Using the Discussion Board

Using the Discussion Board

The Discussion Board is a communication tool used to conduct class discussions. Because the discussions are asynchronous [not live], participants can respond at any time. Instructors create forums that establish general topics of discussion. Discussions that take place in these forums are grouped in "threads" that contain the main message and all replies to that main message. All threads are logged and organized.

New: Watch a closed-captioned movie that shows you how to use BeachBoard's Discussion Board [opens a new window]

Access a Discussion Board Forum and Thread

Forums are used to organize threads and must be manually created by the instructor. Threads are a series of posts related to a similar topic.

  1. Login to BeachBoard at https://beachboard.csulb.edu/
  2. Under My Courses, click the name of the course that contains the Discussion Board.
  3. Under Tools (on the left side of the page), click the Communication link.
  4. Click the Discussion Board link.
  5. This opens a page displaing the forum(s) the instructor has created. Click the name of the forum whose posts you wish to read.
  6. This opens the forum and displays all of the threads created in this forum. In the top right corner of the page, choose if you want the forum's posts to be displayed in a Tree View [recommended] or a List View.
    1. The Tree View presents the thread starter messages and their child messages. The child messages can be expanded and collapsed by using the plus/minus icon to the left of each message. Unread threads and posts are displayed in bold type; if a thread starter message has unread children, then the thread starter message is displayed in bold if its children are collapsed.
    2. The List View presents the list of threads in a tabular format. The threads can be sorted by clicking the triangle at the top of each column
  7. To read a discussion board thread, click that thread's first post. This opens the Thread Detail page. The top half of the page shows all of the thread's posts, who made those posts, and when. The bottom half of the page shows the content of the first post in that thread. The next step is to either
    • Read each post individually. The post text will appear at the bottom of the page. Click the Next Post > link to advance to the next post.
    • Collect all of the thread's posts and read them all on one page. At the bottom of the top half of the page, choose Select All in the pull-down list and then click the Go button. Then, at the top of the page, click the Collect button. BeachBoard will display all of the thread's posts on on page in chronological order. This page can be printed if you choose [File > Print]

Reply to a Thread

  1. Login to BeachBoard at https://beachboard.csulb.edu/
  2. Under My Courses, click the name of the course that contains the Discussion Board.
  3. Under Tools (on the left side of the page), click the Communication link.
  4. Click the Discussion Board link.
  5. This opens a page displaing the forum or forums the instructor has created. Click the name of the forum whose messages you wish to reply to.
  6. This opens the forum and displays all of the threads created in this forum. Click the thread's title to open the thread.
  7. Click the Reply button at the top of the page [the Reply button is beneath the Collect, Flag, and Clear Flag icons and is to the right of the word Thread:]
  8. Key in the post’s subject in the Subject box
  9. Key in the post’s message in the Message box.
  10. If you wish to attach a file to the post [this feature is optional and may be disabled by your instructor],
    • To the right of Attachment local file, click the Browse button. This opens a Choose file pop-up window.
    • Find the file on your computer you wish to attach and click the Open button. This process is similar to the process of attaching a file to an email message.
  11. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click the Submit button.

Reply to a Post

  1. Login to BeachBoard at https://beachboard.csulb.edu/
  2. Under My Courses, click the name of the course that contains the Discussion Board.
  3. Under Tools (on the left side of the page), click the Communication link.
  4. Click the Discussion Board link.
  5. This opens a page displaing the forum or forums the instructor has created. Click the name of the forum whose messages you wish to reply to.
  6. This opens the forum and displays all of the threads created in this forum. Click the thread's title to open the thread.
  7. Click the title of a post to open that post's message in in the bottom half of the page.
  8. In either of the dark blue Subject: bars at the bottom of the page, click the Reply or Quote buttons. [The Quote button allows students to include the text of the original post in any replies to that message. This feature may be disabled by the instructor.]
  9. Key in the post’s subject in the Subject box
  10. Key in the post’s message in the Message box.
  11. If you wish to attach a file to the post [this feature is optional and may be disabled by your instructor],
    • To the right of Attachment local file, click the Browse button. This opens a Choose file pop-up window.
    • Find the file on your computer you wish to attach and click the Open button. This process is similar to the process of attaching a file to an email message.
  12. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click the Submit button.

Create a New Thread

When creating a forum, the instructor has the option of allowing or not allowing students to start threads. If threads are graded, students cannot start threads. Generally, the purpose of the forum will dictate whether or not students can start threads. A moderated, graded forum used to evaluate student performance will usually be tightly controlled. In this case, instructors will not allow students to create new threads. Other forums are designed for students to share opinions and thoughts on tangential or unrelated topics. In this case, instructors may allow students to create threads and spark discussions.

  1. Login to BeachBoard at https://beachboard.csulb.edu/
  2. Under My Courses, click the name of the course that contains the Discussion Board.
  3. Under Tools (on the left side of the page), click the Communication link.
  4. Click the Discussion Board link.
  5. This opens a page displaing the forum or forums the instructor has created. Click the name of the forum in which you wish to create a new thread.
  6. At the top left corner of the page, click the Thread button [this feature is optional and may be disabled by your instructor].
  7. Key in the thread’s subject in the Subject box
  8. Key in the thread’s message in the Message box.
  9. If you wish to attach a file to the thread [this feature is optional and may be disabled by your instructor],
    • To the right of Attachment local file, click the Browse button. This opens a Choose file pop-up window.
    • Find the file on your computer you wish to attach and click the Open button. This process is similar to the process of attaching a file to an email message.
  10. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click the Submit button.