W use open source software called Discourse to power our discussion forums, which you can explore at https://discourse.saylor.org -- the introductions thread is a great place to start!
In the discussion forums, you can:
- meet and chat with other students from around the world
- post essays, reactions, notes, and assignments for discussion with others in your course
- stay up to date on news and announcements from staff
- ask a question for students, staff, or everyone
- share news and items of interest that may be relevant to your course, to online learning, or to other people in our community
- earn badges for participation, including for reading, writing, or sharing a certain number of posts
- become a Discourse expert and teach friends and family how to use the forums of the future :)
Good to know:
- the forums are open to the public for reading, but you must have an account to post
- when you first join, you should get an automatic message that introduces you to Discourse and how to get around -- but if you need help, just drop a message in the support category or ask a friendly fellow student
- only Saylor Academy staff members can see your email address and other personal information, but whatever you post in the forums or on your forums profile can be seen by anyone
The makers of Discourse have a blog post to help you learn your way around the software, which you can read here: https://blog.discourse.org/2016/12/discourse-new-user-tips-and-tricks/