Discussion Forum

Introduction

A Janison Discussion Forum is a Learning Asset which can be accessed through a Catalogue Item. Discussion forums can be configured to include or exclude features such as notifications and post types.

Discussion forums can be:

• Stand alone learning asset within a catalogue item or program
• Available within a module or from a custom page module (linked document)
• Accessed from the Discussion Forum menu (if enabled) 

Note: A user must be enrolled in the item to access it.

Discussion Settings

There are two settings areas for discussion forums:

1. Main Settings via Settings > Discussion Settings
2. Configuration Settings for each forum created Manage Learning > Manage Learning Assets > Forum Name

Main Settings

These settings are accessed via Settings > Discussion Settings.

Discussion settings can be configured at a site level which will act as the default when creating a new discussion. Most of these settings are also available at a Discussion Forum Asset level too which if set, will override the site setting.

The options available on this level include:

1. Rating Type controls if users are allowed to rate other posts.
   • None will remove the ability to set a rating.
   • Like or Dislike will add an interactive rating feature to each post.
     
2. Post Types control whether post types will appear on the forum. In essence they are a way of categorising posts. Post types include:
   • General
   • Question
   • Support
   • Challenge
   • Journal
     
3. Allow posts to be deleted
   • Checking this option will allow users or administrators to delete their posts. A white minus icon is displayed on the forum post.
     
4. Allow posts to be edited
   • Checking this option will allow users to edit their posts
     
5. Report inappropriate behaviour email address
   • The supplied email address will be notified if any user is reported for inappropriate behaviour while engaging in the forum.
     
6. Help Settings
   • You can include help content in the provided text box or
   • Create a custom page for help content
     

Configuration Settings

When you create your discussion forum you will have access to several options.

Linked Documents

A forum can be linked to a specific page(s) within a learning or custom page module.

1. Go to Manage Learning > Manage Learning Assets
2. Search for the required discussion forum
3. Click Edit Discussion Forum
4. Scroll to and expand the Linked Documents section
5. Click in the Name drop menu and select the required module page
   • Note that this will list every page created. It is advisable to copy the page ID and paste into this drop menu
6. Click Add
7. Click 
   
   Save Discussion
   
   
   

When linked a forum widget appears on the right hand side of the UI that the user can access.

Settings

This section will allow you to:

• overwrite options from the Settings > Discussion settings area
• Specify if this is a forum or an announcement – please note that announcements are now available under Manage People > Announcements (if this feature has been enabled on your site).

There is also an additional option available here that is not available on the main settings which is Enable Notifications

• Email notification will be disabled unless ‘Per User Notification’ is enabled in Settings > Email
  

Completion Settings

You can determine the completion rules for this learning asset type Available options include:

• Learner must post to complete – when this option is selected the Minimum number of posts must be included in a numerical value e.g. 2
  

Discussion Forum Administrators

This section allows you to configure one or more facilitators for the forum.

1. Select a User from the drop menu
2. Select Role of Facilitator
   • Note if the role is not available please contact the Janison Support staff as your role may need configuring.
3. Click Add
   • Repeat to add more than one facilitator
4. Click 
   Save Discussion Forum
   
   

Note that administrators will appear in the forum UI in the right hand menu.

Add a Discussion Forum

When adding a discussion forum there are two discussion types that are available:

1. Discussion
2. Announcement

The main difference between the options is that if Announcement is enabled then only the administrator or nominated facilitator (s) can add comments and posts to the forum. In both cases the steps to adding a forum are the same.

Steps to Add a forum

1. Browse to Manage Learning > Manage Learning Assets.
2. Select Add Learning Asset.

2. Select New Discussion Forum.

3. Enter a Name and Identifier.
4. Enter a Description and Instructions. This information is optional and is displayed at the top of the discussion forum.
5. Configure other options as required e.g. Linked documents, Completions, Administrators etc.

5. Select Save Discussion.
   

Linked Documents

A forum can be linked to a page in a module or to a custom page.

Link to a page in a module

Adding a module page identifier to the forum in the Linked Document section will add a forum widget to the page in the course player.

Browse to Design > Modules.

1. Select Pages from the required module.

2. Select the required page.
3. Copy the Identifier.

4. Open the Discussion Forum in edit mode and paste the page Identifier into the Linked Document box.
5. Select Add.

6. Select Save Discussion.

The forum widget will appear on the right hand side of the course as shown below and it will be possible for the Learner to make posts directly from the course.

Note: The discussion forum needs to be added to the same Catalogue Item as the course. This will enrol the users into the forum along with the course.

Link to a custom page

A forum can also be linked to a Custom page using the same steps as above. Custom pages can be made available to users outside of the course player, for example pinned to the Home page. See the document on Custom Pages for further information on how to do this.

