A discussion board is of the main tools used within WebCT for communicating with the instructor and other students. Essentially it acts as a digital message board, where the instructor might pose a question for the whole class, and then you will respond to the question and post your answer to the discussion board. Once posted, everyone in the class can read what you wrote.

Here are some bulletin board tips:

• After you write your comments, use the preview feature to see how it reads and looks. This is the only chance you have to edit what you have written. Once a posting is submitted, you cannot change it.
• Check in frequently, things may develop rapidly on a bulletin board. It is very easy to fall behind and feel overwhelmed by the number of posts you have to catch-up on.
• Check your spelling or grammar. Some students write their posts in Word or other word processor, and then copy and paste to the discussion board. That way they can check their spelling and grammar.
• Don't start a new thread if the topic you are addressing is already covered under an existing thread. A thread is defined in the subject line. To stay within a thread started by somone else, simply reply to that posting.
• If responding to a particular comment, quote the particular comment in your reply. There is a quote feature in the discussion board.
• Never "say" anything that you would not want discussed in class.
• Your responses to other postings must have a subject line that reflects your posting's content. Not Re: Previous Posting.
• It is not acceptable for the work or ideas of others to be presented in a message as your own work. If you must quote from a source, quote sparingly, use quotation marks and provide the author's name and source from where the quotation was taken. If the information is on the web, simply include the URL in your posting.

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Creating a message to post to the discussion board is very similar to writing an email, but you don't have to worry about who to send it to. Once posted, the message will be available for everyone to read, although you will need to check back frequently to see if anyone has responded to what you wrote. There is no limit to how much you can write, or how often you can reply to other's postings, although the instructor may close the discussion at some point.

It is important to remember that your instructor and classmates will often form a professional opinion of you based on what you wrote, so it is important that you check and edit your message carefully before posting it.

You can also use the html editor if you want to format your message with specific fonts, colors and images etc. There is also a spell checker built into the editor. You can also attach files to your posting for others to see.

One important thing to remember about posting your message - you CANNOT remove or edit your message once posted, so make sure you intend to say what you have written before hitting Post.

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No, you cannot remove a message once it is posted. This means that you should carefully read your message and edit it carefully before clicking post.

WebCT contains a preview button to allow you to see your message before you post it. This is strongly recommended.

Make sure you do not say anything that is insulting or inflammatory of another person's posting- called flaming, that you will not be able to retract once posted.

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Netiquette is a code of conduct (net etiquette) that all members of an online community, including the instructor should follow when communicating online.

These are some things to remember when posting to a discussion board:

• Be Respectful

  - Before you post your response to someone else's thoughts, make sure that you've phrased your response in a way that is respectful even if you disagree with what you've read. Tone is just as important as with spoken language. Make sure you re-read your message before posting.

• No flaming

  - Flaming is the practice of insulting, disrespecting or mocking another person's ideas. Flaming is different that disagreeing with what someone says. It is fine to disagree with someone's ideas, but it is important to do it politely

• No Harassment

  - It is unacceptable to use a discussion board to harass another student with unwanted attention of any kind. Any derogatory, offensive, or otherwise inappropriate comments are unacceptable and may result in removal of your posting, removal from WebCT and other disciplinary action.

• No Inappropriate Language

  - No swearing; no sexually graphic terms, no racial, ethnic, or religious slurs, no making fun of others based on their gender or sexual orientation.

• No Shouting

  - Writing in all capital letters is equivalent to shouting or yelling. State your views calmly and clearly.

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If you have images or other files that you want to include in your message, you can attach them to the message in a similar way to adding an attachment to an email. Once attached, the file can be either viewed or downloaded, depending on the type of file.

To attach a file, select add attachment below the main window. Click on the computer icon. Find the file on your hard drive and click attach file.

To view an attachment that is part of a posting, simply click on the paper clip icon below the message. If it an image that is attached (gif or jpg) you can view it by clicking on the file name. If it is a non-viewable file, download it to your hard disk and open it in the native software application.

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The html editor is an optional tool in WebCT discussion messages. To activate it, simply click the grey button below the message window. The html editor is a java plug-in that enables you to format your message in specific ways without having to know html code.

The editor allows you to change font, font size, text color, include lists, images, URLs, bookmarks and also includes a spell checker.

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