The discussion page lists all discussion topics for a class. From this page the user has a quick overview of all the discussions that are ongoing or previously active in the class.
In this guide:
- Discussion page overview
- Accessing class discussion boards
- Discussion board view types
- Posting a discussion topic
- Responding to previous replies
- Viewing replies by users
- Sorting replies
- Deleting or editing responses
- Moderating discussions
Discussion page overview
Status: Displays if a topic is active or inactive. Active discussions still allow student posting. Inactive topics do not allow any posting to be made unless the instructor reactivates the topic.
Replies: Shows the total number of replies to a topic.
New: Shows how many replies, if any, have been posted since the student user last viewed the discussion topic
Pending: If the class instructor has selected a moderator for a topic, the pending column shows how many replies need to be moderated.
Last reply: Shows when the last reply was posted in a topic.
Moderator: Displays the moderator for the topic, if any. If no moderator has been selected, none is displayed in this column.
The drop-down menu on the discussion page lets the user choose to view all topics, active topics, pending topics, or inactive topics. By default the view is set to all topics.
Accessing class discussion boards
Discussion boards give students the chance to participate in peer discussions using the online discussion board feature in Turnitin. The class discussion board allows students to suggest topics for approval by the instructor, reply to topics posted by the instructor, and reply to the posts made by other students in a moderated discussion environment.
The class discussion board is available from the class portfolio discussion tab. The class instructor or account administrator for the institution may disable this feature or the feature may not be in use. If the discussion tab is not available it has been disabled.
If the discussion board is available, access the class discussion board by clicking on the discussion tab.
Discussion board view types
The discussion boards feature two main viewing styles - a flat view and a threaded view. These views use one basic structure but differ in other ways.
Flat view
The default discussion board view is the flat view. This view shows responses flat in thread order, like the example above.
With the flat view, users can view responses with or without threads. By default, the thread is shown.
For example, the following is posted:
I agree with this topic
and the student user replies with:
Why do you agree with this topic?
The posting order will show up as:
I agree with this topic.
Why do you agree with this topic?
The flat view with nested threads is the default viewing method. To view only responses and see no referenced thread, use the show replies as pull down menu to select flat view with no thread on the discussion page.
Threaded view
The second primary view type is the threaded view. To use the threaded view, use the show replies as pull down menu and select threaded view.
When viewing a discussion using the threaded view, only the top response of each thread is shown. For example, if the discussion has this structure:
Topic
1. First response to topic
1.1 Response to reply 1
2. Second response to topic
2.1 First response to 2
2.2 Second response to 2
The threaded view will appear as:
Topic
1. First response to topic
2. Second response to topic
Additional replies will be accessible by clicking on the replies link for the selected response. The user can drill further down, opening additional layers of the thread, by following the reply links.
To go back up a level, the user can click on the thread title. This will return the view to the level that was selected.
Posting a discussion topic
The instructor may not allow student posting of discussion topics. Discussion topics only become active if the instructor approves these topics. If there is no link to post a new topic the instructor has disabled the ability of students to post topics.
The discussion topic must be approved by the instructor before it can be viewed by students in the course.
- From the discussion board page select the Post a New Topic button.
- Enter the topic information:
- topic title (required)
- topic description (optional)
- Select Submit to add the new topic to the list of pending topics to the discussion board.
The topic must be approved by the instructor before users are able to post replies to the new topic.
Posting a reply
To access a discussion and view the responses in the discussion, click the title of the topic listed on the discussion board page. This will bring the user into the detailed view of the topic. The topic is listed at the top of the page, and any responses are listed beneath the topic.
- From the discussion board page select the name or title of the topic that you'd like to reply to.
- Select the Reply to topic button next to the discussion topic.
- Enter the response in the reply box provided. By default only the latest reply is shown. To display the entire thread, use the pulldown menu at the top of the form and select entire thread.
- Once the reply is entered, select the Submit Reply to Topic button to add the reply to the discussion. If the topic is moderated, the reply will only be posted after moderator approval.
Responses that will take more than a few minutes to type should be written in a word processor software and then copy and pasted into the reply box for the discussion board. This prevents loss of internet connection causing a lost reply to the discussion board, especially in the event of complex replies.
No images or formatting is accepted by the reply box - only text will be entered into a discussion board reply thread.
Responding to previous replies
Student users may also respond to the replies left by other classmates. This encourages discussion and can help students to polish opinions and ideas with the assistance of their peers.
- To respond to a reply rather than to the discussion topic, use the reply link below the specific reply instead of the reply to topic link.
Viewing replies by users
Replies can be sorted by user via use of the Show replies from drop-down menu.
- To view only responses from a specific student user, select the name of the student from the pull down menu. Student users can also view only their own responses by selecting their own name from the menu.
Sorting replies
Replies on a discussion board can be sorted by status, author, reply number, date posted, and number of replies.
Select the column header for the sorting method.
- Selecting the column header author will alphabetize the reply list from A-Z. Selecting the column header again will organize the list from Z-A.
Deleting or editing responses
A response may be edited or deleted by the user who created the response. This is done by selecting the edit or delete links to the right of the response.
If a reply has been added to a post, it cannot be deleted or edited by the user. Only the moderator or instructor will be able to modify or delete the response.
Moderating discussions
An instructor may select to appoint a moderator for a discussion, or may moderate the discussion themselves. The role of the moderator is to approve any and all replies made on a discussion board.
Typically, this approval is used to ensure that only acceptable content is posted, that the discussion stays on topic, and that no inappropriate language is used.
If the instructor sets a student user as the discussion moderator, an e-mail is sent to notify the student of this assignment. As moderator, the student user is responsible for approving pending replies. An indicator of the number of pending replies in each discussion topic that the user is moderating is visible from the discussion board main page. If a discussion topic has pending replies, these can be viewed by clicking the discussion topic title. Pending replies will be listed at the top of the discussion.
- To edit a reply before approving it, select the edit button below the pending reply. Replies can also be edited after being approved.
- Edit the reply for content if necessary.
- To approve a reply, select the approve button below the pending reply. The pending reply will be shown.
- Use the approve? pull down menu at the top and select yes to approve and post the reply, or select no to reject the reply. A reply can also be edited at this time before approving.
- After selecting from the drop-down down menu, select the submit reply to topic button to approve the reply or delete it.
- If the reply was approved, it will be posted to the discussion. If the reply was rejected, the moderator is prompted to delete the reply or save it for later.
- The moderator can also delete a reply or a pending reply by selecting the delete button below the reply.
- A prompt will appear. To delete the reply, select OK.
If a reply is deleted that has replies that have been made to it, all replies made to the deleted reply will also be deleted.
Once the reply has been approved it will be assigned a number and added into the discussion thread.