Using Discussion Forums in Etudes

Introduction | Post and Reply | Mark as Read | Attachments | Private Messages | My Profile | Extra Features

My Profile

You can set some personal information in the My Profile area of the Discussion Tool. Things such as a photo of yourself, a link to allow others to send you email or instant messages, and other personal information.

Some things to remember:

• Set your preferences once. Your profile settings are global (they are reflected in all your sites).
• Setting profile preferences is optional. It is up to you how much information you want to share.
• If you don't set any preference in your profile, only your name will be listed and a link to Private Messages.
• If you enter data in email, IM, website, etc., links to them will show up at the bottom of each of your posts.
• You can view others' profiles by clicking on a user's name and under Member Listing.
• Your name and email address is retrieved from the system. You can't change it in My Profile.

If you click on a user's name anywhere in the Discussion tool, or on the Profile icon in a user's post, you'll see that person's profile. Here is an example of a user's profile snapshot:

Setting Your Profile Preferences

To set your profile preferences, click on My Profile.

Default User Register Information

First, you will see your "Register Information." You cannot change this information here. Your account information can be changed by you in one central location, under MyWorkspace >> Account >> Modify. If you change your account information in the system, the changes will be reflected here as well.

General Information About Yourself

This is optional, but if you set it, this information will appear by your posts. Try it. If you don't like what is displayed to other site participants, you can come back and change your profile. Your changes will update all references of your profile in all sites where you are a member and have posted topics and messages.

Note that you can complete as many or as few fields as you want to be viewable by other site participants.

Here is an example that shows a user who included her IM information, etc. in her profile. Once included in My Profile, this information appears in every topic or message a user posts.

Setting Your Preferences

Go through the list, and set your preferences. Again, remember that these settings are global. They define how the JForum discussion tool will handle email notifications, show signature, show email address, etc., in every discussion forum that you are a member of - in all your course or project sites.

For example, if you want to be notified via email every time someone posts a new topic, you can select 'yes' in the preferences.

Foreign Language Support

The discussion tool supports 12 different foreign languages. If you choose one from the pop-down menu, the labels of the menus change to that language. You can always switch back by re-entering My Profile.

Including Avatars

Finally, you can upload or link to an image that you'd like to use as an avatar. This image will appear next to your post. Before uploading an image, please resize it so that it an appropriate size. 130 X 130 pixels or smaller is recommended. You can always return and remove an avatar or replace it with a new one.

When you are finished, click on "Submit" at the bottom.

You can always come back to changes your Profile settings. They will be changed globally in all sites where you are a member of a discussion tool. If you have posted messages in forums, your adjustments to your profile will be updated in all your posts, member listing information, etc. in all of your sites.

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Content originally developed by the ETUDES Consortium Project.
This version is licensed under Creative Commons, Sarah Phinney, 2007.

12/21/06