What method do you use to delete student discussions postings since the 2024 Discussion Redesign?

[mangles]

Like many, the 2024 Discussion Redesign has impacted my use of Canvas. These days I continue to look for and create work arounds to lost functionality.

Today, my focus is on removing student and my own tests to discussion forums without leaving the 'Deleted by my name'  message of shame.

For unpublished work before my classes start, I create and copy my original discussion section HTML to a replacement discussion, then delete and replace the original discussion. Yeah, I am just replacing the original discussion, because we of lost functionality.

This is a PITA...But it is what it is.

Ideas are appreciated. And yes, I know my method does not work after students start posting.

Here is what I do not want remaining at the bottom of my discussions when a new semester starts:

 

[Chris_Hofer]

Hi there, @mangles ...

Thanks for posting your question.  Can you tell me more about your course (in general)?  As I was reading through the difficulties you are experiencing with discussion topics, one thing that immediately came to mind was wondering if you are re-using a Canvas course over and over from semester to semester?  (I realize I could be totally wrong about this, so please feel free to correct me if my assumptions are not correct.)  If you are re-using the same Canvas course shell from semester to semester...enrolling new students in the course each semester, there is a better, recommended way that many schools implement.  Instead of using one Canvas course shell, schools create a new course shell for each semester (and sometimes if there are multiple sections of a course in a semester, there will be a separate course shell for each section).  This way, when you are dealing with things like your discussion topics, you don't need to delete student responses.  The topics begin "fresh" without student responses, and they are ready for your new set of students to participate.

Again, without knowing exactly how your course is set up, I'm making a large assumption here.  But hopefully this might be of some help to you.  It would be great to hear from you with further details.  Thanks!

[mangles]

Hi Chris.  My courses are clones of previously taught classes with content imported into new shells.  Most contain multiple sections.  

As for deleting student postings. This occurs after the semester starts when students color outside of the lines. Or when they repost to an assignment with updated content before they learn how to edit their postings.

In the example I provided in my posting, it was from a new discussion I just created for my upcoming Spring semester. The 'deleted' posting was my own when I was testing the Canvas anonymous features.

You may be asking why I test discussion forums functionality?

It is because I no longer trust our LMS provider.  My Summer 2024 term was hell for me and the class because of the Canvas Discussion release and their failure to deliver promised fixes. So now I test and verify.

I am not asking for new features. And Canvas does not tell use when they remove features. So I test. You know, trust, but verify.

In acknowledging this issue, I have to assume other instructors also encountered the inability to delete postings, so I am wondering what they are doing?  At this point I am thinking of just editing 'em, perhaps putting a joke or some other humorous item in the original posting to bring some cheer.  Seeing a posting of shame (Deleted by the instructor) is kind of a downer in my opinion. 

~mike angles

[Chris_Hofer]

Hi @mangles ...

Thanks for that additional detail about your course.  As far as testing out functionality within Canvas, I might suggest a handful of alternative options for you:

• Do you have a "sandbox" course in your school's Canvas environment?  Sometimes a school will give you a blank course shell (sometimes called a "sandbox") that you can test out Canvas functionality on your own without disturbing anything in courses where you have actual students enrolled.  For example, at my previous College where I worked and also where I'm employed now, our instructors had/have their name as part of the course name so that instructors can easily identify it as their personal "sandbox" course.  You might ask your school's local Canvas administrator to see if you could get a "sandbox" course set up for you ... and maybe even have a "dummy" student enrolled (or just use the available "Test Student" role).
• Another option for you that you might not be aware of is your school's "Test" environment.  Normally, you sign in to your school's "Production" environment.  However, your school's "Test" environment is completely separate from the "Production" environment.  And, the purpose of "Test" is exactly what it sounds like...to test out things in Canvas before implementing them in your own "Production" course(s).  If you want to explore the "Test" environment, I'll provide some links for you.  But I always make sure to tell people to log out of "Test" before returning to your "Production" environment...because, as it has happened to me in the past, one could forget which environment he/she is in.
  • What is the Canvas test environment?
  • How do I access the Canvas test environment as an instructor?
  • How do I log out of Canvas?
• A third option is to use the "Beta" environment.  Like "Test", this is a completely separate environment from "Test" and "Production".  But, this environment is where new Canvas features are added before they make it to the "Production" environment.  So, people can try out things in "Beta" and provide feedback before the features are released to "Production".
  • What is the Canvas beta environment?
  • How do I access the Canvas beta environment as an instructor?
  • How do I log out of Canvas?

Also, you might want to take a look at this document: What is the Canvas release schedule for beta, production, and test environments?

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And Canvas does not tell use when they remove features.

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So I would argue that this is not entirely true.  I'm not sure if you follow any of the published Canvas Release Notes and/or Canvas Deploy Notes that are publicly available here in the Canvas Community website, but these documents do try to let us know, as Canvas end-users, when new features are added and when things are removed.  Sometimes, there are even blog posts from Instructure staff on up-coming changes (additions to Canvas, updates to existing features, things being removed, etc.).  You can find all Release Notes and Deploy Notes in a tabbed interface on this screen:

Canvas Releases - Instructure Community

If you've not done so already, I'd encourage you to bookmark and/or subscribe to these areas (which you can do by clicking on the three-dot kebab icon near the upper right corner of your screen).  That way, if you choose to subscribe, you can be updated when new Release Notes and Deploy Notes are ready for your review.  Each Release and Deploy also has a link to a discussion area.  So, as you are testing functionality, you can provide feedback directly to Instructrue.

Finally, I did a quick search for possible recent ideas that have been submitted by people here in the Community related to the issue you describe.  I found the following...which may not be exactly what you are asking about, but it might be close: [Discussions] Improve UI for Deleted Posts - Instructure Community - 618388.  (See the links on the right side of that page under the heading "How do Ideas work?" for more info on the idea process.  Also, see It’s Time for Your Feedback on the Future of Ideas... - Instructure Community - 619026 because the ideas process will be going through some changes in the near future.)

I hope all of this will be of some help to you, Mike.