In an online learning environment, discussion boards are powerful tools for fostering engagement, collaboration, and critical thinking. By encouraging students to discuss course topics, share perspectives, and offer feedback, they help build a sense of community and deepen understanding. Below are step-by-step directions on how to create a new discussion board forum in Blackboard, including setting up grading options and linking it to your course content area.

Navigate to the Desired Content Area

Log into Blackboard and select your course.
In the course menu in the left sidebar, click on the Content Area where you want to place the discussion (e.g., “Learning Modules,” “Week 1,” “Assignments,” etc.).

A screenshot of a course navigation menu titled "QUO101." The menu includes links for "Announcements," "Syllabus," and "Learning Modules," each with a dropdown arrow next to them.

Add a Discussion Board Link

Hover over the “Tools” button in the action bar (near the top of the content area).
From the dropdown, select “Discussion Board.”

A screenshot of a dropdown menu labeled "Tools" with a list of options: "Discussion Board," "Blogs," "Journals," "Wikis," "Groups," and "Achievements," followed by "More Tools" with an arrow icon. To the right, a tab labeled "Partner Content" is visible.

Create a New Forum

On the “Create Link: Discussion Board” page, you can either link to an existing Discussion Board forum or create a new one.
Click “Create New Forum” to open the forum creation screen.

A screenshot of the "Create Link: Discussion Board" interface. The options include a radio button for "Link to Discussion Board Page" (selected) and another for "Select a Discussion Board Forum." Below is a dropdown labeled "Select a Discussion Board Forum" with a placeholder text reading "Select forum below," followed by a list with "Discussion Prompt." At the bottom, there are buttons labeled "Create New Forum" and "Create New Forum" (grayed out).

Configure the Forum Settings

Name: Enter a clear, descriptive title for the forum (e.g., “Week 1 Discussion: Introductions”).
Description/Prompt: In the text box, type or paste the instructions or discussion prompt for students. This is where you explain the topic, your expectations, and how you will grade. It’s important to put the full prompt here, as this will copy over to Canvas when we migrate courses in the future.

A screenshot of the "Forum Information" creation interface for a discussion board. At the top, a field labeled "Name" contains the text "Week 1 Discussion." Below, a larger text box labeled "Description" contains formatted text with headings like "Introduction Prompt," "Your Goals & Expectations," "Initial Thoughts on the Topic," and "Respond to Classmates." The toolbar above the text box includes text formatting options such as bold, italic, font size, bullet points, and alignment. At the bottom are buttons labeled "Cancel" and "Submit.”

Set Forum Availability and Viewing Options

Make the Forum Available: Ensure “Available” is set to Yes (so students can see and access it).
Force Users to Post Before Viewing: Look for the setting labeled “Participants must create a thread in order to view other threads in this forum.” Select Yes to require students to post first.

A screenshot of the "Forum Availability" and "Forum Settings" sections of a discussion board setup interface. The "Forum Availability" section includes radio buttons for "Available" (set to "Yes") and date and time fields labeled "Display After" and "Display Until," both with calendar and clock icons. Below, the "Forum Settings" section includes options for "Viewing Threads/Replies," with a checkbox for "Participants must create a thread in order to view other threads in this forum" (checked) and a description underneath.

Enable Grading for the Forum

Select Grade Discussion Forum or Grade Threads.

When instructors grade the entire discussion forum, they can provide a single overall score for all student created threads, making grading simpler.
Grading individual threads offers more precise feedback and granular evaluation of each conversation thread, but can be time-consuming. Students cannot create threads with this setting enabled, so you must make each thread and determine their point value, which will create multiple Grade Center columns.

Points Possible: Enter the number of points the assignment is worth.
If students must reply to other posts, check “Show participants in ‘needs grading’ status after every # posts” and set the amount of posts a student needs to make in total.

A screenshot of the "Grade" settings for a discussion forum. Three grading options are displayed: "No Grading in Forum" (unselected), "Grade Discussion Forum" (selected) with a field labeled "Points possible:" containing "10," and "Grade Threads" (grayed out and unavailable). Below, a checkbox labeled "Show participants in 'needs grading' status" is selected, with a dropdown and text specifying "after every 1 posts.”

Set the Due Date

Check the Due Date field, and use the calendar and clock icons to enter the due date and time to ensure the assignment appears in students’ calendars.

A screenshot of a "Due Date" field with a checkbox selected. The date is set to "02/05/2025," entered in a text field with a calendar icon, and the time is set to "11:59 PM," entered in a text field with a clock icon. Below is a note that reads, "Enter dates as mm/dd/yyyy. Time may be entered in any increment.”

Submit and Create the Forum

Double-check all other settings (do you want students to be able to delete or edit their posts?), then click “Submit.”
This creates the new forum and returns you to the “Create Link: Discussion Board” screen.

Link the Forum to the Content Area

Now that your new forum is created, click “Select a Discussion Board Forum”
Click the new forum you just made from the list. It will then be highlighted blue.

A screenshot of the "Create Link: Discussion Board" interface. The option "Select a Discussion Board Forum" is selected, with a dropdown menu showing "Week 1 Discussion" highlighted. A grayed-out button labeled "Create New Forum" is below the dropdown.

Scroll down and click “Next”
On the next screen, you can modify the link name and provide the same prompt/instructions in the description box that you wrote previously.
Click “Submit” again to finalize.

A screenshot of the "Link Information" interface for a discussion board. The "Link Name" field contains "Week 1 Discussion," with the "Color of Name" set to black. The "Link" is labeled "Discussion Board: Discussion Prompt." Below is a text editor toolbar with formatting options, followed by text starting with "Instructions/Prompt" and sections like "Introduce Yourself," with instructions for participants to share personal information and respond to prompts.

Confirm the Forum Link

You should now see the Discussion Board link in your content area.
Click on the link to make sure it goes to the correct forum.

An example discussion board link in a content area of a course.

Tips for Success

Test the forum by switching to Student Preview mode (in the top right corner) to confirm that students can access the forum.
Provide clear guidelines for how you will evaluate their discussion posts (word count, references, timeliness, etc.).
If using “Grade Discussion Forum,” a Grade Center column will automatically be created. You can find it under Full Grade Center or Needs Grading to enter grades.

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