MAT-SE Courses
Discussions
Throughout the MAT-SE Online! program, we'll use "Discussion Forums" to facilitate asynchronous 'conversations'. These may be focused (prompted from within a Lesson or Assignment, for example) or general (open for you to initiate topics). Clicking on the "Discussions" link in the Course Menu will take you to the "Discussion Board" area, illustrated below:
You should see the Forum name (i.e., "Cafe'05"), a brief description, and the number messages (4 in this example) and their overall status (i.e., "All read" or so many "New messages"). Required postings are noted in your "Course Schedule". Make it a habit to check the Discussion Board area frequently. This interaction comprises a significant part of your participation grade - and is where you'll likely learn the most from your peers, like your instructors do!
Do not take up space and other people's time with non-substantial comments!
Postings will be evaluated on their relevance and contribution to the class discussion. In other words, "Yeah, I agree" is not enough for a discussion board entry at the Master's level... We - and your peers - expect you to be thoughtful, insightful, and professional. That includes asking well-phrased and precise questions on occasion! And, you deserve a good reason to take time to review these important forums.
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These "Forums" contain 'threaded discussions', meaning that messages can be displayed in a hierarchical structure. In the example section below, notice how certain responses are indented once, twice, and even three times or more to indicate a reply to a previous comment. |
To open a 'forum', simply click on the title, for example, "Cafe '05" in the first image on this page. That will take you to the "Forum View" as indicated in the breadcrumb.
To open a 'thread' within a 'forum', simply click on the title, for example, "Seat Yourself" in the "Forum View". That will take you to the "Message View" as indicated in the breadcrumb.
Then, to add your entry under the selected posting, just click on "Reply" to go to the "Reply Message" page.
If you do not see the Discussion Board options, like 'Select All', or prefer not to see them, click on the "Hide Options" or "Show Options" tab at the top of the listing.
At this point, it is well worth your while to study UTTC's Discussion Board Student Tutorial to find out all the ways you can manage your Discussion entries and forum display options!
