Currently, Canvas discussions send notifications for every new post in a discussion thread, which can quickly become overwhelming. Students often receive notifications for posts that do not pertain to their own contributions, leading to notification fatigue. This results in students ignoring notifications altogether, which negatively impacts their engagement and participation in discussions. This issue disrupts the learning process by making it harder for students to stay engaged in meaningful academic discussions. Many students open Canvas notifications expecting relevant interactions, only to find unrelated posts, discouraging them from paying attention to future notifications. This undermines the effectiveness of Canvas as a learning platform and contradicts its mission of fostering active and engaged learning. A similar idea was proposed on October 28, 2022, but it primarily focused on instructors rather than students. My proposal is different because it directly addresses student engagement and offers a more user-friendly solution.
1) (Preferred) Add a New Notification Option In Notification Settings → Discussions, add an option for “Notify me of replies to my posts and comments” rather than all discussion activity. This would ensure that students receive notifications only when someone directly engages with their contributions, reducing unnecessary alerts while improving engagement.
2) (Less Desirable) Enable Selective Unsubscription from Discussion Threads Allow students to unsubscribe from general discussion notifications while still receiving notifications for replies to their own posts/comments. However, this approach adds extra steps, making it less intuitive and potentially discouraging students from utilizing the feature effectively. Why This Needs Urgent Implementation: The ability to receive only relevant notifications is essential for fostering student engagement and reducing notification fatigue. When students constantly receive notifications about unrelated posts, they begin ignoring all notifications, which negatively impacts participation and meaningful discussion. Additionally, opening Canvas expecting relevant updates—only to find unrelated posts—becomes a deterrent to using the platform effectively. By refining the notification system, Canvas would provide a more engaging and personalized learning experience, aligning with its goal of fostering interactive and productive academic discussions.
