As of May 6, 2024 Canvas discussion boards have a new user interface.
Some of the new features include:
Different Viewing Options: Choose between Inline and Split Screen views for enhanced readability.
"@" Communication Tools: Mention individuals in posts with “@” to interact with others in the course.
Quote Previous Replies: Include original replies within responses for clarity.
Anonymous Discussion Settings: Facilitate open dialogue with fully or partially anonymous discussions.
Added Filtering and Sorting: Navigate discussions with options to filter by unread, all, or read, and sort from newest to oldest or oldest to newest.
Please note: On the Canvas Mobile App fonts may appear small or light colored. The workaround is to use a browser and/or "desktop mode" to view the Canvas Discussion Tool.
Discussions are used within Canvas for students to communicate with one another in collaborative ways. The possibilities within Discussions are that they can be whole-class or group-based (small-group) and have initial and/or reply posts.
Interface Changes that Instructors will see in the Discussion Board
Discussion Post
Publish Button is now a Checkmark Icon
The Subscribe Button has changed to a Bookmark Icon
The Edit Button is now located within the Three-Dot-Menu
The Search and Organization Menu is now located at the Top of the Discussion Post
The Mark as Read and Mark as Unread Controls now exist in the Three-Dot-Menu
The Reply Button is now Blue and there is more WhiteSpace overall in the interface
If the Discussion Post is set up as a Group Discussion, this is now indicated by the Group Icon in the upper left-hand corner of the Discussion Post
Discussion Assignment Details
Points Possible have moved to the upper righthand corner of the Discussion Post
Due Dates have moved to the upper lefthand corner of the Discussion Post
New Features from the Discussion Redesign
Canvas documentation for the Redesigned Interface Modifications
Interface Modifications
For individual discussion and announcement topics, the interface has been expanded for maximum space and ensure responsive views.
The following modifications have been made to individual topics:
The toolbar has been moved to the top of the discussion and announcement thread.
Newest replies display at the top of the first page instead of the bottom of the last page.
Users can sort replies from newest to oldest, or oldest to newest.
Users can also quickly move to the top of the discussion or announcement at any time.
Classic Discussions vs New Discussions
Feature Parity
The following functionality has been included for parity with classic Discussions:
Users must post before seeing replies
Reply posts can be marked as read or unread
Discussion time stamp edit display
Multiple Due Dates (addition: individual student names are displayed instead of the total number of students)
Available From and Until Dates
Previous/Next buttons for Modules
Group Discussions
Peer Review
Add to student to-do list
The following functionality has been included for parity with classic Announcements:
Users must post before seeing replies
Reply posts can be marked as read or unread
Announcement time stamp edit display
Announcement delay post alert (teachers/instructors)
Additional parity features will be added in future releases.
Additional Functionality
Role Labels
Discussion and announcement threads display a label for users with TA roles and Teacher (Instructor) roles. This feature helps students more quickly identify users with instructor-based roles in the course.
Threads also include a label indicating the discussion or announcement author.
Author and Teacher Labels
Flexible Viewing Options
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.
Mentions
Users can mention other users in discussion replies by using the @ symbol. All available users in the course display in the drop-down menu.
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.
Mentions in DIscussions
If they are mentioned, users with the Discussions - New Mention notification enabled will receive notifications.
Quotes
Users can quote other replies as part of their discussion reply.
Quotes in discussion replies
Reply Reporting
Within individual discussions, replies can be reported by students and teachers. Teachers can choose to enable reporting in the Discussions Settings menu.
Discussion Settings
Once enabled, all users can report replies by clicking the Settings menu for the reply and clicking the Report link.
Report Button
When a reply is reported by a user, the user must indicate why the reply is being reported (inappropriate, offensive and/or abusive, or Other). Reporting a reply cannot be undone.
Report Reply Window
Once a user reports a reply, the Settings menu option displays to that user as Reported. That user cannot report the reply again, but other users can still report the reply.
Discussion Menu with Reported Button
Reported Reply Notifications (Teachers)
To be notified of reported replies, teachers can enable the Discussions Reported Reply notification when accessing course-level notifications from inside a course. If you select a course and then go to View Course Notifications on the Home page, the option will be there. Email notifications include a direct link to the reply that has been reported.
Reporting a reply does not hide the reply; all replies are still visible to all users. However, teachers can choose to edit or delete the reported reply.
Note: Once a reply is reported, it always displays as Reported and cannot be cleared by teachers.
Course Notifications: Reported Reply Option
Anonymous Discussions
Discussions allow teachers to create anonymous discussions. This option displays when creating a new discussion for a course. By default this option is set to off.
When anonymity is turned on for a discussion, grading and groups are not supported.
Anonymous Discussion Option
When the Discussion Settings menu option is selected for students to create discussions, the option is also included to allow students to create anonymous discussions. This option is not selected by default.
Teacher Discussions Settings page and Anonymous Discussions
When an anonymous discussion exists in the course, the Discussions page indicates anonymous discussions before a student opens the discussion.
