Letting students know that the reply is from a TA

[tanaytanay]

How do I reply to posts in discussions and let the students know that the reply is from a TA (or instructor)?

[kona · Accepted solution]

tanaytanay, there isn't a built in way to do this in the discussion. Something I do is change the color of my text to blue when I post in the discussion. That way it stands out and students can tell that it's me. Granted color isn't a good way to indicate information because some people are color blind, but it's the best way I've been able to do it.

[kmeeusen]

Hi9 tanaytanay‌

Another trick you might try, would be to change your display name in Canvas to "Teacher", Teaching Assistant", "Instructor" etc. Then when you post in discussions or send Inbox messages, they will be labeled as coming from your display name.

One thing to keep in mind when doing this though, is to make sure your actual name is prominently displayed somewhere in your classroom, and you may also want to sign discussion postings and messages with your real name. We have found that too many online students have no idea who their teachers are.

I hope this helps,

Kelley

[tanaytanay]

Thanks. They should add a feature in. Maybe a badge or a label next to my name, indicating I'm a TA. 

[kona]

I really like the idea of a badge or something indicating who is a TA, who is the Instructor, etc... cool idea!

[tanaytanay]

Thanks for your input I see two problems with this approach:

1. My display name would change for other courses in which I'm a student. 

2. There wouldn't be consistency with other TAs. i.e. if they don't do the same thing, it would confuse the students.

The best way to deal with this is if the system marks my name with a badge or a label indicating I am a TA.

[Stef_retired]

tanaytanay‌ has kindly submitted a new feature idea for this: https://community.canvaslms.com/ideas/11395-labelbadges-indicating-roles?sr=search&searchId=c7c0779e...