This guide is relevant to the following Mode of Submission: Blackboard discussion forum.

The information here applies specifically to Discussion Forums which are being used for summative assessment, and created via the EMA Integration.

What will the EMA Integration create?

A Weighted total column in the Grade Centre.

What actions do staff need to take?

Academic

It will normally be the academic’s responsibility to create the Discussion Forum, to add any instructions for the students, and apply the desired settings. But please liaise with your programme administrator to agree who will take these actions.

Forum Settings

When setting up a Discussion Forum which will be assessed the most important setting to apply is Mark Discussion Forum.

Other settings you may wish to edit include:

• how often do you want Forum posts to appear in ‘Needs Marking’? This may depend on whether you are providing formative feedback before the final submission date.
• what options do you want students to have in the way of subscribing to the discussion forum, or editing posts?
  

Administrator

It will normally be your responsibility to

• check all of the settings
• add a Rubric, if applicable
• ensure that the Grade Centre column is hidden (unless formative marks are going to be provided before the final deadline)
• create a link to the Discussion Forum from the Assessment area of the course

When marking is complete

• ensure that the Grade Centre column is revealed to students via My Marks and Feedback
• map the Grade Centre column for the Discussion Forum to the IC column created by the EMA Integration, and send the marks to RISIS.

Creating a link to the Discussion Forum

In the Assessment area of the course select Tools > Discussion Board.

Then select the correct forum from the list.

Please note: you may wish to copy and paste the instructions from the Forum itself, so that they also display to students on this link.

Page last updated on October 24, 2022 by andyturner