Discussion Boards for Introductions
If you want to create a discussion board that the students can use, before the course begins, to introduce themselves and tell what they have heard about the course, follow these steps.
Turn on the Discussion Board Button
To start a discussion you will need to turn on the Discussion Board button (area) by going to the Control Panel > Course Settings > Area Availability. Enable the Discussion Board button (#9) and submit the form.
Create a Forum
You need to make a forum (room) to hold the discussion. To do this, go to Control Panel > Discussion Boards > Add Forum. Give the forum the title “Introductions” and the description “Who are we and what have we heard about this course?” Leave the Smart Text button highlighted. There are some settings available. Turn them ALL OFF by removing any check marks. Submit the form.
Create a Thread and Starting Message
You should create the starting message that the students will reply to when they post their messages.
- Enter the Forum by clicking on the “Introductions” link.
- Click on the Add New Thread button.
- Enter the subject “What have you heard?”
- Enter a message, such as: “Let's introduce ourselves. Please tell us about yourself and what, if anything, you have heard about this course. Tell us your name, where you are from, what you are majoring in, and anything else that might help us get to know you. Then tell us what you have heard from other students about this course. To post your message, just click the "Reply" button above, enter your message, and click the "Submit" button. Feel free to read the other introductions. If you would like to comment on them, use the "Reply" button you will see when looking at the message.”
- Leave Smart Text selected and submit the form.
Post Your Introduction
You should begin the process by posting your introduction. How long have you been at HSU? What other courses do you teach? What other interests do you have? What is your area of research? What is your latest publication? Keep it brief. Don't tell them about the course at this point. Let them tell you what they have heard. You might include a brief statement telling them that you are interested in what they have heard about the course and what they think it will be like. This may encourage them to post information. To post your own introduction, just click the “What have you heard?” link to view the starting message. Then click the Reply button at the end of the message. Enter your introduction, and click the Submit button.
Create an Announcement
Create an announcement so the students will know how to get started once they arrive at your course Web site. It might say something like: "The first activity in this class is to introduce yourself. To post your introduction, click on the Discussion Board button and then click on the "Introductions" link. Read the messages by clicking on the subjects. Post your message by clicking on the Reply button that you will see when reading the FIRST message, from me. Completing this task by [INSERT DUE DATE HERE] is worth 1 point."
Send Out an E-mail Message
The students won't know about the task until you tell them about it. Send them an e-mail message to let them know. Of course some people won't get the message, but they can post their introductions during the first week of classes after you tell them about the assignment. Your e-mail should tell the students how to access your site and how to post their introduction. Here is a sample e-mail message:
Welcome to [INSERT YOUR CLASS NAME HERE]. This class will use a course Web site located on the Blackboard system at http://blackboard.humboldt.edu. If you haven’t used the system before, go to the support site at http://www.humboldt.edu/~cdc/blackboard/student.html and look at the “Getting Started with Blackboard” section for instructions. If you need help contact the Help Desk at help@humboldt.edu or call 826-HELP during normal working hours.
The first activity in this class is to introduce yourself and discuss what you have heard about the course. We are going to do this electronically, using a discussion board. To post your introduction and comments, go to the course Web site, click on the Discussion Board button, and then click on the "Introductions" link. Read the messages by clicking on the subjects. Post your message by clicking on the Reply button that you will see when reading the FIRST message, from me. Read the other introductions and feel free to reply to them with your comments. Correctly posting your introduction is worth 1 point. It must be completed by [INSERT DUE DATE HERE].
You should send your e-mail from the course Web site. You can do that from Control Panel > Course Tools > Send E-mail > All Users. Enter “Welcome to [INSERT YOUR COURSE NAME HERE]” for the subject. Then enter the material above, or something similar, for the message. Scroll down and submit the form.
You WILL get some error messages back via e-mail. Each error message indicates that ONE student did not get the message. Don’t be confused if all the student names are listed. The message was sent to everyone but the error comes from only one address. You should just delete these error messages. When the course begins you will want to verify that students are getting your e-mail.
Monitor the Discussion Board
Check the discussion board once a day or so. Post positive replies. Indicate your interest in your students. Ask them for additional information. Answer any questions they may have raised about your introduction of yourself. Ask them follow-up questions about the information in their introductions. You don’t have to reply to every message. If there are one or two messages from you a day, that will be adequate to indicate your participation. You don’t interact individually with every student during every class. You don’t have to do that on-line either.
Announce the Task at the First Class
You should announce the assignment the first day of class to inform any students that did not get the e-mail messages.
This document created by Blackboard Support at the University of Miami
