.. _Discussions for Students and Staff:

###############################################
Participating in Course Discussions
###############################################

Course discussions give you the opportunity to start conversations with other
students, ask questions of the course team, and participate in the course
community. If you have not previously participated in an online discussion
forum, see the introductory :ref:`"anatomy"<Anatomy of edX Course Discussions>`
section.

This chapter also describes features of edX discussions that can make your
participation more effective. These include ways to:

* :ref:`Find Posts`

* :ref:`Add a Post`

* :ref:`Keep Up with New Activity`

* :ref:`React to Contributions`

.. _Anatomy of edX Course Discussions:

**********************************
Anatomy of edX Course Discussions 
**********************************

====================================
Posts, Responses, and Comments
====================================

::

  Post: "Please introduce yourself."
    - Reponse: "My name is Lee and I teach secondary school maths in Canberra,
      Australia."
    - Reponse: "Hello everyone, I am Sumei from Hong Kong, China."
      - Comment: "Hi Sumei, I am taking this course in Hong Kong too. Maybe we
        should make a study group!"
      - Comment: "I'd like to join the Hong Kong study group too, I think it
        will help me keep up with the homework."
    - Response: "Hi from Johannesburg! I am taking the course to prepare for my
      matric exams."

This example shows the different ways that you can contribute to a discussion.
The *post* initiates the conversation, *responses* are replies to the post, and
*comments* expand on specific responses. Before you add a post, response, or
comment, take a moment to consider which of these options best suits the
contribution that you want to make. This helps keep course discussions
organized and easy to follow.

====================================
Discussion Topics
====================================

Most edX courses include opportunities to discuss specific video lectures,
reading assignments, homework problems, or other course content. Each of these
content-specific discussion opportunities is called a *topic*. When these
discussion topics are included in a course, they typically appear below the
content they apply to.

.. image:: /Images/Discussion_content_specific.png
 :alt: A discussion topic that appears below a video in the course, identified 
       by a "Show Discussion" link

Most courses also include one or more topics for course-wide discussions, such
as "Frequently Asked Questions" and "Troubleshooting". You access these topics
on the **Discussion** page of the course: click the **All Discussions**
drop-down.

.. image:: /Images/Discussion_course_wide.png
 :alt: Discussion topics are listed on the Discussion page when you click the 
       drop-down list at the left side of the page

When you visit the **Discussion** page, you can read and add to any of the
discussion topics. 

* Course-wide topics do not have other topics indented below them.

* Content-specific topics are indented under an identifying category name. 

Notice that you can access content-specific topics both on the **Discussion**
page and also while you are navigating through course content on the
**Courseware** page. However, you can only access the course-wide topics on the
**Discussion** page.

Before you add a post, look through the topics. When you add your post to the
most appropriate topic, others with the same interest can find, read, and
respond to it more easily.

====================================
Types of Discussion Posts
====================================

When you make a contribution to a course discussion topic, it can typically be
categorized as either a question or a discussion.

* A *question* post raises an issue so that the course staff and community can
  provide answers.

* A *discussion* post starts a conversation by sharing thoughts and
  reflections, and inviting community participation.

When you add a post to a discussion topic, you specify whether it is a question
or a discussion. When you visit the **Discussion** page for your course, a
question mark image identifies posts that ask questions and a conversation
bubble image identifies posts that start discussions.

.. image:: ../Images/Post_types_in_list.png
 :alt: The list of posts with images identifying questions and discussions 

If you have any difficulty deciding which type of post you want to add, think
about whether you want to get concrete information (a question) or start an
open-ended conversation (a discussion).

.. _Find Posts:

******************************
Find Posts
******************************

Finding out whether someone else has already asked the same question or
initiated a conversation about the same subject that interests you, and then
reading and contributing to that exchange instead of starting a new one, helps
make the time that everyone spends with the course discussion more productive.
You can search for something specific, or you can browse through the posts in a
single discussion topic.

=======================
Search the Discussions
=======================

To search for text, click **Discussion** and enter a phrase, a word, or part of
a word in the **Search all posts** field above the list of posts. When you
press Enter, the search tries to find:

* A match or close match to your text in any post, response, or comment. The
  display updates to show a list of the posts that have a match at any level of
  interaction.

* A similar value in any post, response, or comment (if no exact matches are
  found). A "No results found for {text}. Showing results for {similar}"
  message displays above the posts that have similar text at any interaction
  level.

* Any usernames that are an exact match to your text. A "Show posts by
  {username}" option displays above any posts that have an exact text match at
  any interaction level. Click the username in the message to read that user's
  posts, responses, and comments.

