Discussion Tool Overview

WebCT 4.0 Discussion Tool

1. Reading messages In Discussion groups

2. Sending Messages

3. Replying to a message

4. Quoting a message

5. Marking all messages as read

6. Marking selected messages as read

7. Marking selected messages as unread

8. Downloading messages

9. Compiling and downloading messages

10. Searching messages



1. Reading messages in discussion groups

You can read messages sent by other users in the course. By default, messages are presented in chronological order. This is referred to as Unthreaded.

1.1 Tips

  • To view both read and unread messages, click All. Since there are two options here ALL or Unread, the discussion tool shows the choice that is NOT selected in grey. Important to notice is that WebCT notes buttons that can be clicked with a grey "raised" appearance.
  • To view messages by thread, click Threaded.  Threaded messages are a series of replies to the same subject. The header row of each message thread displays the following information:
    • Status: displays the number of unread messages in the thread over the total number of messages in the thread
    • Subject: displays the subject of the first message in the thread and the View thread icon.
  • To expand a thread, click the green arrow in the Status column. To collapse the thread, click the green arrow again.
  • To view the message thread, click the View thread icon next to the thread. Indicated by the icon of the magnifying glass.
  • To view messages in chronological order, click Unthreaded. Again, be careful as visually the choice NOT selected will be in grey.
  • To display any messages that were just sent, click Update Listing.
  • To view a different topic, from the select topic drop-down list, select a topic and click Go.
  • To move to the bottom of the screen to access more options, click Designer message options.

1.2 Navigating

  1. From the Course Menu, click Discussions. The Discussions screen appears.
  2. In the Discussions table, click the topic containing the messages you want to read. The Discussion messages screen appears.
  3. In the header row, click Unread, and then expand all of the threads by clicking Unthreaded. All unread messages appear. A paper clip icon appears if the message has attachments.
  4. Click the message that you want to read. The Subject screen appears.
        1. Select the file, and click Download. Your browser's file download dialog box appears.
        2. Follow the on-screen instructions.
        3. From the Attachments screen, click Close. The Subject screen appears and you are returned to the message.
           
  5. When you have finished reading the message, you can:

2. Sending messages

You can send messages to other users in the course.
  1. From the Course Menu, click Discussions. The Discussions screen appears.
  2. In the Discussions table, click the topic to which you want to post a message. The Discussion Messages screen appears.
  3. Click Compose message. The Compose Discussion Message screen appears in a new browser window.
  4. In the Subject text box, enter the subject for your message.
  5. Compose your message by doing one of the following:
  6. If you want to create or import an equation, use the Equation Editor
  7. If you want to attach a file:
    1. To locate and select the file, next to the Attachments text box, click Browse. Your computer's file browser appears. Select the file you want to upload. The path and filename you selected is displayed in the Attachments text box.
    2. Click Attach file. The file is attached to your message.
  8. If you want to preview your message before sending:
    1. Click Preview. A preview of your message appears in a new browser window.
    2. Click Close. The Compose Discussion Message screen appears.
  9. Click Post. The message is sent and a copy is placed in the Outbox folder.

3. Replying to a messages

You can reply to discussion messages that were posted by other users in the course. Note:If replying to a message containing an equation, you cannot edit the equation. You can insert or edit an equation only by replying privately or quoting the message.
  1. From the Course Menu, click Discussions. The Discussions screen appears.
  2. From the Discussions table, click the topic containing the message to which you want to reply. The Discussion Messages screen appears.
  3. Click the message to which you want to reply. The message appears in a new browser window.
  4. Choose the format for your reply:
  5. In the Subject text box, enter or edit the subject for your message.
  6. Compose your message by doing one of the following:
  7. If you are replying privately or quoting a message and you want to insert or edit an equation, use the Equation Editor.
  8. If you want to attach a file:
    1. To locate and select the file, next to the Attachments text box, click Browse. Your computer's file browser appears. Select the file you want to upload. The path and filename you selected is displayed in the Attachments text box.
    2. Click Attach file. The file is attached to your message.
  9. If you want to preview your message before sending:
    1. Click Preview. A preview of your message appears in a new browser window.
    2. Click Close. The Reply to Message screen appears.
  10. Click Post. The message is sent and a copy is placed in the Outbox folder.

4. Quoting messages

You can reply to a discussion message and quote the original message in your reply.

  1. From the Course Menu, click Discussions. The Discussions screen appears.
  2. From the Discussions table, click the topic containing the message to which you want to reply. The Discussion Messages screen appears.
  3. Click the message that you want to quote. The message appears in a new browser window. Note: If the message contains an equation, the equation will be displayed.
  4. Click Quote. The Reply to and Quote Message screen appears. The original message appears at the bottom of the screen.
  5. In the Subject text box, enter or edit the subject for your message.
  6. Compose your message by doing one of the following:
  7. If you want to create, import, edit, or export an equation, use the Equation Editor.
  8. If you want to attach a file:
    1. To locate and select the file, next to the Attachments text box, click Browse. Your computer's file browser appears. Select the file you want to upload. The path and filename you selected is displayed in the Attachments text box.
    2. Click Attach file. The file is attached to your message.
  9. If you want to preview your message before sending:
    1. Click Preview. A preview of your message appears in a new browser window.
    2. Click Close. The Reply to and Quote Message screen appears.
  10. Click Post. The message is sent and a copy is placed in the Outbox folder.

