Discussions

The Discussion Tool is a course-specific on-line message board that is available to students through WebCT.

Discussion tool Rapid Help

To access the Discussion tool:

1. Login to WebCT and access your course homepage.
2. Under "Course Communication Methods", click on "Discussions".
3. Click on the discussion topic you would like to access.

To compose and post a message:

1. Starting in the discussion area, click on "Compose message."
2. Select the discussion topic for your message.
3. Enter a brief introduction to your message in the "Subject" field.
4. Enter your message in the "Message" field.
5. Preview your message by clicking "Preview" (optional).
6. When you are satisfied with your message, click "Post".

For more detailed instructions with images, click here.

To cancel a message:
A message can be cancelled at any time before it is posted by clicking on "Cancel".

Extended Help: Becoming familiar with the Discussion tool

Figure 1: Accessing the Discussion tool

Once you have logged on to WebCT and entered your course homepage, you can access the Discussion Tool area by clicking "Discussions" under "Course Communication Methods".

The next screen that appears will look something like this:

Figure 2: the Discussion Tool menu

At the top of the page in the orange heading, you will see the number and title of the course that you have accessed (Fig. 2-1). Directly below the orange heading, you will see the words "Homepage > Discussion" (Fig. 2-2). This indicates your current location in the course; if you would like to return to the course homepage, click on "Homepage". In the blue and white menu you will see the list of topics that are available for discussion (Fig. 2-3). To select a topic for discussion, click on its title. To the right of the list of topics is a list of how many messages are on a particular topic of discussion (Fig. 2-4); they are broken into two categories: Unread (only the messages that you have not yet read) and Total (all messages that have been posted on that topic).

If you would like to post a message on the Discussion tool, click on the "Compose Message" button, a new window will pop up:

Figure 3: Post a new Discussion message

To choose which topic of discussion you would like to contribute to, click on the "Topic" drop-down menu and select a topic. Enter a brief introduction to your message in the "Subject" area (just a word or a brief phrase to describe your message is sufficient), then type or copy and paste your message into the "Message" field (Fig. 3-1). If you need to make an attachment to your message, place the cursor in the "Attachments" area, then click on the "Browse" button to search for your attachment file. When you have selected the appropriate file, click on "Attach File" (Fig. 3-2).

If you would like to view your message before posting it, click on "Preview". If you are satisfied with your message, click "Post". To cancel your message at any time before posting it, click "Cancel" (Fig. 3-3).

Figure 4: Viewing Discussion postings

To view the messages on a particular discussion topic, click on its title. The screen that appears should look something like this:

The discussion postings are organized according to threads- this means that all of the discussion postings on one subject are grouped together (Fig. 4-1). To view an entire thread, click on the magnifying glass icon beside the discussion subject title. A new window will pop up with a display of all of the discussion postings on that subject. To view individual messages on a subject, click on the green arrow to the right of the subject title. This will open the thread and allow you to open individual discussion postings (Fig. 4-3).