Discussions Redesign Coming to Canvas LMS on July 20, 2024!

[tom_gibbons]

It looks like the last real feature release in the redesign was in January 2022--a few things were refined and updated in March. But it looks like nothing since then. 

It also looks like there's nothing on the roadmap for new features added to the discussions redesign in the next three quarters. 

There have been three major things that I know of that people have been asking for in discussions for the last decade (that's not an exaggeration): 

1. Nested topics, like Blackboard (I'm not a huge proponent of this, but I know people have been clamoring for this. I also understand why it's not seen as a huge issue).
2. @ mentions. That happened in the redesign, which is great. 
3. Multiple due dates for a discussion board. NOT differentiated due date visibility. 

There was early mention of a Checkpoint functionality that was in discovery for the discussion redesign, but no recent mention of it. This would allow for multiple due dates for one discussion. 

Is there any ETA on Checkpoints? Has it been abandoned for now? Is this functionality simply *not* on the horizon? 

I hope it's still in the works, but I'd rather not hope in vain!

Thanks for any updates on the timeline!

[lshulman]

What are "nested topics"?
We used Blackboard for ages before the switch to Canvas. But I am not familiar with this term. Is this the same as "threaded" posts? Like what the old Canvas discussions still do? Yes, threaded replies in the Discussion Redesign would help.

[msparker]

If "nested topics" are indeed threaded replies, Discussions already does have this feature available. It's in the checkbox options; it's called "Allow threaded replies".

[tom_gibbons]

No--I'm really talking about how the threaded postings work in Blackboard vs. Canvas threading. Even when you collapse all to only view the top-level responses in Canvas, you can't really drill down slowly--you can open a top-level post, but the whole response thread for that top-level posting is laid out and open. Bb allows(allowed?) you to open things more gradually. Basically people get lost in the threads and hierarchies of threads because of the low-level of differentiation in the visual interface. But that's not really my primary concern here. 

I'm really concerned with the issue of checkpoints. 

[msparker]

I think I have a better understanding of what you mean by the threading in Canvas discussions. The old discussion tool does have relatively basic threading. I imagine we'll continue to see improvements as the engineers have a more complete version of the new discussion tool. I am hopeful that checkpoints will get implemented sometime early next year (instructors around the world will celebrate).

Apologies @b_w_reid and @lshulman, I miscommunicated. The new format does not support threaded discussions. Maybe this feature will be added back in & improved? The current version of threading looks to be tied to the user/author of an initial posting. I am wondering if this is to make discussions more mobile device & tablet friendly.

[b_w_reid]

threaded replies aren't available in the new version of the discussions tool though are they? Or have I missed something?

[JDPearson]

Multiple Due Dates or Check Points, as we refer to it, is definitely on our development list for the update to Discussions Redesign as we've heard from so many that this is needed. However, Senior Leadership has redirected our team to work in support of some higher priority commitments and our Discussions Redesign work has been shelved until a later date TBD. As I understand it, there should be messaging shared within the community soon to advise of this from Senior Leadership. I imagine that this is disappointing news, as it has also been for our team, but we hope to get back to the work soon.

[lshulman]

@JDPearson 

I HATE Discussion Redesign. Refuse to use it (toggle it off in my course sites). But I could certainly use multiple checkpoints and, when developed, hope that feature will be included for old discussion format and not just for the Redesign. 

Just a request to add to the list. Thanks.

[JDPearson]

@lshulman I am sorry to hear that you hate the redesign. We have taken the last 10 months or so to listen intently to qualitative and quantitative feedback to understand the pain points, dislikes as well as the things that work well, but perhaps need improvement and have some great updates planned for the redesign once we're able to get back to that work. Unfortunately, we will not be making those same updates to the legacy version as the intent, at some point TBD and widely communicated, will be to move forward with the redesign as the go forward and sunset legacy.

[lshulman]

@JDPearson 

Hopefully, by the time you "sunset" the legacy discussion, you will have further revised the discussion redesign so as to ELIMINATE the pop-out windows and allowed for true treaded format with replies to initial posts.

But at the rate that Canvas rolls out changes and elimates old features, I am not too concerned. I note how many years it has been and old quizzes format is still (thankfully) available for use (seeing as how bugs with quizzes next - question banks, grade posting issues - still exist).

[JDPearson]

@lshulman We actually have found through our qualitative feedback gathering that that the Isolated View Tray (pop-out window, as you referred to it) is very beneficial to the way neurodiverse users communicate and learn. With that, it is our intent to keep a version of the tray that is updated, per additional feedback received regarding it, AND to also offer an updated threaded view as is currently available in the Legacy view. Users would then have the option to choose their view preference.