Anonymous Discussion in the Discussions Index Page
Users with a teacher, TA, or designer role in the course will never be anonymous. However, student names and profile pictures are hidden from other course members, including teachers. Admins who are not explicitly enrolled as a teacher, TA, or designer and create a reply also display as anonymous. Additionally, users who view a course without having a course enrollment (such as when participating in a public course) also display as anonymous.
Anonymous Discussion Thread
Anonymous discussion posts include the standard settings options, including reporting replies.
When an observer views a fully anonymous discussion, the text now displays This is an anonymous Discussion. Student names and profile pictures are hidden. When an observer views a partially anonymous discussion, the text now displays Students have the option to reply anonymously. Some names and profile pictures may be hidden.
Observer View Fully Anonymous Discussion
Observer View Partially Anonymous Discussion
How do I use Discussions Tool as an instructor?
Open Discussion
To view a discussion in the Discussions Redesign interface, click the Discussions link in Course Navigation [1]. Then click the name of the discussion [2].
To create a new discussion, click the Add Discussion button [3].
View Discussion
A discussion displayed in the Discussions Redesign interface includes three sections: the discussion toolbar [1], discussion topic [2], and discussion replies [3].
View Discussion Toolbar
To search for replies or specific authors, enter your terms in the search field [1].
To filter replies, click the Filter drop-down menu [2]. You can filter by all replies or unread replies.
To sort replies by newest or oldest, click the Sort button [3].
To view threaded replies in a split screen sidebar, click the View Split Screen button [4].
To view threaded replies all at once, click the Expand Threads button [5]. You can collapse the threaded replies by clicking the Collapse Threads button [6].
To view threaded replies inline, click the View Inline button [7].
To view the count of unread replies for each group discussion, click the Group List button [8]. Click the group link to view the group replies [9].
View Anonymous Discussion Message
If the anonymous discussion option is enabled for the discussion, a message displays noting that student names and profile pictures are hidden, however your name and profile picture is visible to all course members.
View Discussion Topic
The discussion topic section includes important information about the discussion, including the discussion title [1] and description [2].
You can also view the discussion due date [3], the number of points possible [4], and number of replies [5].
Note: If the anonymous discussion option is enabled for the discussion, student names and profile pictures do not display. However, as an instructor, your name and profile picture is visible to all course members.
View Discussion Multiple Due Dates
To view multiple due dates, click the Show Due Dates link [1].
View the multiple due dates [2].
To close the due dates sidebar, click the Close icon [3].
View Discussion Options
The discussion topic section also includes several tools that allow you to manage your discussion.
To publish or unpublish the discussion, click the Publish icon [1].
To subscribe to or unsubscribe from the discussion, click the Subscribe icon [2].
To open the discussion's Options menu, click the Options icon [3].
To mark all discussion replies as read, click the Mark All as Read link [4].
To edit discussion details, click the Edit link [5].
To delete the discussion, click the Delete link [6].
To close the discussion for comments, click the Close for Comments link [7].
To send the discussion to another instructor, click the Send To... link [8].
To copy the discussion to another course, click the Copy To... link [9].
To open the discussion in SpeedGrader, click the Open in SpeedGrader link [10].
To add a rubric to a graded discussion, click the Add Rubric link [11]. If a rubric has already been added, this link displays as the Show Rubric link.
View Discussion Replies
Discussion replies display below the discussion topic. Learn how to reply to a discussion, view and sort discussion replies, and report discussion replies.
View Inline Discussion Thread Replies
When viewing inline discussion thread replies, you can collapse and expand the discussion threads by clicking the Expand Threads and Collapse Threads buttons. When a discussion thread reply is collapsed, you can view the reply indicators showing the number of unread and total replies.
To expand the discussion thread replies inline, click the # of replies link [1].
View the read and unread replies [2].
To view threaded replies options, click the Options icon [3]. You can mark replies as read/unread, mark threaded replies as read/unread, return to the topic, edit the reply, delete the reply, open the reply in SpeedGrader, or report the reply.
View Split Screen Discussion Thread Replies
To view threaded replies in a split screen sidebar, click the View Split Screen button [1].
When viewing split screen discussion thread replies, you can collapse and expand the discussion thread replies sidebar. When a discussion thread reply is collapsed, you can view the reply indicators showing the number of unread and total replies.
To expand the discussion thread replies sidebar, click the # of replies link [2].
View the read and unread replies [3].
To view threaded replies options, click the Options icon [4]. You can mark replies as read/unread, mark threaded replies as read/unread, return to the topic, edit the reply, delete the reply, open the reply in SpeedGrader, or report the reply.
To collapse the discussion thread replies sidebar, click the Close icon [5].
View Rich Content Editor
When creating or editing discussion topics or replies, you enter and edit your content using the Rich Content Editor. The Rich Content Editor allows you to format text, link text to course or external content, insert media, and attach files. Learn more about using the Rich Content Editor.
Resources
If you’re curious what your students see, reference this Discussions (Students) article that is student-facing. If you would like to see Canvas' documentation directly, you can find that at How do I use Discussions Redesign as an instructor? (once on this page there are other questions from the Instructor Guide to view related to Discussions Redesign).