Settings

The settings in this section of the Discussion Forum are similar to those covered above in Settings > Discussion Settings. They will override anything set there.

Two additional settings exist, Announcement and Enable Notifications. These features will be covered below.

Notifications

Discussion Forum notifications give users the option to receive email notifications of all or specific posts and/or comments.

Notification Settings

Two settings are required for notifications to work:

• Per-user notifications is enabled in Settings.
• Enable Notifications is enabled in the forum.

Per user notifications

To enable Per-user notifications:

1. Browse to Settings > Email Settings
2. Select Per-user notifications.

Click Save Settings

Note this must be enabled first to allow access to the next setting.

Discussion Forum Notifications

1. Go to Manage Learning > Manage Learning Assets
2. Search for and select the required forum
3. Click Edit Discussion Forum
4. Click Enable Notifications
5. Click 
   Save Discussion
   
   

Note that this will not be available until Per user notification is enabled.

User notification options

When notifications have been enabled the user will have several notification options available to them by opening the forum.

1. Select Notifications from the bottom right of the screen.
2. Select the types of messages you would like to receive notifications for.
3. Select Save.
   

Completion Settings

Users can be required to post a minimum number of forum messages to Complete.

1. Select Learners must post to complete.
2. Enter the Minimum number of posts required to complete.

Progress status can be viewed in a number of places including:

• My Learning Transcript.

• My Learning catalogue tile.

This information can also be viewed in Custom Reports.

Discussion Forum Facilitator

An additional role can be assigned to a user which will enhance their permissions to edit, delete and hide posts.

Note: A dedicated discussion forum facilitator role needs to be created for this purpose. Please contact Janison support services for assistance.

Assign a user to forum facilitator role

1. Select Edit Discussion Forum.

2. In the Discussion Forum Administrators section Select a User.
3. Select Facilitator in Role.
4. Select Add.
5. Select Save Discussion.

This will allow the user to hide, edit and delete other people’s posts if that setting has been activated as described in Settings.

All users can hide
, edit
and delete
 their own posts.

Administrators will appear in the right hand column of the Discussion Forum.

Accessing the Discussion Forum as a User

Accessing a forum

Once created and published a forum can be accessed from multiple locations including:

1. within a linked document in a learning Module
2. the Discussion Menu (if enabled)
3. from within a Catalogue item

The forum UI explained

Posting a new thread

When the user accesses the forum there is a text link called ‘Add New Message’.

1. Click the ‘Add New Message‘ link
2. Select the post type
   • This will differ depending on configured options
3. Enter a subject
4. Enter the thread content
5. Attach a file if required
6. Click 
   Post
   
   

Adding a comment to an existing post

Accessing a forum

Once created and published a forum can be accessed from multiple locations including:

1. within a linked document in a learning Module
2. the Discussion Menu (if enabled)
3. from within a Catalogue item

Editing a post

If enabled the user can edit their own post if required.

Note: Administrators can also edit a user post if required

1. Access the forum
2. Find the required post
3. Click the Edit pencil
4. Make required changes
5. Enter a comment in the provided text box
6. Click Submit

Hiding a post

1. Access the forum
2. Find the required post
3. Click the Eye icon
4. A warning message appears asking for confirmation
5. Click Yes to hide the post

Reporting a user for inappropriate behaviour

In the rare situations where a user is not respecting the guidelines of the forum a user can be reported for inappropriate behaviour

1. Access the forum
2. Find the required post
3. Click the exclamation icon

Setting Favourite People and Following Posts

You can set Favourite people and Follow posts. This allows you to filter the list of messages easily.

Set a Favourite person by selecting the star next to their name.

Select a post to follow by selecting the star at the top of the post.

In the example below Brett has selected Amy as a favourite and is following her Introduction post.

You can filter by selecting the person on the right.

To turn off the filter, select the person again.

Announcements

Announcements behave similarly to Discussion Forums. Their only difference being that, in an Announcement, only the administrators are allowed to make posts.

To set a Discussion Forum as an Announcement:

1. Select Announcement from the Settings section.

When the Announcement Forum Type is selected the
 option is automatically selected. You can clear
 again if you desire not to send notifications, however, doing so will greatly reduce the visibility learners have to your Announcements.

2. Select Save Discussion.

Only a Discussion Forum facilitator or a user with Administrative privileges is allowed to make posts on Announcements. If you do not already have a forum facilitator role set up you will need to contact Janison Support in order to set up the role on your behalf.

For learners to receive notifications from Announcements they will need to be enrolled into the catalogue item which contains the Announcement forum.

Learners are able to Report Posts () they find inappropriate or Follow Posts () to receive extra notifications about their activity.

Learners can access Announcements under the Discussion Forums link on their home page.

Learners can also access announcements from their Catalogue Item tiles under My Learning.