Discussion Boards- Setup and Best Practices for Faculty - CUNY Graduate School of Public Health & Health Policy

Please watch the video below for instructions on how to set up your discussion forums in Blackboard.

Important Note: Group discussions are different than course-level discussion boards.

To create a group discussion, you have to start by creating your groups. To do this, scroll down to your Course Management section. Expand the Users & Groups tab and then select Groups.

Then select Create, and choose from the enrollment options. The Group Set options give you the opportunity to create all your groups at once, whereas the Single Group options require you to create all groups one at a time.

Once you’ve created your groups, select the group you wish to enter. Under Group Tools, select Group Discussion Board.

Here, you can create and edit discussion boards the same way as you would within the course-level discussion boards tab. Please refer to the video above for information on the settings available for this discussion.

Important Note: Group discussion boards can only be accessed within each group. They don’t integrate with the course level main discussion board.

Best Practices

Whether you are leading a hybrid or fully online course, discussion forums can be a great tool for assessment & building community among your students. This article from EduFlow shares great tips for writing discussion questions that spark critical-thinking through meaningful online conversations.

If you have additional questions about setting up your discussion forums or need assistance, please feel free to reach out.

Find more resources and tips for faculty from the Office of Online Learning, including multimedia and other tutorials.