Create Discussions
This lesson outlines a variety of options to choose from in order to customize a discussion for your course.
Note: Discussions can be graded or ungraded. If a student attaches a file to an ungraded discussion, the file size counts toward the student's storage quotas. However, attachments added to graded discussions do not count toward the student's storage quotas.
1. In Course Navigation, click the Discussions link.
2. Click the + Discussion button.
3. Add a title for your discussion in the Topic Title field [1].
To add discussion content, use the Rich Content Editor [2]. The Rich Content Editor includes a word count display below the bottom right corner of the text box [3].
If you want to create a section-specific discussion that is not graded, click the Post to drop-down menu [4]. You can select one or multiple sections. To create a graded section-specific discussion, use the discussion options.
Note: When a document is uploaded to the Rich Content Editor from a quiz, the file is saved to the Uploaded Media folder in Course Files and defaults to hidden status. Students can view the file when the quiz is made available to them. Learn more about file visibility.
4. If you want to add an attachment to your discussion, click the Choose File button.
5. Select the discussion options desired.
By default, discussions are created as focused discussions. To create a threaded discussion, click the Allow threaded replies checkbox [1].
To require users to reply to the discussion before they can see any other replies, click the Users must post before seeing replies checkbox [2].
To enable a discussion podcast feed, click the Enable podcast feed checkbox [3].
To allow students to like discussion replies, click the Allow liking checkbox [4].
To add an ungraded discussion to the student to-do list, click the Add to student to-do checkbox [5]. Student to-do items display in the course calendar, in the student-specific List View Dashboard, and in the global and course home page to-do lists. Graded discussions automatically display in a student's to-do list.
To make the discussion a group discussion, click the This is a Group Discussion checkbox [6].
To make your discussion available on a specific date or during a specific date range using availability dates, enter the dates in the Available From and Until fields [7], or click the calendar icons to select dates. If you create a graded discussion, the Available From and Until dates can be set in the Assign field. Before the Available From date, students will only be able to view the discussion title. After the Until date, students can view the discussion topic and all responses but cannot add or edit any responses.
Create a Graded Discussion
To create a graded discussion, click the Graded checkbox. If this option is selected, additional options will be added to the page, where you can assign graded discussions to everyone, individual students, course sections, or course groups.
Note: If you want to create a graded discussion and you have added sections in the Post To field, the Graded option will be unavailable. You must remove the sections from the Post To field before selecting this option. You will be able to add sections as part of the graded discussion options.
6. If you are ready to publish your discussion, click the Save & Publish button. If you want to create a draft of your discussion and publish it later, click the Save button.
When your discussion is saved in a draft state, you can return to the page and publish it at any time by clicking the Publish icon.
Groups are a subset of a course with a course-like environment including their own Calendar, Discussion board, and Collaboration tools. Only students added to a group have permission to see and use the respective tools within the group.
A group discussion assignment creates an identical discussion topic in each group category. When students reply to the discussion topic they do so within their group environment, which is linked to the course from which the assignment was created.
If you prefer to create a group discussion for grading, learn how to create graded group discussions.
Note: You will need to create group sets and groups before setting up a group discussion assignment.
1. In Course Navigation, click the Discussions link.
2. Click the + Discussion button.
3. Enter a discussion title in the Topic Title field and add discussion content using the Rich Content Editor.
4. In the discussion options, select the This is a Group Discussion checkbox [1].
To select an existing group set, click the Group Set drop-down menu [2]. To create a new group category, click the New Group Category button [3].
5. If you want to make your discussion available on a specific date or during a specific date range, enter the dates in the Available From and Until fields, or click the calendar icons to select dates. These dates apply to all users. By default, these fields are left blank and the discussion can be viewed throughout the entire course.
Note: These fields only apply for non-graded discussions; If you create a graded group discussion, these date fields do not apply.
6. If you are ready to publish your discussion, click the Save & Publish button. If you want to create a draft of your discussion and publish it later, click the Save button.
When your discussion is saved in a draft state, you can return to the page and publish it at any time by clicking the Publish button.
Student View of Discussions
When students open the discussion, they will be taken to the Discussions page within their specified project group to complete the assignment.
Note: Discussion posts cannot be made anonymously.