Canvas Discussions

Owned by Christine Sandella
Last updated: Sept 18, 2024
3 min read

Canvas Discussions have been updated with a new design and enhanced features. 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.

Author and Teacher Labels

To see all replies at once, click the "Expand Threads" option at the top of the discussion. This will display all replies below the original post, making it easier to follow and engage in the conversation.

Expand thread in discussions.png

  • 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.

 

Additional Resources: