Overview
The Canvas Discussions Redesign has several updates to existing parts of Discussions as well as new features: Flexible Viewing Options, Mentions, Role Labels, Reply Quoting, Reply/Discussion Reporting, Anonymous and Partially Anonymous Discussions, and Edit History.
Flexible Viewing Option
Instructors will now be able to see a more streamlined view of discussion posts and their replies by switching between two views - an inline view or a split view (see screenshot below). The number of replies a post has received will be displayed as well as how many of those are still unread, specific to the user viewing.
When a Discussion is open, it will default to Split View. In order to switch to Inline View, select the View Inline button at the top of the Discussion. When in Split View, any replies will open into a separate threaded reply window.
View Inline
View Inline is the default setting, resembling the traditional view. The original post is at the top, followed by initial replies. If a reply receives further responses, a link shows the count of replies below it. Clicking once opens the thread, and clicking again collapses it.
Furthermore, when in the Inline view, a button labeled Expand Threads will appear atop the discussion post. This button enables you to expand or collapse all reply threads simultaneously.
View Split Screen
View Split Screen is a new option that changes how reply threads are displayed. When selected, clicking on a Replies link [1] will open a panel on the right side of the screen showing all replies in the chosen thread [2]. To close the panel, click the X in the upper right corner [3].
Mentions
When users make a post and/or reply to a discussion, they can mention/tag a person in the course using the “@” symbol. This will open a drop-down menu where users can choose from all other users in the course. Once a user is mentioned/tagged, they will receive a notification with a link that directly leads to the mention/tag. Users will receive notifications if they are mentioned when the Discussions - New Mention notification is turned on.
Read More: How to Use Mentions
Improved Search Tool
If you use the search tool in Discussions, it will highlight the text that matches the search query.
Role Labels
Labels will now be displayed designating users who have the TA and/or Teacher/Instructor roles. To help students better identify user roles within a course, a label identifying the author of the discussion assignment will also be visible.
Reply Quoting
Users will be able to quote other replies when they are replying to a post. By quoting other replies, it creates a clearer flow to the conversation happening in the discussion.
Reply/Discussion Post Reporting
Sometimes, students or other users may make a post or reply that others might find troublesome. Instructors may have a challenging time keeping track of these issues. Instructors will be able to turn on Report Replies in the discussion settings. Once this feature is turned on, users can report any post or reply they feel may be inappropriate, offensive, abusive, etc. Instructors can adjust their settings to receive a notification alerting them to the reported post or reply.
Read More:
Anonymous and Partially Anonymous Discussions
Instructors can set up discussion assignments to be anonymous (no student names shown) or partially anonymous (student can choose to be anonymous.) (Please note: The setting is off by default and must be activated with discussion assignment.) When this setting is turned on, TAs and Instructors will not be anonymous. The Post Reporting feature remain available when this setting is turned on.
Read More: Anonymous Discussions
Edit History
Instructors will be able to see the edit history of a post/reply. This will show when students or other users make edits and what has changed.
While viewing an edited student response as an instructor, select the View History link under the student’s name and “edited” time stamp. This will open an Edit History window with a list of any edits a student may have completed. Select the Version you would like to view to see the changes.
Additional Information
View a comparison of what is changing between the Legacy (old) version of Discussions and the Discussions Redesign (new).
To get started on using the Discussions Redesign, access the Resource Guide for help guides.