1. Blackboard Tutorial (Student)
How to Use the Discussion Board
This tutorial will show you how to post to a discussion board in Blackboard.
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2. What would you like to do?
Learn More
Practice
Start Over
Saving and Submitting Assignments
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3. Log in to Bb and access the right course
Log in to Bb and access the right course. Click Tools then Discussion Board. You’ll see all the discussion boards that have been set up. Click the one you want.
In discussion boards, separate conversations are called “threads.” Click the thread that you want. In this example, the original post is displayed on top. You can see the author of this post and when it was posted. The replies to this post can be viewed in a tree below. It shows you the number of total posts and the number of posts you have not yet read. Unread posts are bolded. This is the original post and all replies are indented. A reply to a reply is indented even further. To read a post, click the link. If you want to read more than one, select the boxes next to them then click Collect. This will put them all on one screen.
Let’s look at just the assignment post. This blue bar here let’s you know which post you’re reading in the thread. The heading gives you some general information about the posting. And here’s the post itself. To reply to it, click Reply. If you want to include the original post in your reply, click Quote. If you need to flag it for later use, click Set Flag. But in this example, we’ll reply.
This page looks similar to an message except you’ve got a few more editing tools. We’ve got some math tools here, spellcheck, attach a file, and attach an image. You can type the body of your post here. If you need to see the post to which you’re replying as you type your reply, click View Original Post. It shows up at the top. Then there’s another file attachment option below. If this is a draft and you want to go back and finish it later, click Save Draft. If you’re ready to post your reply to the discussion board, click Submit.
I saved my post rather than submitting it and as of right now, I am the only person in this class who can see the draft. If I want everyone else to see the post, I have to submit it. To do that, I click on the post then click Edit. Then click Submit. And now I can see that it’s been posted. If you need find a particular post, you can always search for it.

4. Tips for Discussion Assignments
Be considerate
Post early
Post regularly
Don’t procrastinate but engage yourself
Ask questions
Keep up with posts so you don’t get left out
Do research
When a discussion board has been assigned, make sure you start the post right away. Don’t put it off or else it’ll start to seem overwhelming.
Post regularly. Make sure you check the DB every other day. Your instructors are looking for you to engage in an ongoing conversation, not just to post and be done with it.
Instructors tell you all the time that there’s no such thing as a stupid question and there isn’t. So take this opportunity to ask.
Make sure you’re tracking down some relevant websites to share with the class or you’re sharing some real world experience that relates to the topic you’re discussing. Avoid the “IM” short cuts. Remember you’re not posting to somebody’s wall on Facebook, you’re putting together a college class dialogue which happens to be taking place online.
And finally, be considerate. Sometimes it’s real easy to post something that you wouldn’t dream of saying to somebody face to face. So if you’ve typed something up while you were angry, you might want to save it as a draft, review it later, make some edits if you need to, and then post it.
If you have a question,
others will too
Support what you say
Write in proper English
Don’t post anything online you
wouldn’t want read on
the 6:00 news

5. Practice: Posting on the Discussion Board

6. The End Pima Medical Institute Online Get started at online.pmi.edu
To continue with Lesson 4, click the Back button or Course Content.
If you need to see this tutorial again, go to the How To Tips page of the Online Student Center.
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