How to Adjust Group Settings in Your Discussion Forums
When students cannot post to a discussion Forum, it's usually because the Group setting for the Forum doesn't match the Group status of your students.
​First, check the Group status of your students:
1. With your course open in Moodle, click the Navigation Menu.
2. Scroll down the Navigation Menu on the left until you see the Administration section.
3. Expand the Course Administration menu, click on Users, then click on Enrolled users.
4. This will open the Participants list for your course. The group setting of the Forum has to match the group status of your students.
You can see the group status of your students under the Groups column. Students may be in "No groups"; or students may be grouped by course/section number or by groups you create.
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Next, check the Group setting in the Forum where students have trouble posting:
1. With the Forum open, return to the Navigation Menu and scroll down to the Forum Administration menu. Click on Edit Settings.
Note: The Navigation Menu change according to your role and where you are in the course.
2. On the Edit Forum settings page, scroll down and click on Common module settings. Group settings are found under the Common module settings menu
3. Check the Group mode setting for the Forum. As shown below, you have three options. Choose the one that matches the group status of students in your course:
- Choose No Groups if the group status of students is "No Groups."
- Otherwise, choose Visible groups.
Note: See "Additional Tips" at the end of this article for more about group modes.
4. Save your changes and return to the course. You may need to repeat these steps for other Forums in your course.
When creating a new Forum...
...look under Common module settings and select the Group mode that matches the Groups status shown on the course Participants list.
Additional Tips:
- Choose the right Forum type for your objectives.
You have five different kinds of Forums to choose from, depending on your objectives for the discussion. You can learn about all five and see examples on our All About Moodle Forums page.
- Choose the right Group mode for your course and activities.
You can set Group mode at the course level and the activity level. Learn the differences between No Groups, Visible Groups, and Separate Groups - and how they affect the way students can interact with each other.
Look for "Using Discussion Forums in Moodle" under the Fielding Faculty Training Pathway in your Learning Spaces account.
For questions about your Learning Spaces account, visit the Faculty Guide to Academic Technology or email autumnbell@fielding.edu