Forum
The Forum activity (mod_forum) hosts asynchronous discussions between students and teachers. The AI generates the forum with its title, a description that sets the participation rules, initial discussion topics when the forum type calls for them, and every subscription, tracking, attachment, blocking, rating, and whole-forum grading setting the teacher requests.
AI-generated settings
General
| Setting | Description | Possible values | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forum type | The discussion structure of the forum. | Standard forum for general use / Q and A forum / Each person posts one discussion / Standard forum displayed in a blog-like format / A single simple discussion | Standard forum for general use |
Attachments and word count
| Setting | Description | Possible values | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maximum attachment size | Size limit per attached file. Chosen from the form's closed list. | A size from the list (e.g. 500 KB, 5 MB) or Uploads are not allowed | 500 KB |
| Maximum number of attachments | How many files can be attached per post. | Number (e.g. 4, 9) | 9 |
| Display word count | Shows the word count of each post. | Yes / No | No |
Subscription and tracking
| Setting | Description | Possible values | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| Subscription mode | How users are subscribed to email notifications. | Optional subscription / Forced subscription / Auto subscription / Subscription disabled | Optional subscription |
| Read tracking | Whether unread posts are highlighted. | Optional / Forced / Off | Optional |
Discussion locking
| Setting | Description | Possible values | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lock discussions after period of inactivity | Automatically locks discussions with no activity for the given period. Chosen from the form's closed list. | Don't lock discussions, or a period from the list (e.g. 30 days) | Don't lock discussions |
Post threshold for blocking
| Setting | Description | Possible values | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| Time period for blocking | Window in which posts are counted toward the thresholds. Chosen from the form's closed list. | Don't block, or a period from the list (e.g. 3 days, 1 week) | Don't block |
| Post threshold for warning | Number of posts in the period after which the student is warned. | Number (e.g. 5) | Not set |
| Post threshold for blocking | Number of posts in the period after which the student is blocked from posting. | Number (e.g. 8, 10) | Not set |
Whole forum grading
| Setting | Description | Possible values | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grade | Grades each student's overall forum participation. | None, or Point type with a maximum (e.g. 20) | No grade |
| Grade to pass | Minimum whole-forum grade to pass. | Number below the maximum (e.g. 12) | Empty |
| Default setting for "Notify students" | Preselects the notify-students option when publishing grades. | Yes / No | Site default |
Ratings
| Setting | Description | Possible values | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aggregate type | How individual post ratings consolidate into a grade. | No ratings / Count of ratings / Sum of ratings / Average of ratings / Maximum rating / Minimum rating | No ratings |
| Scale | The rating scale. | Point type with a maximum (e.g. 5, 10, 20, 50) | Point, maximum 100 |
Generated content
- Title and a description that can spell out the participation rules.
- Initial discussion topics, each with its subject and opening post:
- Standard forums get one initial discussion by default, or exactly as many as the teacher requests (each with its own subject and opening message).
- A single simple discussion: the forum description becomes the first post of the single discussion, and no additional discussion topics are generated.
- Standard forum displayed in a blog-like format: no initial topics are created when the teacher asks students to open their own.
- When a syllabus or source document is uploaded, the title, description, and discussion topics are drawn strictly from it.
Rules and behavior
- Forum types and rating aggregate types are mutually exclusive alternatives: a forum has exactly one of each.
- Maximum attachment size, the inactivity period for locking, and the blocking time period come from closed dropdown lists on the form; the service snaps any requested value to the nearest value on the list.
- Asking only for a point score on ratings, without saying how they consolidate, activates Average of ratings by default.
- The post thresholds only take effect with a time period configured: asking for a blocking threshold without naming a period sets Time period for blocking to 1 week.
- Grade to pass and the default for "Notify students" are only emitted together with the whole forum grade.
- The Scale is only applied when ratings are active (aggregate type other than No ratings).
Example prompts
Without syllabus
A minimal prompt that produces a general-use forum with one initial discussion and every setting at its default value:
I need a forum for the Professional Ethics course where students discuss the ethical dilemmas of professional practice. The description should make the participation rules clear.
A Q and A forum with forced subscription, forced read tracking, discussion locking, post thresholds, and maximum-rating aggregation:
Create a question and answer forum for the Political Philosophy course on the social contract, where each student has to post their own answer before being able to see what their classmates wrote. Everyone must receive the notifications no matter what, without being able to unsubscribe, and everyone must always have their unread posts highlighted. Automatically lock discussions that have gone 30 days without activity and, within a 3-day window, warn the student at 5 posts and block them at 8. Posts are rated and each student's grade is the highest rating they receive, out of 10 points.
With syllabus
A general-use forum with four pre-opened discussion topics, attachment limits, word count, and count-of-ratings grading, anchored to unit 2 of the syllabus:
Build a general-use forum on the data governance of unit 2 of the syllabus, where anyone can open a new topic whenever they want. Leave me 4 discussion topics already open on data management and privacy, data monetization, ethical implications of artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity. Students are going to upload screenshots and diagrams, so allow up to 4 attached files per post, no more than 5 MB each. Let each person decide whether they want to receive the email notifications and whether they want unread posts highlighted, and display the word count of each post. Enable post ratings and let each student's grade be the number of ratings they receive, up to a maximum of 20 points.
A single simple discussion with whole-forum grading, grade to pass, default student notification, and minimum-rating aggregation, anchored to unit 2 of the syllabus:
Prepare a forum with a single discussion topic on ethical leadership in the digital era and the ethical implications of artificial intelligence from unit 2 of the document I uploaded, where everyone replies in the same thread and no one can open new threads. I am going to grade each student's whole participation out of 20 points, with 12 as the minimum grade to pass, and have students be notified by default when the grade is published. In addition, each post can receive ratings from classmates and I want that ratings grade to be the lowest each student receives, out of 5 points.