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D2L Students: Discussions

UW-Eau Claire > LTS Online Help > Campus-Specific > D2L Student > D2L Students: Discussions 


In the Discussion area, your instructor may create topics for discussion. Class members can write and respond to messages within the class, ask a question of the entire class, and view all of their classmates' responses. Instructors may post topics in which a class response is requested.

This page includes information on:

Reading a Message

When viewing messages in the Discussion area, you are presented with several display options when you click on the Settings button. For more information about these options, refer to Discussion Viewing Options. On the navigation bar, click Discussions. The Discussions List pane appears.

  1. From the Discussions List, click the topic you wish to view.
    The Topics List pane appears showing the description for the topic. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click the title of the topic you wish to view. All messages that have been posted within that topic will be visible.

  2. Click the subject of the message you wish to view.
    The message appears in the Preview Pane at the bottom of the page.
    Note: Messages only appear in the Preview Pane if this option is selected from the Display Options under Settings.

Replying to a Message

When you see a message you would like to respond to, you can use the Reply feature. Reply differs from Add Message in that the message you are sending becomes part of the thread established by the original message.

  1. On the navigation bar, click Discussions.
    The Discussions List pane appears.

  2. From the Discussions List, click the topic you wish to view.
    The Topics List pane appears showing the description of the topic, and a link at the bottom to all of the messages that have been posted within that topic.

  3. Click on the title of the topic you wish to view. All messages are now visible.

  4. Click the linked subject of the message you wish to reply to.
    The message appears in the Preview Pane.
    Note: Messages only appear in the Preview Pane if this option is selected from the Display Options under Settings.

  5. In the Preview Pane, click Reply.
    The message is replaced with a reply form.

  6. Optional: In the Subject text box, type a new subject.
    Note: The default subject is the same as the subject of the message that you are replying to, prefaced with "Re:"

  7. In the scroll box, type your message.

  8. When finished, click Post.
    Your reply is posted as part of the thread.
    Optional: Add an Attachment by clicking on the Add a File or Record Audio buttons.

 

Adding a New Message

When you add a new message, you begin a new thread in the discussion instead of replying to a message already posted.

  1. On the navigation bar, click Discussions.
    The Discussions List pane appears.

  2. From the Discussions List, click the topic you wish to view.
    The Topics List pane appears, showing a description of the topic, and a link at the bottom to all of the messages that have been posted within that topic.
     
  3. Click on the title of the topic you wish to view. All messages are now visible.

  4. Click the blue Compose button.
    The Compose dialog box appears.

  5. In the Subject text box, type the desired subject for your message.

  6. In the Message text box, type your message.
    Optional: Add an Attachment by clicking on the Add a File or Record Audio buttons.
  7. Click Spell Check. spellcheck
    Misspelled words will appear in red.

  8. To preview your message as it will appear,
    1. Click Preview. preview
      The Preview window appears with your message displayed.
    2. Click Close.

  10. If you are satisfied with your message, click Post.
    Your message is posted and starts a new thread in the discussion.

Attaching a File to a Message

  1. On the navigation bar, click Discussions.
    The Discussions List pane appears.

  2. From the Discussions List, click the topic you wish to view.
    The Topics List pane appears, showing a description of the topic, and a link at the bottom to all of the messages that have been posted within that topic.
     
  3. Click on the title of the topic you wish to view. All messages are now visible.

  4. Reply to a message or add a new one.

  5. If necessary, in the Subject text box, type the desired subject for your message.

  6. In the Message text box, type your message.

  7. In the Attachments section,
    1. Click Add a File.
      The Submit a File dialog box appears.
    2. Select an area (My Computer, My Locker, or Group Locker).
    3. Click Browse . . .
    4. Click Open.
      The file appears in the Attach File text box.
    5. Click Upload.

  9. When you are finished composing your message, click Post.

 

Discussion View: My Account Settings

With Desire2Learn, you can change how you view discussions. You can also customize the frames and the types of posts that appear in your discussion.

  1. From the top toolbar, in the dropdown menu from your name, click Account Settings.
    The Account Settings pane appears.

  2. Select the Discussions tab.
    The Personal Settings pane appears.

    Student Personal Settings menu

  3. Select the desired options.
    Hint: For information on any of the options, click the Get Help icon. get help button

  4. When finished, click Save.

 

Discussion View: Topic Bar Options

The following options are significant to discussion topic layout.

Note: Changing the layout of one discussion topic will change the layouts for all topics of that course.