==============================================
Review Posts About a Single Topic
==============================================

To review posts about a particular part of the course or type of issue, click
**Discussion** at the top of the page and then select a topic from the drop-
down list. (**All Discussions** is selected by default.) Only posts about the
topic you select appear in the list of posts.

.. image:: ../Images/Discussion_filters.png
 :alt: The list of posts with callouts to identify the top filter to select 
       one topic and the filter below it to select by state 

=======================================
Review Only Unread or Unanswered Posts
=======================================

To limit the posts shown on the **Discussion** page, you can select one of the filter options. Above the list of posts, the **Show all** filter
is selected by default. 

* To list only the discussions and questions that you have not yet viewed,
  select **Unread**.

* To list only question posts that do not yet have any responses marked as
  answers, select **Unanswered**.

.. _Add a Post:

************************************
Add a Post, Response, or Comment
************************************

================================
Add a Post
================================

To make sure that other students and the course team can find and respond to
your post, try to select the correct type for your post: either question or
discussion.

Add a Post to a Content-Specific Discussion Topic
**************************************************

#. Click **Courseware**.

#. Open the part of the course that includes the discussion topic that you want
   to add to.

#. To read what others have already contributed to the conversation, click
   **Show Discussion**.

   You can scroll through the posts that have already been added: the title and
   the first sentence or two of each post appear. To read an entire post, view
   the responses to it, and see any comments, click **Expand discussion**.
  
4. To add a post, click **New Post**.

.. image:: /Images/Discussion_content_specific_post.png
  :alt: Adding a post about specific course content

5. Select the type of post: click **Question** or **Discussion**.

#. Enter a short, descriptive identifier for your post in the **Title** field.
   The title is the part of your post that others see when they are browsing on
   the **Discussion** page or scrolling through one of the content-specific
   topics.

#. Enter the complete text. Options for formatting the text and for adding
   links or images are available: click the buttons above the text field.

Add a Post to a Course-Wide Discussion Topic
**************************************************

You can also use this procedure to add a post to any of the content-specific
discussion topics.

#. Click the **Discussion** page.

#. Click **New Post**.

#. Select the type of post: click **Question** or **Discussion**.

#. Select the most appropriate discussion topic for your post.

  .. image:: /Images/Discussion_course_wide_post.png
    :alt: Selecting the topic for a new post on the Discussion page 

5. Supply a short, descriptive **Title**. The title is the part of your post
   that others see when they are browsing on the **Discussion** page or
   scrolling through one of the content-specific topics.

#. Enter the complete text. Options for formatting the text and for adding
   links or images are available: click the buttons above the text field.

===========================
Add a Response or Comment
===========================

To participate in an ongoing discussion, you reply to the initial post by
adding a response, or expand on a particular response by adding a comment.

The same options for formatting the text and for adding links or images are
available for responses and comments as for posts.

Add a Response or Comment to a Content-Specific Discussion Topic
****************************************************************

#. Click **Courseware**.

#. Open the part of the course with the discussion topic where you want to make
   your contribution.

#. Click **Show Discussion**.

#. Scroll to the post where you want to add your thoughts.

#. Click **Expand discussion**.
   
  .. image:: /Images/Discussion_expand.png
    :alt: The **Expand discussion** link under a post

6. Add a response or comment.

 - To add a response to the post, click **Add A Response**. When your response
   is complete, click **Submit**.

 - To add a comment to a response, click in the **Add a comment** field below
   the response. When your comment is complete, click **Submit**.

Add a Response or Comment to a Course-Wide Discussion Topic
************************************************************

You can also use this procedure to add a response or comment to any of the
content-specific discussion topics.

#. Click the **Discussion** page.

#. Find the post that you want to contribute to. To help you decide where to
   add your thoughts, review the current responses and their comments.

#. Add a response or comment.

 - To add a response to the post, click **Add A Response**. When your response
   is complete, click **Submit**.

  .. image:: /Images/Discussion_add_response.png
    :alt: The **Add A Response** button located between a post and its 
          responses 

 - To add a comment to a response, click in the **Add a comment** field below
   the response. When your comment is complete, click **Submit**.   

.. _Keep Up with New Activity:

****************************************
Keep Up with New Activity
****************************************

==============================
Read New or Updated Posts
==============================

The list of posts on the **Discussion** page provides visual cues to help you
identify posts that are new, or that have responses or comments that you have
not read yet, and to distinguish them from exchanges that you have already read
completely.

