How to Create Group Discussion Boards

1. Setting Up Group Discussion Boards

• Select Users and Groups

• Click Groups

• Select Create and then underneath Group Set: choose Manual Enroll

• Give it a name. The name will be automatically followed by numerical numbers.

• Un-check all boxes EXCEPT for Discussion Board.

• Enter in the # of Groups you will have for the class.

• Check ON, "Create smart view for each group in set."

• Click Submit

2. Adding Group Discussion Tool to the Course Menu

• Click the + symbol in the upper left corner.

• Select Tool Link

• Give it a name such as "Group Discussion"

• Change type to Groups

• Make it available to users and click Submit

3. Enrolling Students into their Discussion Groups

• Go to Users and Groups

• Groups

• Hover over any of the Discussion Groups and click the arrowed chevron

• Select Edit Group

• Scroll all the way down, and click Add Users, directly underneath "MEMBERSHIP"

• Select the users you want to add, click Submit

• Then click Submit a SECOND time.

• Repeat steps for all discussion boards / groups.

4. Settings for Group Discussion Boards (Question Prompt, Grades, and More)

• Go to Users and Groups

• Groups

• Click inside one of the Discussion Boards

• Select Group Discussion Board

• Hover over the Forum labeled Discussion Board # and click the arrowed chevron

• Select Edit

• Paste the question or prompt you want students to respond to inside the Description box. 

• Change the "Viewing Threads/Replies" setting to "Participants must create a thread in order to view other threads in this forum."

• Change the "Grade" setting to "Grade Discussion Forum: Points possible" , to 10 for example.

• Change the "Subscribe" setting to "Allow members to subscribe to threads." (Optional)

• Repeat steps for all discussion boards / groups.