5. Marking all messages as read

Note: Threaded messages, whether collapsed or expanded, will be marked as read.
  1. From the Course Menu, click Discussions. The Discussions screen appears.
  2. In the Discussions table, click the topic containing the messages that you want to mark. The Discussion messages screen appears.
  3. Display the messages that you want to mark. By default, only unread messages are listed. To view all messages, click All.
     
  4. Click Mark All As Read. A warning message appears.
  5. Click OK. All messages are marked as read.

6. Marking selected messages as read

  1. From the Course Menu, click Discussions. The Discussions screen appears.
  2. In the Discussions table, click the topic containing the messages that you want to mark. The Discussion messages screen appears.
  3. Display the messages that you want to mark. By default, only unread messages are listed; to view all messages, click All.
  4. Select the messages that you want to mark as read.
  5. Click Mark as read. A warning message appears. Note: If this message option is not visible, click Designer message options to move to the bottom of the screen.
  6. Click OK. The selected messages are marked as read.

7. Marking selected messages as unread

You may want to mark read messages as unread to remind you that a further action on the message, such as replying, is required. Unread messages appear in bold.
  1. From the Course Menu, click Discussions. The Discussions screen appears.
  2. From the Discussions table, click the topic that contains the messages that you would like to mark. The Discussion Messages screen appears.
  3. Display the messages that you would like to mark. By default, only unread messages are listed. To view all messages, click All.
  4. Select the messages that you would like to mark as unread. To mark all messages in a thread as unread, select the check box next to thread.
  5. Click Mark as unread. A warning message appears. Note: If this message option is not visible, click Designer message options to move to the bottom of the screen.
  6. Click OK. The selected messages are marked as unread.

8. Downloading messages

  1. From the Course Menu, click Discussions. The Discussions screen appears.
  2. In the Discussions table, click the topic containing the message that you want to download. The Discussion Messages screen appears.
  3. Click the message that you want to download. The message appears in a new browser window.
  4. Click Download. Your browser's file download dialog box appears. Follow the on-screen instructions.
  5. When the download is complete, click Close. The message browser window appears.
  6. Click Close. The Discussion Messages screen appears.

9. Compiling and downloading messages

You can compile Discussion messages into one file and download the file.

  1. From the Course Menu, click Discussions. The Discussions screen appears.
  2. In the Discussions table, click the topic containing the messages you want to compile and download. The Discussion Messages screen appears.
  3. From the list of messages, select the messages to be compiled. To compile all messages in a thread, select the check box next to the thread. To select all of the messages displayed, select Subject.
  4. Click Compile. The Compiled Messages screen appears displaying your compiled messages.
  5. To download your compiled messages, click Download. Your browser's file download dialog box appears. Follow the on-screen instructions.
  6. When the download is complete, click Close. The Discussion Messages screen appears.

10. Searching messages

  1. From the Course Menu, click Discussions. The Discussions screen appears.
  2. Click the Designer Options tab if it is not already selected.
  3. Click Search. The Search Topics screen appears in a new browser window.
  4. Select your search parameters:
    1. From the Search drop-down list, select to search All messages or only Unread messages.
    2. From the Topic drop-down list, select the topic to search.
    3. From the Criteria drop-down list, select from the following filters:

    Filter Description
    None No filter
    First name First name of the message author
    Last name Last name of the message author
    UserID User name of the message author
    Subject The thread subject
    Message No. The unique message number assigned to each message
    Date The date that the message was sent
    Message Any of the words in the text of a message

    1. From the Comparison drop-down list, select how the information entered in the Value text box will be compared with the search Criteria.

    Comparison Term Description
    Contains Retrieves messages containing the letters or numbers entered in the Value text box.
    After In combination with the Date or Number filter, retrieves all messages after the date or number entered in the Value text box. In combination with a text filter (Name, Subject, Message), retrieves all messages containing letters that occur alphabetically after the word entered in the Value text box.
    Before In combination with the Date or Number filter, retrieves all messages before the date or number entered in the Value text box. In combination with a text filter (Name, Subject, Message) retrieves all messages containing letters that occur alphabetically before the word entered in the Value text box.
    Equals Retrieves messages that match exactly the letters or numbers entered in the Value text box.
    Starts with In combination with a text filter (Name, Subject, Message) retrieves messages with words that begin with the letter entered in the Value text box.
    Ends with In combination with a text filter (Name, Subject, Message) retrieves words that end with the letter entered in the text box.
    1. In the Value text box, enter the words or numbers you want to search. If you have selected the Date filter, enter the date in the format mm,dd,yyyy. Include the commas.
  1. Click Search and then click Close. The Discussion Messages screen appears listing all messages that satisfy your search requirements.

Note: After you have searched your messages, you may compile and download them.