Type of forum

Description

A single simple discussion

The entire forum appears on one page. The first posting at the top of the page is the topic for the forum. This topic is usually created by the teacher. The students then post replies under this topic. A single topic forum is most useful for short and highly-focused discussions.

Each person posts one discussion

Each student can create one and only one new topic. Everyone can reply to every topic. You may need to explain that students only get one new topic, so they should choose their topic wisely.

Q and A

This is like a single topic forum. Here, the teacher creates the topic for the forum. Students then reply to this topic. However, a student cannot see anyone else's reply until they have posted a reply. The topic is usually a question posed by the teacher, and the students' replies are usually answers to this question.

A standard forum displayed in a blog-like format

In a standard forum, anyone can start a new topic. Teachers and students can create new topics and reply to the existing postings. Displaying the discussion in a blog-like format makes the title and body of each discussion visible. This is a great structure for stimulating discussion and sharing of links, images, and embedded social media posts.

A standard forum for general use

In a standard forum, anyone can start a new topic. Teachers and students can create new topics and reply to the existing postings. Only the titles of discussions are visible; you must click on a discussion to read the postings under it.