FOR STUDENTS

ForumStudent User Guide

Learn how to participate effectively in the Forum, use Markdown to write engaging content, join peer discussions and earn marks.

Publish your first discussion

Post Your First Discussion

Just three steps are all it takes to post your views in the Forum.

Select board

In the "Discussion" tab of the Course classroom, find the board designated by the instructor (such as "Weekly Topic" or "Learning Reflection") and click to enter.

Write content

Tap the "Start discussion" button, enter a title and content. Markdown is supported, and you can also drag and drop images and attachments to upload.

Publish post

After publishing, AI will assess the article quality within 10 seconds and provide feedback. You can edit the content at any time to improve the article.

Markdown syntax guide

Markdown Syntax Guide

The Forum supports Markdown syntax, making your posts richer in format. Common syntax includes:

Feature	syntax	Effect
Bold	`Bold text`	Bold text
Italic	`Italic text`	italic text
Large heading	`# Heading`	Title
Mid-heading	`## Heading`	Title
Inline Code	`Code`	`Code`
Code Block	```python print("hello") ```	Syntax highlighting
Link	`[Text](https://...)`	Text
Image	`![Description](image URL)`	Show image
Unordered list	`- Item 1 - Item 2`	• Item 1 • Item 2
Quote	`> Quoted text`	Quoted text

Using Markdown can make your post look more professional. If you are not familiar with it, the toolbar also has shortcut buttons to insert formatting directly. Use Ctrl+B to bold quickly, and Ctrl+I to italicise quickly.

Replies and Emoji interaction

Replies & Emoji Reactions

Reply to discussion

Reply post

Under any post, click "Reply" to share your view, ask a question or add information. Replies also support Markdown syntax.

Nested replies

You can reply to a specific reply to form a multi-level thread. Nested replies go up to two levels, helping you explore a particular viewpoint in depth.

Email Notifications

When someone replies to your post or comment, the system will automatically send an Email notification, ensuring that you do not miss any interaction.

Emoji Interaction

Tap the emoji below the post to express your view of the content:

❤️ Heart

👍 Thumbs up

👀 Review eyes

🚀 Rocket

🎉 Great confetti

🔥 Hot fire

😠 Angry

💡 Inspiration lightbulb

🤔 Thinking

✅ Passed check

❓ Question

💤 Invalid zzz

The instructor's special Emoji (👍 🎉 🚀) can earn you extra points! Write more in-depth content to increase your chances of being appreciated by the instructor.

Scoring rule explanation

Scoring Rules

Every time you participate, it counts

Participating seriously in discussions can accumulate points, and once the threshold set by the Instructor is reached, full marks will be awarded. The basic scoring rules are as follows:

Start discussion +3 points

Reply article +1 points

Short reply +0.3 points

👍 Received Like from Instructor +1 point

🎉 Received Excellent from Instructor +3 points

🚀 Received Rocket from Instructor +5 points

The secret to scoring highly

Write in depth

AI judges article quality. Carefully written articles will receive a quality badge, while filler content may be marked as insufficient information.

Actively reply to classmates

Replying to classmates can earn 1 point, and deeper replies are more likely to receive an Emoji bonus from the Instructor.

Avoid padding out

A reply of just a few words can only earn 0.3 points. A carefully written full reply can earn the full 1 point.

Make good use of Markdown

Clearly structured articles are easier to read and accept. Use headings, lists and quotations to make the article well organised.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a short reply? Why is it only 0.3 points?

A short reply refers to a reply with relatively brief content. To encourage students to write in depth, shorter replies will only receive 0.3 points. It is recommended that you share more of your own thoughts and views when replying, and write a complete argument.

What should I do if AI says my article quality is poor?

AI judgements are instant feedback, intended to help you improve post quality. When you receive a reminder, you can edit the article and add more viewpoints or arguments. The final quality judgement rests with the Instructor, who can use 👀 to review the AI’s result.

Where can I see my grades?

On the Forum page, click the "Leaderboard" tab to view your personal score breakdown, including: number of posts, number of replies, points awarded, total points and the converted grade.

How much of the semester grade does the Forum count for?

Each course has different weighting. Please refer to the instructor's course outline and instructions. Forum marks are usually part of continuous assessment. Instructors will set a full-marks threshold; once that threshold is reached, full marks are awarded.

I posted but didn’t receive AI feedback. What happened?

AI feedback usually appears within 10 seconds after posting. If it does not appear, the Instructor may not yet have enabled the AI quality judgement feature, or the system may be temporarily busy. You can refresh the page to check.

Will Emoji reactions affect my grade?

Other students' Emoji reactions do not directly affect your marks. Only the special Emoji from the Instructor and TA (👍, 🎉, 🚀) earn points. But receiving positive Emoji from classmates means your content has been recognised!

What if I do not know how to use Markdown?

Don't worry! The editor above the Forum has a toolbar, so you can click buttons directly to insert formatting (bold, headings, links, and so on) without having to memorise the syntax. You can also refer to Chapter 2 of this guide, "Markdown Syntax Guide", and learn at your own pace. The most basic is to use **text** for bold and # heading for headings.

Want to learn how teachers design discussion activities?

View the Instructor guide to learn about board management, AI scoring and teaching cases

View the Instructor guide

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