How to add a forum

This refers to Moodle 3.11 from August 2022 onwards 

Using forums to engage students in online learning

How to add a forum

Creating activities: How to create a forum

Step by step

1. Navigate to your module and click on the 'Turn editing on' icon in the top right  
2. In the relevant topic/section, click Add an activity or resource 
3. A window will appear. Click on the word 'Forum' and you'll be taken to the 'Adding a new Forum' screen

4. Give the forum a "Name" and "Description". (The Description is where the instructions or guidelines will go, or, for Single Simple Discussion, this will be the first post)

5. Select the "Forum type" you want.

There are 5 types of discussion forums (in addition to the special Announcements forum, see above)                      

• A single simple discussion - this is a forum with only one topic. Users can only reply to the original topic (and to replies) not create new topics. The Description will be the first post.
• Each person posts one discussion - handy for class introductions, each user can only post one discussion topic (replies are not limited).
• Q and A forum - this forum allows you to post a question (or questions) and students must reply with their answers first before seeing other student responses.
• Standard forum displayed in a blog-like format
• Standard forum for general use - anyone can post new topics/subjects and reply to this forum.

6. Click the arrow next to 'Subscription and tracking' to expand this section. In "Subscription mode" choose which subscription option you want

  

The options available are:

• Optional subscription - users aren’t subscribed (don’t get email alerts) but can choose to be
• Forced subscription - users automatically get update alerts and cannot unsubscribe
• Auto subscription - means users start with a subscription but may choose to disable it – OFTEN A GOOD CHOICE
• Subscription disabled -  it is never possible to get alerts

7. Click 'Save and return to module' or 'Save and Display' 

8. When you have finished, click on the 'Turn editing off' button on the top right of your main Moodle page

Posting messages in the forum

For any type of forum - except 'A single simple discussion' (where the Description is the first post) - you can now go into the forum and start posting messages.

1. Click into the forum. You will know it is a forum as it has the 'Forum' icon  by the title
2. Click on the 'Add a new discussion topic' button
   

3. In the posting window enter a "Subject" and "Message"

4. Add any attachments if appropriate (up to 2 MB in size) by clicking on Advanced and uploading a file to the "Attachment" section

5. When you are ready, click on the 'Post to forum' button

Similar tutorials

The following other resources are also relevant to this topic:

• How to change whether I get emails from a forum
• How to create a forum for groups