Posting and Replying to a Forum

Also see our help guides on Forum Subscription and Tracking and Email Replies to Forums.

Posting to a Forum

1. Locate the Forum in your course and click on the Forum name.

 

2. For most forums, the Forum description (if used by your instructor) will be displayed at the top, then the “Add a new discussion topic" button, and finally a table of the discussion threads in the forum. The table includes the subject/title of the discussion, who started the discussion, the number of replies to each discussion, how many you have not yet read, and who posted last to that discussion.

 

3. To create a new post, click Add a new discussion topic. Note: If you do not see “Add a new discussion topic” your instructor is likely using a Q&A Forum. Skip to the next section on Replying to Posts.
4. Enter the Subject of your post. Then, enter your content in the Message See our help guide on Using the Text Editor Toolbar to assist in formatting text and adding any images, links, tables, etc.

 

5. Click Advanced to view more options. Check the box for Discussion subscription if you wish to receive email notifications when others post reply to your discussion. 
6. If you need to attach any files, drag and drop the file into the box provided, or click the green plus sign to open the File picker popup window where you will browse for and upload your file.

 

7. Once finished, select Post to forum. Once posted, you will have a 15 minute window to edit your post, if needed.

 

8. Your post will now appear in the table with the others on the main page of the forum. 

Reading and Replying to Posts

1. Locate the Forum in your course and click on the Forum name.

 

2. For most forums, the Forum description (if used by your instructor) will be displayed at the top, then the “Add a new discussion topic button,” and finally a table of the discussion threads in the forum. The table includes the subject/title of the discussion, who started the discussion, the number of replies to each discussion, how many you have not yet read, and who posted last to that discussion.

 

Note: If you only see discussion thread(s) started by your instructor and no “Add a new discussion topic” button, your instructor is likely using a Q&A Forum. They provide the question(s) and you reply with the answer(s). You will need to reply to your instructor’s post in order to see the posts of your peers. Note: If you do not see the "Add new discussion topic" button or any posts to reply to, contact your instructor (include a screenshot).

3. To read a post (and any replies to it), click on the title of the Discussion. Note: clicking on the author’s name will take you to their profile page not their post. 

 

4. When viewing a post, select Reply in the lower right of the post.

 

Note: If you do not see a Reply link and the post was by another student, it likely means you are not in the same group as them. You should be able to reply to members of your group. If not, contact your instructor. If you do not see a Reply link and the post was by your instructor, it means the instructor did not post to your group. Contact your instructor (include a screenshot) as they will need to re-post to your group in order for you to be able to reply.

5. Follow Steps 4-7 in the above "Posting to a Forum" section for instructions on composing and posting your reply.
6. Once you have posted, your message will appear as a reply to the original discussion. Once posted, you will have a 15 minute window to edit your post, if needed.

 

7. If your instructor is using a Q&A Forum, 15 minutes after you post you will be able to view (and reply to) the posts of your peers.