Using Blackboard Discussions

What are Blackboard Discussions?

The discussions is a place where messages can be displayed publicly to students and instructors in your class. The Discussions also uses Topics. Topics help to organize messages. The discussions is a place where students and instructors can communicate to each other on a number of different topic areas.

How will I be using Blackboard Discussions with my class?

When you are taking a class at Bow Valley College, your instructor may ask you to participate by posting a message onto the Discussions. They may also ask you to respond to different messages, by replying back to a message that is on the Discussions. Again this is a place where your messages will be public for the whole class to read.

Where do I find the Blackboard Discussions in my course?

The Discussions are found on the Course Tools menu located on the left hand side of the your course Homepage. The Discussions can also be found at the top of your course Homepage.

Discussions located on the left hand side of your course Homepage:

Discussions located at the top of your course Homepage:

Here is an example of an image that represents the Blackboard Discussions. The image is a pushpin.

Discussions image

The image will change when someone has posted a new Discussion message. The push pin will then display a green box with a white star beside it.

New Discussions image

What are Topics?

Topics are found within the Discussions area and they are used to help organize messages. Topics are public to everyone in your class. Depending on your course, the Blackboard Discussions will contain different topics.

What are topics used for?

They are used to help organize messages. For example if you were asked to post a message about who you are, you might post it under the topic called Introduce yourself to the Class. Each of the topics will also indicate how many messages have been posted within the topic area.

How do I access a topic?

To access a topic, simply locate the Discussions within your course. The Discussions page will open and display the different topics and messages. Below is an example of a Discussions topic area.