|What is a Discussion Room?| To respond to an existing Discussion Thread | Starting a new Discussion Thread | But I can't see the discussion I contributed!! | Can I start a new discussion room? |
A Discussion Room is a place on the web that people interested in a particular topic can go to discuss, seek help etc. Although these dicussion rooms are primarily a 'bulletin board' type of communication, it is possible to hold virtual meetings in 'real time'. That is, physically disparate people could 'meet' in a Discussion Room at a pre-arranged time to discuss a topic. This could be useful, for example, for Study Groups. However, the speed will be much slower than IRC (Internet Relay Chat).
A discussion thread is simply a discussion topic.
When you first open a discussion room, there will be a list of topics currently being discussed. (If none are listed, go to next section on 'Starting a new Discussion Thread' to begin your own topic). Each of these topics is a link. To read and/or contribute to the discussion, click on the topic that interests you. The page will begin with a transcript list of the discussion so far, along with the names of the people contributing. Read through, and if you want to respond, scroll down the page to fill in the form. The form is described below.
Your Name
It should be your real name.
Comments
The large window of text will accept typed in text, but does not "autowrap" when you get to the right margin of the window. This information is passed back to the browser as HTML, so if you don't mind doing a horizontal scroll, it's ok with the rest of us.
When you have completed the form, simply click the Post button, or, if you wish to redo your entry, click Clear the Form.
A new discussion thread is simply a new discussion topic. To start a new thread, click the text start a new thread (topic) and fill in the form. The form is described below.
It should be your real name.
The topic text is usually used as the title and header for the new discussion thread's page. It should be meaningful, while short enough to avoid line-wrap if possible.
The large window of text will accept typed in text, but does not "autowrap" when you get to the right margin of the window. This information is passed back to the browser as HTML, so if you don't mind doing a horizontal scroll, it's ok with the rest of us.
When you have completed the form, simply click the Post button, or, if you wish to redo your entry, click Clear the Form.
Netscape has a preference which controls whether it checks up on the cached file. It is called "Check Documents" and is located in the "Cache and Network" portion of the Preferences ("Options" menu).
For BEST RESULTS, set this option to ALWAYS (or EVERY TIME).
If you don't do this, your browser may simply reload the unmodified local copy of the edited page, giving you the impression that your update didn't work.
Simply TELL YOUR BROWSER TO RELOAD the page. Hold down the option key (on macs) and click on the RELOAD button if it's visible. This forces the current page contents to be retransmitted by the server, and everything will be OK.
Yes. If you feel there is a need for a new Discussion Room related to Teaching and Learning contact David Reid, Room 243, email d.reid@edfac.usyd.edu.au
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Enquiries/Comments to: mteach.IT@alex.edfac.usyd.edu.au