[Discussions] Format needs to be reworked
The new design for discussions looks cool, but functions frustratingly bad. Unfortunately, having to click on reply to see other replies for students and instructors is another barrier to instruction. Especially in a world where online instruction is increasingly common, discussions need to be more accessible. The sorting function is also frustrating as it will always show the last student who comments at the last possible second at the top instead of the very intentional early response to the discussion. Lastly, the disallow threaded replies option (while useful in very few situations) being stuck behind editing the discussion is frustrating when there are multiple discussions to adjust.
The solution for the discussions clicking reply problem would be to incorporate an option to expand all replies by default. This should be something that can be set per discussion so that the instructor can determine if they want replies to be visible or if they do not. WHY: This would remove the need to click on every single thread to see students replies, which is a barrier for students and instructors. The solution for sorting would be to have an option to toggle for sort order. There should be most recent, first to last and sort by likes. I am not too fond of the sort by likes function, but I understand that could be useful in certain scenarios. WHY: This would allow instructors to choose how they want their discussions viewed. I have heard countless instructors express that the last person to respond saying yes I agree is not confidence inspiring to be displayed at the top of the discussion. The solution for the disallow threaded replies option would be to add a toggle via the set due dates for multiple assignments tab, or to have a separate toggle that can customize this setting for each discussions without having to click edit into each individual discussion. WHY: Clicking edit into each discussion is a waste of time for this monumental of a setting.
admin,designer
