# How to add presenters and run a course discussion board in Continuum Learn

> In Continuum Learn, you add presenter profiles to your courses, give presenters their own area, and switch on a moderated course discussion board where enrolled learners ask questions and you answer them.

A presenter profile shows learners who is teaching a course: a photo, a job title and a short bio. If you give a presenter a login, they also get their own area to follow their learners and answer questions. The course discussion board is a place where enrolled learners ask questions, and you and your presenters answer them.

You can use profiles without the discussion board, and the board without any presenters.

> **Who can do this:** team admins create presenter profiles under **Manage**. Admins and authors link presenters to a course and switch the discussion board on in the course settings. Moderating the board is open to admins, authors and the presenters linked to that course.

## Add a presenter profile

1. Go to **Manage > People > Presenters** and click **Add Presenter**.
2. Enter the presenter's **Name**. Add a **Title** (for example "Head of Safety") and a **Bio** if you want learners to see them.
3. Under **Photo**, upload an image. Without one, learners see the presenter's initials.
4. If your team offers more than one language, a **Translations** section appears. Type the title and bio for each language, or click **Translate with AI** to get a first draft you can edit. Learners see the version for their own language and the main one when no translation exists.
5. Click **Save Changes**.

![The Presenters list showing a presenter with a linked account and a guest speaker with no login](https://cont-resilient.jwdev.tech/images/help/presenters-and-discussion/01-presenters-list.png)

![The Add Presenter form with name, title, bio, photo and translations](https://cont-resilient.jwdev.tech/images/help/presenters-and-discussion/02-presenter-form.png)

### A profile is not a login

A profile is just a public description. It doesn't need an account, so you can list a guest speaker who will never sign in. These show **No login** on the presenter's card.

To give a presenter access to their own area, link the profile to an account:

- **Invite by email**: open the card's menu (the three dots), choose **Invite by email**, type their address and click **Send**. They get an invitation to join your team. When they accept, their account is linked automatically. If that email address already belongs to someone in your team, the profile is linked straight away and no email is sent.
- **Link existing user**: choose this from the same menu and search your team members by name or email.
- **Unlink account**: removes the link and the presenter's access. The profile itself stays on your courses.
- **Delete**: removes the profile and takes it off every course.

## The presenter role is automatic

Someone is a presenter in your team for exactly as long as their account is linked to at least one presenter profile. You don't switch it on, and you can't add or remove it in the user editor. To give someone the role, link a profile to them. To take it away, unlink or delete the profile.

Presenters are also learners, so they keep their normal learner view.

### What presenters can and can't see

| Presenters can | Presenters can't |
|---|---|
| Open the presenter area for courses they are linked to | See any other course in the presenter area |
| See each learner's name, progress and status | See learners' email addresses or custom fields |
| See quiz and survey results for their courses | Edit the course, or change settings |
| Confirm attendance and sign off learners, where the course uses them | Reach anything under **Create** or **Manage** unless they also have an admin or author role |
| Answer and moderate the discussion on their courses | |

Admins and authors can use the presenter area too: authors from **Present** in the main menu, admins from **Presenter area** in the **Manage** menu. They can switch between their own courses and **All courses**, and answer questions from any course's discussion in one inbox. Admins also see learners' email addresses there. Admins have a **Learner questions** tile on the **Manage** page showing how many questions are waiting.

Send presenters the guide [How to use the presenter area](https://cont-resilient.jwdev.tech/help/presenter-area) so they know where everything is.

## Show presenters on a course

1. Open the course in **Create** and click **Settings** in the editor toolbar.
2. On the **Details** tab, find **Presenters**.
3. Choose **Add a presenter...** and pick a profile. Repeat for each presenter. Changes save straight away.
4. Use the arrows to change the order, or the cross to remove someone.

![The Presenters picker on the course Details tab](https://cont-resilient.jwdev.tech/images/help/presenters-and-discussion/03-course-presenters.png)

A course can have several presenters. When a course has presenters, their names replace the free-text **Author** line. Learners see them on the course card, the top of the course page and the course's promotional page, which also shows the photo, title and bio. A copy of a course within your team keeps its presenters. A course created from a template does not.

If you built a custom promotional page with the page builder, it doesn't show presenters yet.

