In Summer 2024, Canvas Discussions will undergo an interface redesign. While the functionality remains the same between the legacy and new experience, you will now have access to more features and options.
Role labels appear next to or beneath names for teachers, TAs and derivative roles. Additionally, if the topic was created by a student, the label "author" appears next to the creator's name.
Inline and Split Screen views: Users can choose between two views for reading replies.
Inline view displays all replies on the main topic page with the option to expand or collapse nested replies.
In Split Screen view, all replies to the initial post are shown in a sidebar that slides in from the right when users select the reply count link for the thread.
Sort threads: Users can sort replies from newest to oldest or oldest to newest. Sorting is based on the most recent response in each thread.
When a reply includes additional replies, the number of replies is displayed, as well as the number of unread replies (specific to the user viewing the reply). Users can choose to view these replies inline or in a split view.
Users can mention others in discussion replies using the "@" symbol, with all available users in the course displayed in the drop-down menu. Those mentioned, and with the Discussions - New Mention notification enabled, will receive notifications.
Note: For users to be able to mention other users in discussion replies, the permission Conversations - send messages to individual course members needs to be enabled.
When replying to a post, users can quote the original post in their replies.
A new Report option allows users to notify the teacher when they encounter messages that are inappropriate, offensive, or abusive.
Instructors can set discussion topics to be partially anonymous (students can opt to hide or show their name and profile pictures) or fully anonymous (names and profile pictures are hidden for all student replies). Users with a teacher, TA, or designer role in the course will never be anonymous.
Additional Resources:
Announcements Redesign
Discussions Redesign