You can add an ungraded discussion in your course using the Teacher app.
The images in this lesson are shown for a phone display, but unless otherwise noted, tablet displays mirror the same steps.
Note: Graded discussions cannot be added using the app.
Open Course
In the Courses tab, tap the name of the course you'd like to view.
Open Discussions
Tap the Discussions link.
Add Discussion
To add a discussion, tap the Add icon.
Add Discussion Details
In the Topic Title field [1], add a title for the discussion.
In the Description field [2], add a description for the discussion. You can use the Rich Content Editor to format your title and description [3]. Learn more about using the Rich Content Editor.
Set Options
By default, discussions are not anonymous; student names and profile pictures display in discussions [1].
To allow students to decide whether to display their names and profile pictures, tap the Partial: students can choose to reveal their name and profile picture option.
To enable anonymous discussions and hide student names and profile pictures, tap the Full: student names and profile pictures will be hidden option.
To allow only replies to the discussion topic and prevent users from replying to replies, tap the Disallow threaded replies checkbox [2].
To require students to reply to the discussion before they can see any other replies, tap the Participants must respond to the topic before viewing other replies checkbox [3]. Students see a "You must post before seeing replies" message when they view the Discussion topic.
To enable a discussion podcast feed, tap the Enable podcast feed checkbox [4].
To create a graded assignment, tap the Graded checkbox [5]. When creating a graded assignment, additional options display, where you can select a number of points, add peer reviews, and select other options. Learn more about creating a graded assignment for everyone, individual students, course sections, or for course groups.
To allow users to like discussion replies, tap the Allow liking checkbox [6]. To limit the liking functionality to only graders in the course, tap the Only graders can like checkbox. Only users with the Edit Grades permission can see the Like link. However, all users still see the total number of likes for each reply.
To add an ungraded discussion to the student to-do list, tap the Add to student to-do checkbox [7]. Student to-do items display in the course calendar, in the student-specific List View Dashboard, and in the global and course home page to-do lists. Graded discussions automatically display in a student's to-do list.
To make the discussion a group discussion, tap the This is a Group Discussion checkbox [8].
Notes:
- If there are no discussion submissions, you can edit the anonymous discussion options.
- Replies made by users with a Teacher, TA, or Designer role in the course will never be anonymous.
- Graded discussions do not support anonymous grading.
- Graded discussions cannot be anonymous; student names and profile pictures must be visible to other members of the course.
- Once there are threaded replies in a discussion, you cannot change the Disallow threaded replies setting.
- Sometimes students will work around the requirement to post before seeing replies by deleting their posts. You can change your course settings to prevent students from deleting their posts.
Set Availability
To set availability dates for the discussion, enter the dates in the Available from field [1]and Until field [2], or tap the calendar icons to select dates [3].
To add a time, tap the Time drop-down menu [4]. You can enter a time or select a time from the drop-down menu.
Attach File
To attach a file to the message, tap the Attach icon [1].
Select how you would like to attach a file [2].
Note: To learn more about media attachments, view the Canvas Media Comparison PDF.
Save Discussion
If you are ready to publish your discussion, click the Save and Publish button [1].
To create a draft of your discussion and publish it later, click the Save button [2].
