on Advanced to reveal the subcategory Cache. In the window to the right under Document in cache is compared to document on network, select Every Time.