Creating Discussions in Ultra Course View
Video instructions can be found at the bottom of this page.
For Original Course View, refer to: Adding the Discussion Board to the Navigation Menu and How to Create a Forum
Creating Discussions from Course Content
Navigate to your HuskyCT course.
Under Course Content, hover over the light gray line where you want to add your Discussion Board.
The line will turn purple, and a plus sign will appear, click the plus sign
On the drop-down menu, click Create.
A window will appear on the right had side, titled Create Item.
Under Participation and Engagement, click Discussion.
A new window will open where you can create your Discussion board.
Give the Discussion Board a name.
Make an initial post, which your students will respond to.
Set any desired settings, such as grading or requiring Post-first.
Set the visibility of the Discussion Board.
Click Save under your initial comment to post the comment.
Creating Discussions from the Discussions tab
Creating Discussions from the Discussions tab only differs in the location of where the discussion is created from. The setup after a discussion is added is entirely the same as if it were created from Course Content.
To begin, navigate to your course in HuskyCT.
Click the Discussions tab located under the course name.
On the Discussions tab, click the plus sign located in the upper right hand corner of the page.
On the drop-down menu, click Add Discussion. This will jump to Step 7 in Creating a Discussion from Course Content.
In this area, it is also possible to create a Discussion folder by selecting Add Folder. This creates a folder that organizes discussions of which can be set to hidden or visible to students.
To set the visibility of the folder or discussion, click on the dropdown with the eye symbol and select the visibility setting that is needed.
Discussion Board Settings
Details and Information
Display on Course Content Page- The Discussion will appear on the main Course Content page, as well as under the Discussion tab. This is the only way in Ultra to “link” to a Discussion board on the Course Content page. The default is enabled, and a link is placed on the Course Content page.
Post First- Students are required to post their initial reply before they can see or reply to other student submissions.
Prevent Editing- Students will not be able to delete or edit any discussion board posts once they are submitted.
Allow anonymous response and replies- Makes all discussion board posts anonymous to everyone including the instructor. Grading is not possible when this is turned on.
Grade Discussion- Allows instructors to grade the discussion board. Instructors must configure the following options if they enable grading.
Participate by- The date before which students must make a post in the Discussion Board. Posts made after that date are considered Late. The default is 24 hours after the Discussion Board is created.
Grade using- The method used to assess a grade. Instructors can choose between Points, Percentages, or the HuskyCT Default Letter Grade. The default is Points.
Maximum points- The total possible score a student can earn on the Discussion Board. The default is 100.
Additional Tools
Use Grading Rubric- This option is only visible if grading is enabled for the discussion. Instructors can use a rubric to assess student’s performance on a grades discussion board. Instructors can add a rubric in the same manner as they add a rubric to an assignment or test.
Goals and standards- Instructors can align the discussion board with existing goals or standards.
Group discussion- Instructors can assign the discussion board to a group. Instructors will be prompted to either create a new group specific to this assignment or reuse an existing group. For more information on creating and using groups, refer to Creating Groups in Ultra Course View. For creating a group discussion, refer to Creating Group Discussions in Ultra Course View.
Video Instructions
For more information or assistance with HuskyCT, please contact the Educational Technology Office at edtech@uconn.edu or (860) 486-5052 (M-F 9am-4pm).