>>Sara: Being able to clearly express your thoughts and participate in discussions is
a critical aspect of higher education. Janux forums and discussions allow you to share
ideas and collaborate no matter where you might be. Taking time to become familiar with
these learning features will greatly enhance your learning experience in this course.
>>Chris: To participate in or initiate discussions, sign in to your class and select Discussions
from the choices across the top of the screen. In the Janux platform, discussions initiated
by instructors are filed under Discussions, and student-initiated discussions are filed
under Forum. The discussions created by instructors allow students to participate,
but not initiate. After you’ve read the instructor’s opening entry, you’ll notice
the option to add a comment at the bottom. To participate in the discussion, simply click
here and join the conversation. To post your comment in the discussion, choose the “Save”
icon located at the bottom. You have the option to edit or delete the post once it has been
added. The Forums section is for discussions initiated by students. When you click the
Forum button, entries made by other students will appear. Scroll down to see the discussion
entries. If you’d like to read one of these discussions, simply click on it! You may read
the discussion entries and add your own thoughts. To make a comment about the initial entry,
look at the bottom of that entry for the “Add Comment” button. To reply to one of the
subsequent comments in the discussion, go to the bottom of that entry and click on “Reply.”
In both cases, a window will appear to enter your comment. When you’re searching and
reading discussions and forums, you may find a post that is inappropriate in some way;
the thread may not pertain to the class or may be inaccurate, or even offensive. If you
run across a post or discussion you feel is inappropriate, you have the ability to report
it. You’ll see the “Report” button on the left side of posts. If you would like
to initiate a new conversation open to everyone associated with the class, this Forum section
is the place. A button will appear labeled “New Discussion”—selecting this window
will bring up an empty discussion field. At the top is a space for discussion title, and
below that is a space for appropriate tags; you may now enter your text in the large field.
At the bottom left side of the screen, you have the ability to manipulate the font style.
You can also add an illustration by using the whiteboard feature, activated by clicking
this plus sign. The whiteboard allows you to draw or write in many colors. The shape
feature allows you to add a variety of geometric shapes in various colors—plus you can upload
an image from your computer. The third discussion option is entitled Announcements. This
area contains announcements written by the instructor. In most courses, this thread is
used for class business and supplemental resources. As with the forums we discussed earlier, you
are able to add your own comments to these entries. With any of these discussions, you
may find an entry you really like. If so, look at the upper right corner of any discussion
entry. You’ll notice a heart icon: Click on the heart to show that you “like” or
endorse the entry. Next to the heart icon is a bookmark icon—click it to bookmark
this entry for reference later. To find your bookmarked items, go up to the right side
of the Janux top toolbar. There are three icons just left of your profile picture. Use
the middle icon, the Recent Activity button, to find your bookmarks. When you click on
this button, it can bring up all the recent activity in Janux. The filters are located
at the bottom. To see your bookmarks, choose the “Only Me” filter and just the items
you have bookmarked or highlighted will show up. Scroll up and down to find the item you want.
>>Sara: In this video, we’ve discussed the types of discussions available in Janux: Discussions,
Announcements, and Forums. We’ve learned how to comment on the entries of others, and
how to save entries as favorites—plus how to bookmark entries for use at a later date.
Be sure to become familiar with these and all of the features offered in the Janux platform.