The Discussion Board is a tool that allows students and instructors to interact online in an asynchronous format (not in real time). Blackboard’s Discussion Board allows users to enter text, images, video, hyperlinks, and, if the instructor allows, file attachments.

Each topic area on the Discussion Board is a called a forum. This is typically where the discussion prompts are located in addition to the discussion name (ex: a Forum might be called, “Week 1 Reading Reflection”). Inside of the main forums are threads, or the individual lines of communication related to the topic.

Sometimes instructors will allow students to create their own threads (ex: “My Week 1 Reflection”) and sometimes instructors create the threads and ask students to reply (ex: “How did this week’s reading relate to your internship placement?”). Students will see different options depending on how instructors set up the forums. A few common options are:

• Using the "Create Thread" button to make an original post.
• Using the "Reply" button to respond to someone’s post. 
• Participating in a “Post First” forum, where you must create a thread before you can see others’ posts
• Using the "Subscribe" button to get email alerts when new posts have been made in the forum

Ask your instructor if you are unsure of how to use the Discussion Board for your class.