Relevant text is displayed on the course website. It may also be made available as a simple download note1 so that members may acquire it as a textfile to print out if preferred. A major Ovular service is to provide an online hypertext glossary to back up the displayed text. A major research support is to suggest other websites worth exploring, or key terms suitable for search engines. For those new to online boards, they are rather like the 'Letters' page of a newspaper, but with a steady flow of fresh input through each day.
Members can easily post in their responses similarly to how they send email.
Boards can be either moderated or unmoderated. Participants are usually fully registered participants of an Ovular course. A password is required to access the course board. Ovular members may then meet using the Chatroom facility on their course website to directly discuss the posted material for as short or as long a period as they wish. There is no new software needed by members to use the Ovular site chatrooms.