Moodle Tutorials: Setting up a Forum
Setting up a Forum
There is a number of options for facilitating and managing class discussions in Moodle. No matter what type of discussion you choose for your class, creating one starts at the same place.
1. Click on the "Edit Mode" on the top right:
2. Choose Forum from the "Add an Activity or Resource" menu in the block where you want to add the forum and click add.
3. Enter the title of the forum in the Forum name box and write instructions for how you want students to use the forum in the Description box.
4. Select the type of forum from the Forum Type menu:
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Single simple discussion: used for a single topic and all posts are contained on one page.
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Each person posts one discussion: a forum where each person can create one new discussion topic.
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Q and A forum: a forum requiring students to post before being able to view other posts.
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Standard forum displayed in a blog-like format: A forum in which discussion topics are displayed on one page with "Discuss this Topic" links.
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Standard forum for general use: an open forum where instructors and students can start a new topic.
5. Click on the Subscription and Tracking tab. Under "Subscription Mode" select how and if you want students to automatically receive emails of posts to forums:
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Optional subscription: participants can choose whether to be subscribed.
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Forced subscription: everyone is subscribed and cannot unsubscribe.
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Auto subscription: everyone is subscribed initially, but can choose to unsubscribe at any time.
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Subscription disabled: subscriptions are not allowed.
6. Forums may also be used as graded assignments. For whole forum grading, click on the "Whole forum grading" area in Forum Settings and then select Points from the pull-down menu by Type, enter points under "Maximum grade," and select "Simple direct grading from the pull-down by "Grading method":
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Click Save and return to the course when you are done editing settings.
8. The "Grade users" button will show up once you click on the Forum:
9. Once you click on it you will see a grading interface with students' posts and comments appearing on the left and a place to enter a grade on the right. You can navigate between students by clicking on the arrows on the top right:
