Click the forum activity link on your course page. Click the Settings tab once you are in the activity. Scroll down to the section you want to modify and click it to open it.
General
General
Know what the terms mean:
Forum name = Title of the forum as it appears on the course page
Description = Instructions, prompts, and participation requirements
Display description on course page = Shows the instructions on the course page before students click the forum activity link
Forum type = There are 5 forum types:
A single simple discussion - A single discussion topic which everyone can reply to (cannot be used with separate groups)
Each person posts one discussion - Each student can post exactly one new discussion topic, which everyone can then reply to
Q and A forum - A student must first post their reply to a question posted by the teacher, before viewing other students’ posts
Instructors must make the first post in a Q and A forum. Students cannot post without the instructor's initial post.
Standard forum displayed in a blog-like format - An open forum where anyone can start a new discussion at any time, and in which discussion topics are displayed on one page with "Discuss this topic" links
Standard forum for general use - An open forum where anyone can start a new discussion at any time
Additional Resource: Using Forum - MoodleDocs
Common Scenarios
Standard Forum
Forum type – Standard forum
Forum name – Example: Week 1 Discussion
Description – Include prompt, posting requirements, reply expectations, and due dates
Display description on course page – Optional
Initial Post Required Before Viewing Peer Responses
Forum name – Example: Week 1 Discussion
Forum Type – Q & A
Description – Clearly explain posting requirements
Display description on course page – Optional
Availability
Availability
Know what the terms mean:
Due date = Target deadline for participation
Posting is still allowed after this date.
Cut-off date = Prevents students from posting after this date and time
Common Scenarios
Standard Discussion
Due date - Check Enable and set date and time
Cut-off date – Check Enable and enter a date same as due date or 1-2 days after the due date
Classroom Community Forum
(Provides a place for random questions throughout the course)
Due date – Do not enable or set date
Cut-off date – Do not enable or set date
Attachments and word count
Attachments and word count
Know what the terms mean:
Maximum attachment size = Largest files a student can upload
Maximum number of attachments = Number of files a student can attach to a single post
Display word count = Shows the number of words in a student’s post
Common Scenarios
Standard Discussion
Maximum attachment size – Default
Maximum number of attachments – 0 or 1
Display word count – Optional
Media-based Discussion
Maximum attachment size – Default
Maximum number of attachments – 1 or more
Display word count – Likely not necessary
Subscription and tracking
Subscription and tracking
Know what the terms mean:
Subscription mode = Determines how users receive notifications of new forum post
There are 4 subscription mode options:
Optional subscription - Participants can choose whether to be subscribed
Forced subscription - Everyone is subscribed and cannot unsubscribe
Auto subscription - Everyone is subscribed initially but can choose to unsubscribe at any time
Subscription disabled - Subscriptions are not allowed
Notes:
Forced subscription does not bypass a user's Notification preferences.
Forced subscription means that an email will be generated every time a student posts to a forum which can be overwhelming.
Any subscription mode changes will only affect users who enroll in the course in the future, and not existing users.
Read Tracking = Read tracking enables participants to check which posts they have not yet seen by highlighting any new posts
If set to optional, participants can choose whether to turn tracking on or off for the forum. (Users must also enable forum tracking in their forum preferences.)
Forced. This means that tracking is always on, regardless of users’ forum preferences.
Common Scenarios
Standard Discussion
Subscription mode – Optional subscription
Tracking – Optional
Instructor Announcement Forum
Subscription mode – Forced subscription
Tracking – Optional
Discussion locking
Discussion locking
Know what the terms mean:
Lock discussions after period of inactivity = Automatically prevents new posts after no activity for a specified number of days
Common Scenarios
Standard Discussion
Do not lock discussions
Community Discussion Forum
Leave default (Do not lock discussions)
Post threshold for blocking
Post threshold for blocking
Students can be blocked from posting more than a given number of posts in a given time period.
Know what the terms mean:
Time period for blocking = Number of days Moodle monitors student posting activity
Post threshold for blocking = Maximum number of posts allowed within period of time
Post threshold for warning = Number of posts that triggers a warning before blocking limit is reached
Common Scenarios
Standard Discussion
Time period for blocking – Not set
Post threshold for blocking – Not set
Post threshold for warning – Not set
Note: This feature can be used to prevent discussion dominance by a particular student but is not generally necessary.
Whole forum grading
Whole forum grading
Know what the terms mean:
Whole forum grading = Assigns an overall grade based on a student’s participation across the entire discussion
Grade = Maximum score or scale used for the forum
New scales can be created from Grade > Scales
Grading method = Determines how forum is evaluated e.g., simple direct grading or rubric
If Rubric or Grading Guide is selected, once finished with the rest of the settings on this page, click ‘Save and Display.’ This takes you to the Advanced Grading screen for setup of the Grading Guide or Rubric.
Grading category = This setting controls the category in which this activity’s grades are placed in the gradebook
Grade to pass = Minimum score required to pass. The value is used in activity and course completion, and in the gradebook, where pass grades are highlighted in green and fail grades in red.
Default for ‘Notify student’ = Allows for student notification after submission. When grading each student or updating grades, ‘Notify student’ will be ticked by default.
Warning: Do not use Whole forum grading and Ratings (next section) together. This creates two gradebook entries.
Common Scenarios
Standard Discussion
Whole forum grading – Enabled
Grade – Set point value e.g., 10 or 20 points
Grading method – simple direct grading
Ratings (next section) – Disabled
Rubric-based Discussion
Whole forum grading – Enabled
Grading method – Rubric
Grade – Must match rubric total
Ratings (next section) - Disabled
Ratings
Ratings
Know what the terms mean:
Roles with permission to rate = Determines who can assign ratings (set at admin level)
Aggregate type = How individual ratings are combined into a final grade
The aggregate type defines how ratings are combined to form the final grade in the gradebook.
