Moodle Forums - Getting Started

Forums in Moodle allow students to post content that other students and the professor can see and respond to. Below are things to consider when setting up and using a Forum in Moodle.   

To jump straight to creating a forum, visit Create a discussion forum in Moodle. 

A quick explanation of each forum type 

Forum type explanation 

• Standard Forum is best suited for large discussions monitored by the instructor, or for social forums facilitated by students.  A standard forum may have numerous threads and require frequent monitoring to weave threads together when commenting.  
  • Standard forum displayed in a blog-like format is like the Standard Forum but shows a short preview of each thread.   
• Simple Forum is best for a brief discussion on a single topic. This forum is superior to keep students focused on a narrow topic or issue since the instructor asks only one question. 
• Each person posts one discussion allows each student to start one discussion topic but they can still read and respond to peer postings.  An example is posting a document for peer review and feedback. 
• Question and Answer Forum encourages independent thinking.  Instructors post the question and students must respond before viewing responses from peers; once a response is posted students can see course responses.  This is ideal for controversial issues or topics where you want the student to take a position. Remember, students won't see their classmates’ posts until 30 minutes after they submit their post.  

Example uses

• Discussions - students respond to a prompt and read and/or reply to each other
  • Recommended forum type: Standard forum
• Peer Review - students view and respond to the arguments of their classmates
  • Recommended forum type: Each person posts one discussion
• Debates - students post an argument and respond to the arguments of their classmates
  • Recommended forum type: Question and answer forum
• Muddiest Points - students post questions they have about the course
  • Recommended forum type: Simple forum
• Blogging - students write regular posts that connect to course content
  • Recommended forum type: Standard forum displayed in a blog-like format
• Small-Group Discussions - small groups use a Forum to discuss their project. You'll need to add students to a group in Moodle first. 
  • Recommended forum type: Standard forum

Good practices

• When setting up the Forum, use the description text box to explain the directions and expectations of their posts.   
• Ask questions focused on knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.  
• Encourage interactions between instructor to student, student to content, and student to student.  
• Require students to provide substantial posts backed up with class information, readings, and resources.  
• Assign discussion groups to create a product. Examples are: a quiz for the class, write a response to an author, compose a critique of a reading, brainstorm a topic, create a journal article review, compare and contrast an issue, reinforce procedures or processes by asking them to relate it to daily life, or respond to a case study.  
• Consider requiring students to include visuals and other media to their posts. Forum posts support images, hyperlinks, file attachments – like Word documents and PowerPoint slides, and videos.   
• Forum posts show up immediately on the Moodle course. However, the original author has 30 minutes to edit or change their post. After 30 minutes, the post is locked and can not be edited. 

Additional Resources

• Create Discussion Forums in Moodle
• Create a Forum in Moodle with the Most Commonly Used Settings (video)
• Enabling Grades in a Moodle Forum (video)
• Series of short videos about Moodle Assignments