A newsgroup provides an electronic forum for people to post items of interest, conduct discussions, or voice their opinions. Instructors use newsgroups to encourage communication outside the classroom.

Instructors use newsgroups to

• provide answers to questions about problems sets or reading
• continue discussions started in class
• create "threads" of discussion to pursue particular questions.

 

IMPORTANT: to use Newsgroups you must have Netscape Communicator. (Netscape Navigator can not handle Newsgroups).

To create a newsgroup for your class, simply click

at the bottom of the page. You'll then see:

Click the "Yes" button and your newsgroup will be set up.

Accessing the Newsgroup:

Click

and you'll see a link to your newsgroup.

Click the link and you'll see something like this.

Threaded discussion:Click New Msg to start a thread. In the Subject Line type the topic (or thread) , e.g. Jane Austen. To contribute to the discussion about Jane Austen, open the Jane Austen posting and click Reply.