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Discussion Forum Types

There are five types of discussion forums to support participant collaboration and learning. Each type is described below and further explained on the Moodle Forum Activity page.

Standard Forum for General Use

  • Instructions and discussion prompts should be put in the forum description.
  • Students are able to add a new discussion thread or threads to the forum.
  • This is the most typically used forum. It is also the default option.

Standard Forum Displayed in a Blog-like Format

  • Identical to a Standard Forum for General Use except that students will see the first post from each discussion thread displayed on the discussion forum's main page.

Q and A Forum

  • Instructions should be put in the forum description.
  • Discussion prompts (questions) are posted by the instructor after the forum is created.
  • Students can only reply to the instructor's questions. They cannot start a new discussion thread.
  • Students cannot see the replies of their classmates until after they have posted.
  • Because this type of forum behaves differently for both instructors and students, please read the page on Q and A forums carefully before using it in your course.

Each Person Posts One Discussion

  • Instructions and discussion prompts should be put in the forum description.
  • Students are able to add a new discussion thread to the forum. They can only add one new thread.

Single Simple Discussion

  • Instructions and discussion prompts should be put in the forum description.
  • Students can only reply to the initial prompt. They cannot start a new discussion thread.
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