Discussion boards are an online platform, built into BlackBoard, that allow communication between students and teaching staff, as well as between course mates. You can use discussion boards to get answers to your questions as well as answering the questions your peers may have. They are also a useful platform to gain a better understanding of the content in your unit. The two most common types of discussion boards you may come across are 'Blackboard' and 'Piazza' discussion boards which are both accessed via your Blackboard site.

Shown above is an excellent post on a discussion board.

This is an excellent post because:

1. The title is short, informative and specific, so anyone reading knows exactly what question the post is referring to.

2. The student has put the full question on the post to make sure that there is no confusion regarding the question itself.

3. The student has expressed their specific problem with the question in text and has then shown all their working out so that students and staff can see exactly where the student has gone wrong.

A fellow student posts the above on the discussion board. What do you do?

a. Direct the student to the course blackboard site

b. Discuss it with your friends but never put a response on the discussion board

c. Ignore it

d. Post a link to the reading list

A. Information which is already provided through the blackboard or course website should be found by peers themselves. You don’t want to give students a shortcut, but you want to help your peers, so you should just redirect them to the website.

A student posts the above reply to a question on the discussion board, how should you respond?

a. Laugh and leave it be

b. Comment something reassuring and point the student in the right direction

c. Have a go at the student who responded unhelpfully

d. Give the original student the answer

B, the point of this platform is to help each other and from time to time we can forget the basics. Instead of focusing on the student who replied poorly to the question, help the person who was originally stuck.

A student posts the above on a discussion board. How should you respond?

a. Wait for your lecturer to respond

b. Ask what specifically is difficult for the student

c. Ignore the post but discuss it away from the discussion board

d. Give your answer but say it may or may not be correct

B, this allows the person who's stuck to really evaluate what's tripping them up. You could also point to a similar question discussed in the lecture. Essentially, something to get the student started. Your lecturer may also respond in a similar way or ask for clarification from the student.

The above scenarios are to make you understand that discussion boards are a support network for you and your course mates to understand content. The point is to help each other without doing all the work for someone else. Often, if a member of teaching staff responds they will give a prompting response to help you get started. Ultimately this is better for your learning.

Perhaps you realise that if you and your fellow students use discussion boards, you could make your learning experience more interactive and efficient.

Although discussion boards aren't a perfect substitute for on campus contact hours, or sitting together with peers in the library, they will allow you to connect more with other students.

Even in times where we have to socially distance, discussion boards can enhance your learning experience.

You don’t have to trust us, here's a few quotes from last year's students:

“From my point of view, the teaching staff are already doing a great job at answering questions ”

"The Discussion Board was also brilliant."

"Also, the discussion board is regularly monitored and this was highly appreciated!"

"I valued the way the lecturer uses the discussion board."

"Feedback provision was excellent and especially through the discussion board."

"I think it is a great course with lecturers and teaching assistants that are very engaged with students, such as via the discussion board."