University of Phoenix Forum Manual

ENG 221
May 14, 2014
Instructor: Tim Toole

Will Stalvey
Myra Faison
Tifany Read
Terry Hacker

Table of Contents

Title Page……………………………………………………………….1
List of Illustrations……………………………………………………...2
Abstract…………………………………………………………………2
Introduction………… ………………………………………………….3
Login in to the Classroom……………………………………………....3
Accessing the Classroom……………………………………………….4
Getting to the Forum …………………………………………………5-6 Locating Preferences……………………………………………………7 Adjusting Preferences…………………………………………………8-9
Accessing the Discussion Group………………………………………..9
a) Posting the Topic………………………………………………10
b) Responding to a Topic……………………………………...11-13
c) Discussion Board Views………………………....................13-14
d) Sort messages……………………………………………….14-15
e) Attaching Files……………………………………………...15-16
Reference………………………………………………………………17

List of Illustrations

Introduction

Welcome to University of Phoenix and remember we are here for you if you need help. As a student of University of Phoenix you will have to understand how to use the school forum completely. Most of the classes that this university offers at this time is online. You may be in a hurry in completing an assignment and you may get lost in the forum. This is what this manual is for to keep you on track. It is to assist you from getting from point A to point B in the forum. At any time you feel overwhelmed you may call the customer service at any time to get you back on track. The toll free number is located in references in the back of the manual. The success of the student is the number one priority of this school and we are here for you at any time.

Logging into University of Phoenix
To login to the online classroom you will begin at https://ecampus.phoenix.edu.
Figure 1 Steps:
1) Input your Username in the username section (see Figure 1)
2) Input your Password in the password section, (see Figure 1)
3) Then click enter or return button on the keyboard or click the Login button on the screen. (It is located in Figure 1 in the yellow rectangle box with a lock in it)

Accessing the Classroom

You will begin at the home page (see Figure 2) and you will have three choices to get to your Classroom. All this choices will take you to your course’s classroom so you can have access to the class forum.

Figure 2

Steps:

First Choice:

1) Click the word “Classroom” next to the word “Home”. (Located in Figure 2 top left hand side)

Second Choice:

1) Click the word “Materials”, “Discussion”, or “Assignment” next to the class that you would like to access. (Located in Figure 2 on the far right hand side) Third Choice:

1) Click the name of your class (Located in Figure 2 in the center)

Getting to the Forum

If you have chosen the first, third, or the words “Materials” or “Assignment” from the second choice then there will be another step to get to the discussion board.

Figure 3

If have chosen first, third, or “Materials” from the second choice you will see figure 3 above. To get to the discussion board you will simply click the word “Discussion”. Located between the words “Materials” and “Assignments”. You will see the discussion board in Figure 4 below.

Figure 4

Figure 5

If you have chosen “Assignments” from the second choice then you will see Figure 5 above. To get to the discussion board you will simply click the word “Discussion”. Located between the words “Materials” and “Assignments”. You will see the discussion board in Figure 4 below.

Figure 4

Locating Preferences

Setting of preferences is where you setup your font size; font type, auto spell check, your signature, and other useful choices that will help you read and write post.

Figure 6

Accessing Preferences: On the Main Discussion board there is the word “Preferences” in the bottom left corner of the screen, see figure 6 above. It is between “Class Members” (above) and “Tips/FAQ” (below) on Figure 6 above. Click the word “Preferences” and you will be on the “My Preferences” general page, see Figure 7 below.

Figure 7

Adjusting Preferences

Once you have click “Preferences” you will see “My Preferences” general page. You will have many options to choice from on this page, see figure 8.

Figure 8

My Display Name:
Display Name: You can change your name to something else if you do not feel comfortable sharing your real name to the class.

Compose Message:
Font Size: You can change your font size from xx-small to xx-large.
Font Type: You can change you font type to Arial, Comic San MS, Courier New, Tahoma, Times New Roman, and Verdana.
Enable Auto Spell Check: You can check “yes” or “no” for auto spell check
Compose message in new window: You can check “yes” or “no”

My Signature: This is where you put your name, contact information, and time zone that you live in. Every time you type a message this will show up on the bottom left of the post automatically.

After you have made your changes to your preferences go to the bottom left of the screen and click “Save Preferences”. Your changes will not save if you do click it.

Once you have clicked “Save Preferences” find Organize Messages next to General and click the words and you will see a screen similar to figure 9. As you can see you can assign other people’s post colors so they are easy to find and read in the forum. As the example below on figure 9 Team D members are colored so their post will be easy to locate in the main forum.

