Blended Learning PD Resources
Forum discussion
The forum module is an activity where students and teachers can exchange ideas by posting comments.
A forum can contribute significantly to successful communication and community building in an online environment. You can use forums for many innovative purposes in educational settings, but teaching forums and student forums are arguably the two more significant distinctions.
Official Moodle document: Forum
Video tutorial: Forum New 4 mins
Good practice
Subscribe to forums
When you are “subscribed” to a forum, you’ll receive an email copy of every post made by all forum participants.
You can subscribe or unsubscribe from individual forums by clicking on the link in the Settings block after you open the forum.Create small groups in ForumReference
You can create small groups of students to use Forum to cover a discussion topic which can increase chances of individual participation, and allow you to compare the different conclusions drawn by each group.Five Forum types
Forum type Description Can be used as... A single discussion
This type is for a single topic created by a teacher.
Students cannot start a new topic of discussion.Short, focused discussion
Each person posts one discussion
Each person can exactly post one topic.
Student self-introduction
Q & A forum
Students have to submit a post before viewing others' posts, which can ensure all students contribute.
Student reflective post
Standard forum for general use
This type is for large discussions.
Students can start a new topic of discussion.Standard forum displayed in a blog-like format
This type is basically the same as above, but displayed in a blog format
Group modes @ Forum
Group mode Description No groups
There are no sub groups, everyone is part of one big community
Separate groups
Each group can only see their own group, others are invisible.
Visible groups
Each group works in their own group, but can also see other groups. (The other groups' work is read-only.)