Discussion Forum Settings

An explanation of the various settings that can be utilized in a Moodle discussion forum. These settings can be accessed when first adding a discussion forum to the course page or by turning editing on in the course page, clicking edit next to the discussion forum, and choosing edit settings.

General

Forum Name

• This is the title that will appear on the Moodle course page. It is a required field.

Description

• Directions for the discussion forum can go here. If using a standard forum, the discussion prompt can go here as well. If using a Q and A Forum, the discussion prompt goes elsewhere. Images and links can also be included. Click the down arrow on the left side of the text box toolbar for more formatting options.
• This information can be displayed on the course main page if the checkbox below the text box is checked, but this can lead to a cluttered course page. 

Forum Type

• This setting impacts how the instructor and students will interact with the forum. The two most common types are Standard forum for general use and Q and A Forum. Please see the page on Forum Types for more information.

Availability

Due Date

• If a date is set here, students will see the due date within the Moodle discussion forum and on their Moodle calendar. Click the Enable checkbox to choose a date. Students can still post in the forum after the set date, but Moodle will indicate it was turned in late. This option is disabled by default.

Cut-off Date

• If a date is set here, students will not be able to post anything after this date. Click the Enable checkbox to choose a date. This option is disabled by default.

Attachments and Word Count

Maximum Attachment Size

• The largest file size that a student can attach to a discussion post. This is set to 1 GB by default.

Maximum Number of Attachments

• The largest number of files that a student can attach to a discussion post. This is set to 1 by default.

Display Word Count

• If enabled, students and instructors can see the word count of posts. This is set to no by default.

Subscription and Tracking

Subscription Mode

• Sets the type of notification options that forum participants will have for this forum. If a participant is subscribed to a forum, then they will receive notifications for that forum based on their notification settings in their profile.
  • Optional Subscription: participants can choose if they want to subscribe.
  • Forced Subscription: participants are all subscribed and cannot unsubscribe. This is the default setting.
  • Auto Subscription: participants are all subscribed but can choose to unsubscribe.
  • Subscription Disabled: subscribing is not an option for this forum

Read Tracking

• Allows participants and instructors to track which posts they have read.
  • Optional: participants can decide if they want unread posts highlighted. This is the default setting.
  • Off: unread posts cannot be tracked. 

Discussion Locking

Lock Discussions After Period of Inactivity

• If enabled, participants cannot post to the forum after it is locked.
  • Do not lock discussions: inactivity never locks the forum. This is the default setting.
  • 1 day, 1 week, 2 weeks,etc.: the discussion forum is locked after no one posts for the specified period of time.

Post Threshold for Blocking

Time Period for Blocking

• If enabled, participants can only post a certain amount of times within a set period of time.
  • Don't block: participants are not blocked from posting no matter how many times they post. This is the default setting. 
  • 1 day, 1 week, 2 weeks,etc.: participants are blocked from posting based on the numbers set below

Post Threshold for Blocking

• The maximum number of posts a participant can make within the time period set above. This setting is only visible if a time period is chosen above.

Post Threshold for Warning

• Students will be warned they are reaching the posting threshold after the number set here. This setting is only visible if a time period is chosen above.

Ratings

Roles with Permission to Rate

• Identifies which roles are able to rate discussion posts. A participant needs to have one of the listed roles in the course in order to rate a discussion forum.

Aggregate Type

• Sets how Moodle will calculate the rating for the discussion forum entries.
  • No ratings: the entries cannot be rated. This is the default setting.
  • Average of ratings: the final grade will be the mathematical average of all rated entries for an individual student.
  • Count of ratings: the final grade will be the total number of entries that a student makes.
  • Sum of ratings: the final grade will be the mathematical sum of all rated entries for an individual student. This is the most commonly used aggregate type.
  • Maximum rating: the final grade will be the highest rating a student received out of all the rated entries.
  • Minimum rating: the final grade will be the lowest rating a student received out of all the rated entries.

Scale

• The rating scale that will be used for the discussion forum.
  • None: no scale will be used. This is the default setting.
  • Points: numerical points can be awarded to entries. This is the most commonly used setting.
  • Scale: one of the pre-defined grading scales can be used in the discussion forum. 

Restrict Rating to Items with Dates in this Range

• If checked, only entries that fall within the dates set below can be rated.
  • From: the earliest entries that can be rated.
  • To: the latest entries that can be rated.

Common Module Settings

Availability

• Show on course page: The assignment will be visible to the students on the course page. This is the default setting.
• Hide from students: The assignment will be hidden from the students. 

ID Number

• This is used for some custom reporting options. Do not enter anything here.

Group Mode

• Use this menu to choose the group setting for this individual assignment.

Grouping

• If groups are chosen, you can also indicate which grouping the assignment should use.

Add Group/Grouping Access Restriction

• If clicked, a group or grouping restriction will appear in the restrict access settings below.

Restrict Access

• Restrictions allow you to set a variety of criteria that must be met before the students can access the discussion forum.
• You can indicate if students must or must not meet all or any of the restrictions.
• Click Add restriction... to access and set the different types of restrictions.
• After setting a restriction, a grey eye icon appears either to the left of the restriction or to the left of the word student if numerous restrictions are set. If the icon is a solid grey, students who do not match the set requirements will see the assignment on their course page, but it will be greyed out so they cannot access it. If the icon has a line through it, students will not be able to see the assignment if they do not match the requirements. Click the icon to toggle between these settings.

Date

• The discussion forum is available either from a certain date or until a certain date. 

Grade

• The discussion forum is available based on the grade a student achieves in another discussion forum, based on the overall course grade, or based on the grade in a specified category.

Group

• The discussion forum is only available to students within a specified group.

Grouping

• The discussion forum is only available to groups within a specified grouping.

User Profile

• The discussion forum is available to students based on a variety of fields that the student has set within their profile. Note that not all students have filled out every field in their Moodle profile.

Restriction Set

• This allows you to nest multiple restrictions.

Activity Completion

• Activity completion helps students keep track of which course activities they have completed.
• Activity completion needs to be turned on in the course settings for this option to appear.

Completion Tracking

• Do Not Indicate Activity Completion: Activity completion will not be utilized for this discussion forum.
• Students Can Manually Mark the Activity as Completed: A grey checkbox will appear to the right of the discussion forum on the course home page. Students can check the box when they believe they have completed the activity.
  • Expect completed on: If enabled, the students will see a date they are expected to complete the activity by.
• Show Activity Complete When Conditions Are Met: You can set certain criteria for activity completion. The activity will automatically be marked as completed when those criteria have been met. More than one criterion can be enabled.
  • Require View: The activity will be marked complete when the student views it. Note that it cannot measure if the student actually reads it.
  • Require Grade: The activity will be marked complete after it is graded. 
  • Require Posts: The activity will be marked complete after the student has posted in the forum the number of times indicated. This is the default option.
  • Require Discussions: The activity will be marked complete after the student has created the number of discussions indicated.
  • Require Replies: The activity will be marked complete after the student has posted the number of replies indicated.
  • Expect completed on: If enabled, the students will see a date they are expected to complete the activity by.

Tags

• Activities can be tagged with keywords. Tags can be used to organize or compile items with similar keywords.