Figure 9

After you have added color to the individuals post that you wish to. You will go back to the discussion board you will simply click the word “Discussion”. Located between the words “Materials” and “Assignments”. You will see the discussion board in Figure 4 below.

Figure 4

Accessing the Discussion Group

This section is broken down in to five parts:
1) Posting the Topic-starting a new thread
2) Responding to a Topic-reply to a post
3) Views-how you see the thread
4) Sort Messages-organizing the message the way the user want it
5) Attaching Files-adding files to the post that could not be put on the post

Posting the Topic

When posting a new topic you can only post on the main threads. There is a “Post New Thread” button on the bottom and top of the forum screen. As seen here in Figure 10.

Figure 10

Once you click “Post New Thread” a new window will open with the subject line clear as is in figure 11 but everything else the same as a normal post. Then you type in your subject that you want discuss in the subject section and write in detail about the subject you would like to talk about in the message box. Then once you are done then click “Post Message” and you just open a new thread.

Figure 11

Responding to a Topic

To post to your first discussion question (DQ), you will click on the classroom tab and then click on the word “Discussion”. Located between the words “Materials” and “Assignments”. This will bring you to the main forum messages as seen below in figure 10. You will look for the message that says Week 1 DQ 1 to answer your first question. It will have a graduation cap and a blue question mark next to it to make it easier to find. The graduation cap means that it is from the instructor of the class and the blue question mark means it is a discussion question. (See figure 10)

Figure 10

It should be the first post you see if you join the class at the beginning of the class block. If you did not then your first DQ will be the week you joined. When you click the DQ you wish to answer the post will be on the bottom of the screen. (See Figure 11)

Figure 11

To answer the discussion question look to the lower right hand corner as seen in figure 11 and click reply on the discussion question. A new window will pop up if that was selected in preferences. If not, then the replay post will pop up in the same window. The window will look like Figure 12 with the personal information different.

Figure 12

Start typing your answer above where you have made your signature that will appear on all you posts. After you have typed a response to the question, you want to post it to the Main Forum. Click on the button that says “Post Message”. (See figure 12)

Discussion Board Views
The discussion board consists of two different ways to view disscussion posts (messages) -threaded and flat view: Figure 3.1 Discussion Forums in Threaded View
Threaded View-Fig 3.1 contains initial posts and replies (in indented form). By default, this view is not visible in the initial discussion posts.
To view posts in threaded view:
1. Click on an initial post.
2. Collapse (hide) by clicking the – sign next to posts.
3. Expand (view) by clicking the + sign next to posts.

Figure 3.2 Discussion Forum in Flat View Flat View-Figure 3.2 shows the flat view. All posts are aligned on one side and all posts information is fully visible. This option is only accessible in threaded view.

To view posts in flat view:
1. Click on a single discussion post.
2. Click on the “Review Entire Thread” box located on the right side of the page (located next to the “Mark Thread As Read” box).
Sorting Messages
Messages in the discussion board can be sorted by topic, posting date, unread and flagged (messages marked as important) views: Figure 4.1 Drop down Menu for Sorting Message Posts
Figure 4.1 shows the “Forum View” drop down menu box for sorting messages located on the right side of the discussion forum window.
To view posts by topic:
1. Click on the “Threaded” section in the drop down menu box.
2. Messages will be displayed by topic.
To view posts by date:
1. Click on the “Messages by Date” section in the drop down menu box.
2. Messages will be displayed by the date posted.
To view unread posts:
1. Click on the “Unread Messages” section in the drop down menu box.

2. All unread messages will be displayed.

To view flagged posts:
1. Click on the “Flagged Messages” section in the drop down menu box.
2. All flagged messages will be displayed.

Uploading a Document The discussion forum allows you to attach documents to your posts. Figure 5.1 Discussion Post Document Upload Screen
Figure 5.1 displays the document upload screen which allows a document from your files to be attached to a post.
To upload a document:
1. Click on the “Browse” button next to the words “Attach File” located above the message window. (The File Upload window pops up)
2. Search for the file you are looking for by typing in the file name or searching through the folders. (The file will appear in the “File Name” window)
3. Click “Open” to upload the file.
Figure 5.2 displays the window after the file has been uploaded.

Figure 5.2 Uploaded Document Window
Note: The document will not be submitted until you click the “Post Message” button.
To delete the uploaded document:
4. Click on the word “Remove” next to the uploaded document.
5. The file will be removed.

Reference

University of Phoenix. (2014). University of Phoenix. Retrieved May 17, 2014 from http://www.phoenix.edu/
Gerson, S., & Gerson, S. (2012). Technical Communication. Retrieved from The University of Phoenix eBook Collection database