* Posts that you have not read yet have a blue callout image.

* Posts that you have read, but with responses or comments that you have not
  read yet, have a white callout image.
 
* Exchanges that you have read completely have a gray callout image and
  background.

 .. image:: ../Images/Discussion_colorcoding.png
  :alt: The list of posts with posts showing differently colored backgrounds 
        and callout images

The total number of contributions in the exchange (the post and its responses
and comments) appears in each callout image. To see the number of contributions
that you haven't read yet, move your cursor over the callout image.

.. image:: ../Images/Discussion_mouseover.png
 :alt: A post with 4 contributions total and a popup that shows only two are 
       unread 

The color-coded callout images appear when you sort the list of posts **by
recent activity** or **by most activity**. If you sort the list of posts by
most votes instead, the number of votes that the post has received appears in
place of the callouts. See :ref:`Vote for Posts or Responses`.

==============================
Receive Daily Digests
==============================

You have the option to receive an email message each day that summarizes
discussion activity for the posts you are following. To receive this daily
digest, click **Discussion** and then select the **Receive updates** checkbox.


.. _React to Contributions:

************************************
Provide Feedback on Contributions
************************************

As you read the contributions that other students and staff make to discussion
topics, you can provide feedback without writing a complete response or
comment. You can:

* :ref:`Vote for posts and responses<Vote for Posts or Responses>` to provide
  positive feedback.

* :ref:`Follow posts<Follow Posts>` so that you can check back in on
  interesting conversations and questions easily.

* :ref:`Answer questions, and mark your questions as answered<Answer
  Questions>`.

* :ref:`Report a contribution<Report Discussion Misuse>` that is inappropriate
  to the course staff.

To select a feedback option, you use the icons at the top right of each post,
response, or comment. When you move your cursor over these icons a label
appears.

.. image:: ../Images/Discussion_options_mouseover.png
 :alt: The icons at top right of a post, shown before the cursor is 
      placed over each one and with the Vote, Follow, and More labels

When you click the "More" icon, a menu of the options that currently apply
appears.

.. image:: ../Images/Discussion_More_menu.png
 :alt: The More icon expanded to show a menu with one option and a menu with 
       three options

.. _Vote for Posts or Responses:

==============================
Vote for Posts or Responses
==============================

If you like a post or one of its responses, you can vote for it: view the
post or response and click the "Vote" icon at top right.

.. image:: ../Images/Discussion_vote.png
 :alt: A post with the Vote icon circled

You can sort the list of posts so that the posts with the most votes appear at
the top: click the drop-down list of sorting options and select **by most
votes**.

.. image:: ../Images/Discussion_sortvotes.png
 :alt: The list of posts with the "by most votes" sorting option and the 
       number of votes for the post circled

The number of votes that each post has received displays in the list of posts.
(Votes for responses are not included in the number.)

.. _Follow Posts:

==============================
Follow Posts
==============================

If you find a post particularly interesting and want to return to it in the
future, you can follow it: view that post and click the "Follow" icon.

.. image:: ../Images/Discussion_follow.png
 :alt: A post with the Follow icon circled

Each post that you follow appears with a "Following" indicator in the list of
posts.

To list only the posts that you are following, regardless of the discussion
topic they apply to, click the drop-down Discussion list and select
**Posts I'm Following**.

.. image:: ../Images/Discussion_filterfollowing.png
 :alt: The list of posts with the "Posts I'm Following" filter selected. Every
       post in the list shows the following indicator.

.. _Answer Questions:

============================================================
Answer Questions and Mark Questions as Answered 
============================================================

Anyone in a course can answer questions. Just add a response to the question
post with your answer.

The person who posted the question (and staff members) can mark responses as
correct: click the "Mark as Answer" icon that appears at upper right of
the response.

.. image:: ../Images/Discussion_answer_question.png
 :alt: A question and a response, with the Mark as Answer icon circled

After at least one response is marked as the answer, a check or tick mark image
replaces the question mark image for the post in the list on the **Discussion**
page.

.. image:: ../Images/Discussion_answers_in_list.png
 :alt: The list of posts with images identifying unanswered and answered
     questions and discussions

.. _Report Discussion Misuse:

==============================
Report Discussion Misuse
==============================

You can flag any post, response, or comment for a discussion moderator to
review: view the contribution, click the "More" icon, and then click
**Report**.

.. image:: ../Images/Discussion_reportmisuse.png
 :alt: A post and a response with the "Report" link circled

.. Future: DOC-121 As a course author, I need a template of discussion guidelines to give to students