[ARCHIVED] Notifying students about new discussion

[elliott_friedma]

Sorry if this has already been answered but I couldn't find an answer anywhere.  I just started using canvas as a teacher.  When I set up a new discussion is there a way to automatically notify the students when I publish it?

[Hildi_Pardo · Accepted solution]

Hi Elliott,

You may want to show students how they can setup their Notifications preferences in Canvas:

• How do I add contact methods to receive Canvas notifications as a student?
• How do I set my Canvas notification preferences as a student?

Also, from the Dashboard, each Course Card (or tile) will have important information:

How do I view my favorite courses in the Card View Dashboard as a student? (scroll down to View Card Details on this page to see an image and the explanation).

"Course cards show an overview of course information including the course name, course code, and term [1].

Each card can include up to four tabs [2], which represent the four main Canvas features for student course activity: Announcements, Assignments, Discussions, and Files. These tabs mimic visibility and order in Course Navigation, so for instance, if an instructor hides the Announcements link, the Announcements tab will not display on the course card.

An unread icon on the Discussions or Announcements tab indicates that there is a new discussion or announcement in the course [3]. The number in the icon indicates the number of new items."

Finally, if you make it a Graded Discussion, you'll get the option to include a Due Date.  The Due Date then will make the Discussion appear in the students' course Calendar, and in the To Do and Coming Up lists.  This will also help students be aware of the discussion.

• How do I use the to-do list for all my courses in the List View Dashboard as a student?

[elliott_friedma]

Thank you. This is very useful.

[e_provensal]

Hi  @elliott_friedma ‌, welcome to the Canvas community! While there is not a way to automatically notify students of new posts, students can subscribe to a discussion (see How do I subscribe to a discussion as a student? ) and will get notifications based on their notification preferences https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-10624-4212710344  You can similarly subscribe to the discussion board and get the notifications based on your preferences as well.