Let's start by creating a simple forum for our learners to discuss a case study in a course. We'll want everyone to post to the forum and have an open discussion.
In the section where you would like to add a forum, select the Add an activity drop down and then select Forum:
You will then be taken to the Adding a new Forum screen. Enter a name for your forum. Like the resource link above, the name of the forum will become the text of the link to access the forum.
Select the Forum type; these are your choices:
Standard forum for general use: This is a standard threaded discussion board where anyone can start a new discussion topic.
A simple single discussion: A forum with only one discussion topic.
Each person posts one discussion: A forum where each person in the class can post a single discussion topic.
Q and A forum: A question and answer forum where the participants must first post a question before they can see other user's questions.
Standard forum displayed in blog-like format: A standard forum where anyone can post a discussion topic, but the topics are displayed in a blog-like format.
Enter a Forum introduction. Remember, the introduction is displayed at the top of the forum when participants first enter. Explain the purpose of the forum and any particular requirements for posting or participating.
Choose a Subscription mode, either optional or forced subscriptions. Forum subscriptions are one of the great features of Moodle. When users subscribe to a forum, they will receive a copy of each message in their e-mail. It's a great tool for staying involved in the conversations.
Choose whether Read tracking is optional, on, or off for this forum. Read tracking tracks read and unread messages for participants. I find this a useful tool and generally recommend it turned on.
Set the Maximum attachment size for the forum. Participants can attach files to their forum posts (we use it to share screenshots of bugs and problems). This setting keeps them from attaching truly massive files (or sharing audio and video where it really isn't appropriate). If you want your users to attach word processing documents, set this to under 50 MB. However, if they are supposed to attach slide decks or video, set it to the maximum setting.
The Maximum number of attachments determines how many attachments a user can add to a forum post. If this is set to 0, they can't add any attachments at all. In our example, we might want the participants to attach their analysis of the case, so we'll set this to one.
The next three settings cover blocking thresholds for people who are abusing the system with too many posts (it also prevents runaway forum spam should someone get on a public forum for those purposes). The time period is the time over which the number of posts is counted for the Post threshold for warning and the Post threshold for blocking. If a user exceeds the warning threshold within the blocking time, they get a warning on the screen. If they exceed the blocking threshold, they are prohibited from posting for the blocking period.
The Grade category determines where in the gradebook any scores for the forum are recorded. Forum posts are not graded by default. In our example, we don't want to give a grade on an open discussion of a case study.
If you did want to use ratings, you would set how the grade is set in the next section. The score for a forum is determined by the aggregation type for the ratings. The options are:
No ratings: There are no ratings in the forum.
Average of ratings: The average of all the scores for all of the participant's forum posts.
Count of ratings: The number of posts with ratings.
Maximum ratings: The post with the highest rating determines the score.
Minimum ratings: The post with the lowest rating determines the score.
Sum of ratings: All of the ratings for the participant are added together to determine the score for the forum.
You can then restrict the ratings to within a range of dates.
Again, we will cover groups and access permissions in a later chapter. For now, click Save and display to see your new forum.
We have now created a forum for our users to communicate with each other in a Moodle course.
Forums in Moodle can be rated by either a facilitator or by participants in the class. In an educational setting, this can be used to give a participation grade or determine the students' score on an assignment. In a corporate setting, forced participation in a discussion can be de-motivating. How could you use the forum rating system to encourage participation in your online discussions? What other settings could be used to tune the discussion to meet a specific need?