A discussion forum in Moodle is a tool that can be used for student interaction. Users in the course can come together in a forum to share ideas or ask questions in real time. Forums can be used to post announcements from the instructor, hold classroom discussions, host student group meetings, receive feedback from students, or host a Q&A.
Access the Forum Tool
- Log in with your NetID and password at moodle.rutgers.edu
- Go to the course you want to edit.
- Once in the course, turn editing on
- Then, scroll down to the lesson or week to which you want to add the discussion forum and click on “+ Add activity or resource”
- Choose “Forum” from the list of activities
General
- Input forum name
- The description is optional.
- If you want the description to be displayed on the course page then check the box next to “Display description on course”
- Then choose the forum type.
- A single simple discussion: One topic everyone can reply to.
- Each person posts on discussion: Every student can post exactly one new thread to a forum.
- Q and A Forum: Students have to post first before seeing other posts.
- Standard forum displayed in a blog-like format: An open forum where anyone can post a new topic that is displayed on the same page.
- Standard forum for general use: An open forum where anyone can post a new topic.
Attachments and Word Count
- Make sure the maximum attachment size is set to the maximum upload limit, 100 MB
- Then, leave the maximum # of attachments as the default
- Display word count: This is optional, but if you want to show the word count of each post then change this to “yes”
Subscription and Tracking
- Subscription Mode: Allows participants in the forum to receive notifications. There are four options for this:
- Optional subscription: The default setting where students can choose to receive emails about new posts in the forum.
- Forced Subscription: Everyone receives emails about new posts in the forum and cannot opt out.
- Auto Subscription: Everyone receives emails about new posts to the forum initially, but they can opt out at any time.
- Subscription disabled: No one receives emails about new posts and they cannot opt in.
- Read tracking: An optional setting where you can see which posts have been read.
RSS
RSS feed for this activity is set to “None.” For this, if you want to set up a feed to follow the posts in this forum then you can choose between following the discussions or posts added.
Discussion Locking
Lock discussions after period of inactivity: After a determined period of time after the last post, a forum can be locked so that students cannot make any new posts.
Post Threshold for Blocking
- Students can be blocked from posting more than a given number of times in a given period.
- Time period for blocking, choose:
- Do Not Block
- Select the numbers of days between each post (1-6)
- 1 week
- Post threshold for blocking
- Post threshold warning
- Sends students a warning as they approach the maximum number of posts
Turnitin Settings
- Using this service is entirely up to you, but it is a third-party service that scans students’ posts for possible plagiarism, though it is best to use it for midterms or finals.
- Just go down the list and answer each question based on the best fit for your forum.
Grade
- Grade Category: For forums to be graded you need to create a category in your grade book first. Then you can choose that category in this section.
- Grade to Pass: Input the grade needed for students to pass.
Ratings
- Roles with Permission to rate: You can allow students to rate each other’s work if you want, otherwise, leave it at the default settings.
- Aggregate Type: How the ratings will be combined to make up the final grade. Choose from the options in the drop-down menu.
- No Ratings
- Average of Ratings
- Count of Ratings
- Maximum Rating
- Minimum Rating
- Sum of Ratings
- Scale: Choose whether to have the grade as a scale or point system. If you choose Points, then input the maximum points in the Maximum Grade box.
- If you want to restrict the rating period to certain dates, then check the box and enter the dates using the data boxes or the calendar icons.
Common module settings
Visible – make sure it is set to show. That way students can see the forum.
Group mode – you will use this feather if you have already created groups.
Restrict access and Activity completion – allows you to release the assignment to students using a set of conditions. This is not necessary if you have an open and close date set. Activity completion gives you choices on how the assignment will be marked complete on the course page.