[Discussions] thread auto expand by default

[Suffield_N]

Problem statement:

Risk of replying twice to students or peers.

Proposed solution:

Make the discussion thread auto expand by default. This would minimize errors. I have seen students delete their replies. I had not seen this prior to the upgrade. This affects students as well as TA's and professors. Potentially unprofessional and very inefficient.

User role(s):

instructor,student,ta

[JakeBHarrison]

Problem statement:

The new discussion board UI automatically hides replies to posts on the discussion boards. There is an option to "Expand Threads" which shows all replies, however we are hearing from faculty that they and students aren't interacting with replies because they aren't easily seen.

Proposed solution:

A solution would be to make a discussion or course setting to either expand or collapse threads by default, instead of always collapsing threads. This would allow users that prefer collapsed threads in their course to still have the existing option, but faculty that would like to have replies more obvious to students would have that option as well.

User role(s):

admin,instructor,ta,designer

[CalvinMercer]

Problem statement:

The "Expand" button for discussion threads does not stick when navigating away from the discussion link, each time you access the discussion you will need to click on the "Expand" button to view the threads. This is a HORRIBLE change in canvas and makes no sense. This means that students will probably MISS the replies other students make to posts. It was not this way last year. Please change this back asap. Thanks.

Proposed solution:

see above

User role(s):

instructor

[DonaldRickgauer]

Problem statement:

I hope I'm not alone in how aggravated I am that Canvas suddenly added and automatically activated an option to disallow threaded replies in discussions just days before the semester began with inadequate notice. Discussions have always allowed threaded replies, and they are a critical part of my class. Now Canvas decides this shouldn't be the default and they force it on all of our preexisting discussions just days before the classes went live. I have reached out to Canvas multiple times to get them to rectify this in my classes (Six classes, each with between 15-20 discussion assignments, at two different schools) and they have refused, essentially telling me to fix it myself. The lack of consideration and willingness to help is astounding to me, even as I explained that I'm about to have my second child and aid in my wife's weeks-long recovery and that I really did not need this extra clean-up work thrown on to me.

Proposed solution:

The blunders are multiple, so here are all of the places they could have acted differently: - If you are going to add an option that will alter how some aspect of your product has always worked, make it so the default setting leaves that aspect as it was before the change, and that the consumer may choose to alter if they so wish. Why? Because many of us teachers don't expect to suddenly have such a change thrust upon us, so just simply make it available, not enabled. Don't choose it for them and then tell them to fix it themselves. - If, for whatever reason, you feel it is best to alter on the behalf of all of your customers, offer them a way to very easily fix it globally, or have the team ready to repair this issue. Why? Because we don't want to waste our time. - If you want to make such a broad change, don't do it so close to such a critical date as the beginning of the semester. Why? Because I did not discover the change until it was already adversely affecting my class for several days, and that was just by luck. I had already spent several weeks updating and proofing all of my shells, just to have something suddenly changed at the last minute. They had all summer to implement this. - If you have still avoided all of the ideas above, please mention in the update notes that you have chosen this new option by default. The update notes only say that "In Discussions, instructors can disallow threaded replies," but it is not mentioned that this was activated by default for them. In fact, this wording makes it sound like it is currently off and that it can be turned on. Why? So we can then begin the process of fixing Canvas's mistake.

User role(s):

instructor