  1. On the navigation bar, click Discussions.
    The Discussions List pane appears.

  2. From the Discussions List, click the topic you wish to view.
    The Topics List pane appears, showing a description of the topic, and a link at the bottom to all of the messages that have been posted within that topic.
     
  3. Click on the title of the topic you wish to view. All messages are now visible.
     
  4. On the Navigation bar, click Settings. Settings
    The Discussion Settings dialog box appears. (Same as #2 in My Preferences Options)

  5. Make your desired changes.
    Note: When messages are viewed as threaded, they appear in the order of their posting date. Replies to messages are indented under the message to which they are replying. When messages are viewed as unthreaded, replies are not indented, but appear flush with all other messages

  6. Click Save.
    The changes are applied.

Discussion View: Toolbar Options

The buttons on the Discussion toolbar provide simple ways to find and organize messages in individual Discussion Topics.

  1. On the navigation bar, click Discussions.
    The Discussions List pane appears.

  2. From the Discussions List, click the topic you wish to view.
    The Topics List pane appears, showing a description of the topic, and a link at the bottom to all of the messages that have been posted within that topic.
     
  3. Click on the title of the topic you wish to view. All messages are now visible.

  4. Select additional options by clicking the appropriate buttons.

    Button
    Description
    ComposeMessage Composes a new message within the topic.
    Refresh button Refreshes the window.
    Mark all Read button Marks all messages as having been read.
    Settings Lets you change discussion settings.
    Mark Read button Marks selected messages in the topic as read.
    Mark Unread Button Marks selected messages in the topic as unread.
    Print Allows you to view selected messages in a printable format.
    Flag message Flags the associated message.

 

 

Sorting Messages

You may group all the messages in a discussions topic by author, subject, or date.
 
  1. From the Course Home page, on the navigation bar, click Discussions.

  2. Click the desired topic.

  3. Click the Settings button and select Un-threaded View under the Default Message List View heading.

  4. Click Save.
    The Discussions List pane refreshes.

  5. Click Authored By.
    The Messages will appear in alphabetical order by author's first name.


    Note: To sort message by date or subject, click on Date or Subject.

  6. To view the discussion list in Read View (where you can see the author, their photo, and their entire post, rather than a list of links), click Settings. Discussion settings button

  7. The Discussions Settings dialog box appears.

    Sorting Messages in Read View

  8. In the Message List Style category, select Reading Style.

  9. Click Save.

  10. Click Apply.


  11. Subscribing to Discussions

    You can subscribe to forums or specific topics that are posted in Discussions. If you are subscribed to a forum or topic you will receive notifications when there are updates to them. Before you can subscribe to a forum or topic you must change your Notification settings.

    1. On the menu bar at the top of your screen click the dropdown arrow next to your name on the right. Select Notifications.

      Notifications

    2. Once you are in the Notification settings menu, you must choose the email that notifications will be sent to. To do this, click Enable email notifications under the Contact Methods heading.

      EnableNotifications
    3. When you do this a dialogue box will open. Here you can choose whether to have notifications sent to your system email (which is your UWEC email) or a different email address.

      EmailSettingsBox

    4. Once you have made a selection, click Save. You will now see your chosen email displayed.

    5. In this settings box you can also indicate if you would like a Summary of Activity sent to your email. If so, use the dropdown box to select Daily (instead of the default Never). You may also choose for what occurrences you wish to receive notifications.

    6. Once you have chosen an email to receive notifications you will be able to subscribe to forums and topics. Select the course in which you would like to subscribe to discussions. From the Navigation bar within this course, click Discussions.
    7. To the left of each forum and topic you will see a gray star Unsubscribed. To subscribe to a forum or a topic within a forum, click this star.
      Note: If you subscribe to an entire forum you will automatically be subscribed to every topic within that forum.

    8. A dialogue box will appear on your screen. In this box you are able to choose whether you would like to be notified instantly of changes to this forum or topic, or if you would simply like it included in your summary of activity.
      Note: From this screen you can also change your notification settings by clicking Change your notification settings in a new window.

      SubscriptionDialogue

    9. Click Subscribe to continue. Notice that the star to the left of the forum or topic you have subscribed to has now turned gold: Subscribed
      Note: If you subscribed to an entire forum, notice that the stars next to each topic within that forum have turned gold as well. The indicates that you have subscribed to every topic in that forum.

    10. To unsubscribe from a forum or topic at any time, click the star to the left. A dialogue box will appear to confirm that you wish to unsubscribe. Click Yes to continue. Notice that the star next to the item you have unsubscribed from has returned to its original gray color.

      Unsubscribe
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