etting started with IPB
Click on Admin CP
Go to Forum Control
New Category
Choose a category name – call it Welcome to my forum!
Set category state as visible

Once the category has been created go back to Forum Control select New Forum
Add a discussion forum to your category
You can set up as many categories and forums as you like within the software!

Now go to Administration Menu and select Board Home
Log in and post a message in your new forum and wait for the world to answer you!

Protecting your Students
If you are using your forum with students it is important to establish control over registrations and posts. Currently your new board is open to anyone on the internet to get involved. There are obvious dangers with this.
To gain complete control of your forum go back to your forum and click again on Admin CP.
Go to system settings and scroll down to Security (troublesome users).
Set New Registrations to Admin validation also disable new registrations.
You now have complete control of who can use your board.
For extra security you may wish to force users to log in before they can see anything