Average of ratings - The mean of all ratings
Count of ratings - The number of rated items becomes the final grade. Note that the total cannot exceed the maximum grade for the activity.
Maximum - The highest rating becomes the final grade
Minimum - The smallest rating becomes the final grade
Sum - All ratings are added together. Note that the total cannot exceed the activity's maximum grade.
Scale = Type of grade and Maximum grade
Type = grade type e.g., none, scale, point. If using scales, new scales can be created from Grade > Scales
Maximum grade = maximum score or scale used for the forum
Restrict ratings to items with dates in this range = you can restrict ratings to a specific date range so that participants can only rate items within that time window.
This restriction applies to the date of the item, not the date the rating is given.
Grading category = This setting controls the category in which this activity’s grades are placed in the gradebook
Grade to pass = Minimum score required to pass
The value is used in activity and course completion, and in the gradebook, where pass grades are highlighted in green and fail grades in red.
Common Scenarios
Participation Points Discussion
Aggregate type – Sum of ratings
Scale – Points e.g., 2 points per post
Note: Whole forum grading must be disabled if Ratings is used
Quality-focused Posting
Aggregate type – Average of ratings
Scale – Points or rubric-based scale
Common module settings
Common module settings
Know what the terms mean:
Availability = Determines whether the forum is visible on the course page
'Hide on course page' also hides the grade in the student’s gradebook and will not count against them in their view.
ID number = Used for gradebook calculations – not typically used
Force language = Force activity to be displayed in selected language
Include in course content download = Allows or prevents inclusion in content downloads
Group mode = Determines how groups function within the forum e.g., No groups, Separate groups, Visible groups
Grouping = Restricts the activity to a specific set of groups – must be pre-configured
Common Scenarios
Standard Forum
Availability – Show on course page
ID number – Leave blank
Force language – Do not force
Include in course content download -
Group mode – No groups
Grouping – None
Prepare in Advance (Hide forum until ready)
Availability – Hide from students
ID number – Leave blank
Force language – Do not force
Include in course content download -
Group mode – No groups
Grouping - None
Restrict access
Restrict access
Activity completion = Require students to complete (or not complete) another activity
Date = Opens or hides access until a specific date and time
Grade = Requires a minimum score or completion of another item
Group = Limits access to specific groups
Grouping = Limits access to a specific grouping within a group.
User profile = Restricts by role or profile attribute
WARNING: For reasons such as providing accommodations to specific students, make sure to protect their privacy by adhering to FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act).
Level = Limits access based on level of the user when using Level Up XP in the course.
Restriction Set = Add a set of nested restrictions to apply complex logic
Common Scenarios
Alternate assignment for one student for disability accommodation purposes
Completion of a previous activity before moving forward
Team or group assignments
Completion conditions
Completion conditions
Know what the terms mean:
Completion tracking = Determines whether students manually mark an activity complete or whether completion is automatic based on certain conditions
Require view = Students must click and view the forum
Require grade = Forum is marked complete when grade is entered
Require post = Forum is marked complete once the student makes the required number of posts
Require passing grade = Student must receive at least the grade set in “Grade to pass” for completion
Set reminder in Timeline: This allows you to set a reminder for students to work on this activity
It will appear in the Timeline block on their Dashboard as “Assignment requires action.”
Common Scenarios
Standard Forum
Completion tracking – Students can manually mark the activity complete
Note: Use this setting when the completion box is intended as a personal organization tool for students
Standard Forum with Verified Completion
Require post – Checked
Require view – Not necessary
Require grade – Optional
Require passing grade - Optional
Tags
Tags
Tags allow students and teachers to connect different types of content on the site. Type the tag you want in the "Enter tags" block and hit Enter. The tag will apply to this assignment and will appear above the dropdown.
Resource: Tags - MoodleDocs
Copyleaks plagiarism plugin settings
Copyleaks plagiarism plugin settings
Know what the terms mean:
Enable Copyleaks = Allows Copyleaks to scan forum posts for plagiarism and AI-generated content.
Scan forum posts automatically = Copyleaks automatically scans posts when they are submitted to the forum.
Generate reports immediately = Similarity and AI detection reports are generated as soon as the post has been processed by Copyleaks.
Allow students access to plagiarism reports = Allows students to view their own similarity reports and scores for forum posts.
Edit scan settings = Opens additional scan options, such as grammar checking and AI content detection settings.
Resubmit failed scans = Resubmits forum posts that were not successfully processed during the initial scan.
Common Scenarios
Standard forum plagiarism checking
Enable Copyleaks – Checked
Generate reports immediately – Checked
Allow students access to plagiarism reports – Unchecked
Recommended when instructors want to review similarity results before students can view them.
Forum posts with student self-review
Enable Copyleaks – Checked
Generate reports immediately – Checked
Allow students access to plagiarism reports – Checked
Recommended when students are encouraged to review similarity results and improve their academic writing practices.
AI content detection in forums
Enable Copyleaks – Checked
AI Content Detection – Enabled
Allow students access to plagiarism reports – Optional
Recommended when instructors want to identify potentially AI-generated forum posts in addition to traditional plagiarism matches.
Notes
Copyleaks scans the content of forum posts rather than uploaded assignment files.
Similarity reports may take several minutes to appear depending on system load and post length.
Instructors can review similarity matches and AI detection results directly from the forum activity.