## Preview a course without affecting results

Presenters, admins and authors often want to look through a course. When one of them opens or previews a course they aren't enrolled in, Continuum treats them as an observer:

- they can read every lesson and try quizzes and surveys;
- their quiz and survey answers aren't saved, so they never appear in results;
- they are never marked as having completed the course, so no completion email, certificate or programme award is triggered.

The same applies to the preview in **Create**. If you want to try the whole journey as a learner and have it recorded, use a test learner account.

## Turn on the discussion board

The discussion board is off by default and is switched on per course.

1. Open the course, click **Settings** and stay on the **Details** tab. **Discussion board** is just below **Presenters**.
2. Switch on **Discussion board**.

![The Discussion board switch in course settings](https://cont-resilient.jwdev.tech/images/help/presenters-and-discussion/04-discussion-toggle.png)

The board isn't available for publications. It doesn't appear in SCORM exports or embedded courses, so learners there can't see it.

### What learners see

Enrolled learners see a **Discussion** tab on the course page, next to the overview. In it they can:

- click **New thread**, type a **Title** and **Message**, optionally choose a lesson, and click **Post thread**;
- open a thread and write a reply;
- filter the list by lesson.

Inside a lesson, the header shows **Ask a question**, which opens a new thread for that lesson, and a count of existing discussions. Messages are plain text. Web addresses become links, but there's no formatting or file upload.

Learners who aren't enrolled can't see the board. Posts from presenters, admins and authors carry a **Presenter** or **Staff** badge.

![The Discussion tab on a course page with two threads](https://cont-resilient.jwdev.tech/images/help/presenters-and-discussion/05-discussion-tab.png)

## Moderate the discussion

Admins, authors and linked presenters see extra controls. Open a thread and use the three-dot menu at the top of the thread, or on a reply:

| Action | What it does |
|---|---|
| **Pin** / **Unpin** | Keeps the thread at the top of the list. |
| **Lock** / **Unlock** | Stops learners replying. Staff can still reply. |
| **Hide** / **Unhide** | Removes the thread or reply from learners' view. Staff still see it, greyed out and marked **Hidden**. |
| **Mark as answer** / **Remove accepted answer** | Marks one reply as the answer. The thread shows **Answered** in the list. |

![An open thread with the moderation menu and reply box](https://cont-resilient.jwdev.tech/images/help/presenters-and-discussion/06-thread-moderation.png)

Moderators hide rather than delete. Learners can edit or delete their own threads and replies for 15 minutes after posting; after that only moderators can act on them. They can't edit a locked or hidden post.

### Unanswered questions

A thread counts as **Unanswered** until a staff member replies, a reply is marked as the answer, or the thread is locked or hidden. An admin's reply counts as a staff reply.

On the course page, moderators see an **Unanswered** filter and a count on the **Discussion** tab. Presenters also have an inbox that lists unanswered questions across all their courses.

## Email notifications

Notifications are by email only, and people can't opt out individually.

- When a learner starts a thread, the presenters linked to that course get an email. Admins and authors don't.
- When someone replies to a thread, the person who started it gets an email.
- Each person receives up to five discussion emails an hour straight away. After that, further notifications are held and sent together as one digest once the hour is over.

Hidden threads and replies don't trigger emails, and nobody is emailed about their own replies. Presenters are sent to the presenter inbox from their emails. Everyone else is sent to the course's discussion tab.

## Frequently asked questions

### Can I list a speaker who doesn't have an account?

Yes. Add a profile and leave it unlinked. It shows **No login** in your list, but learners still see the name, photo, title and bio on the course.

### Why can't I find "Presenter" in the user editor?

The role is automatic and not offered there. It exists while a user is linked to a presenter profile. Open **Manage > People > Presenters** and use **Link existing user**, **Invite by email** or **Unlink account** instead.

### A presenter says they can't see a course. Why?

The presenter area only lists courses the presenter is linked to. Check the course's **Presenters** setting under **Settings** on the **Details** tab. Also check that the profile still shows **Linked** on the Presenters page.

### Can learners see the discussion without being enrolled?

No. The board is only for enrolled learners and course staff.

### Can I delete a learner's post?

Moderators can hide a thread or reply, which removes it from learners' view but keeps it for staff. Hiding is reversible with **Unhide**. Only the author can delete their own post, and only in the first 15 minutes.

### Will turning the board off delete the conversations?

Switching **Discussion board** off hides the tab from everyone. Existing threads aren't removed, and they return if you switch it back on.