New Quizzes is something that the Org is currently focused on, as we recognize it has been an ongoing challenge. We also hope to learn from those challenges so that they aren't continually repeated across the organization as we move forward. Again, we look forward to being able to get back to the updates needed and planned for the Discussions Redesign.

[lshulman]

Providing user end options is the BEST solution! Allowing US to choose the Isolated View Tray (IVT) OR the more traditional expanded thread view should satisfy just about everyone!

This is GREAT news!

I can understand that the neuro diverse community can find the IVT helpful by not being over whelmed by more posts than they need to see at any given time. While the continued ability to "expand" or "collapse" one or more or ALL threads in a discussion also has benefit to some users for certain purposes. 

"Best of both worlds"

When will this "user end option" be available within the Discussion Redesign? I am willing to give the Discussion Redesign another try once I know it will be more flexible.

[JDPearson]

@lshulman I agree that is the best of both worlds. We've worked really hard over the last year to gather qualitative/quantitative feedback to ensure we're listening and meeting end user needs for the necessary updates to Redesign. However as I stated initially, my team has been reallocated to support another high(er) priority commit and our work on the updates planned for Discussions Redesign has been paused until at least Q4 2023. I hope/expect senior leadership to announce that decision soon here in the community for anyone who'd like to provide them with feedback.

[lshulman]

@msparker 

I know this is a feature in the OLD discussion format. But are you saying this is also a feature in the Discussion Redesign? From what I've seen, the pop-out window for replies only shows replies in the order they are posted, not in a true threaded format, indicating by indent, who they are a reply to. Though perhaps this is because the course/discussion settings in the courses I am a participant in, are not set to allow threading. I refused to use the Discussion Redesign in courses I am a teacher in so maybe I missed something about this threading feature that is still present in the Redesign?

Even if the pop-up reply window can allow for threads, I still don't like the pop-out window for several reasons that many others have already noted elsewhere in the Redesign discussion.

[JDPearson]

Good afternoon,

I am the "new" product manager for Discussions, having joined in February. We are very much in the process of qualitative and quantitative data gathering to determine the direction for updates to the current Discussions Redesign. We're using feedback shared here in the Community, one-on-one customer conversations, user studies conducted by our Analytics Team and tools such as Full Story and Datadog within the actual application to drive the design. Our current plans are to make the updates, that are still TBD and in iteration, available late Q1 2023, however that will also be dependent on corporate planning/alignment. 

As I have more info to share I will certainly do so here and if you're interested in connecting to share feedback please use this link to do so: https://calendly.com/jewel-pearson/30min?month=2022-12

Thanks!

[scombs426]

@JDPearson 

We have the desire to see the capability mentioned in this thread,  namely -

-- Multiple due dates for a discussion board (not differentiated due dates). We set up an assignment with the initial due date for posting to the discussion and then another due date for students to reply to a peer's post.  Assigned to all students within one discussion board.  Obviously can't be set as two separate assignments since it's the same discussion but two separate participation points are added to the grade book.  Manually tracking everything in a spreadsheet is very cumbersome, not to mention the late date posting. 

Also, something like the 'hub' created for New Quizzes would be extremely helpful along with a comparison spreadsheet of current features and expanded features along with 'coming features,' e.g. https://docs.google.com/document/d/11nSS2EP0UpSM6dcuEFnoF-hC6lyqWbE9JSHELNmfG2A/edit

[JDPearson]

Thank you for the feedback and suggestion. "Multiple Due Dates" or Checkpoints as we're referring to it internally is indeed on our radar for the Discussions Redesign, as it is a very frequently requested feature update. We've had it requested in almost every customer conversation we've engaged in. However, at this time I am unsure as to whether we will continue to be able to work on this and other planned updates as senior leadership is in process of deciding on the 2023 planning and timelines and our efforts may be redirected.

[JDPearson]

@tom_gibbons At this time I am unsure as to whether we will continue to be able to work on the planned updates for Discussions Redesign as senior leadership is in process of deciding on the 2023 planning and timelines and our efforts may be redirected.

[tom_gibbons]

Thanks. I get that. 

I will say that clamor and buzz around a particular need isn't always a good indicator of what a customer base really wants. 

Some of us have been working around the call-back issue with discussions for so long, that we forget about the labor load that it creates to work around the gap in functionality. We've stopped asking for that improvement because the answer has been "not yet" for the last decade. It's improvement debt: "Yes, we need to do that, but we need to focus on this other *brand new* stuff more." 

Then, when planning feature parity for a component redesign, the deficiencies just get mapped onto the new feature. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[lshulman]

What is "differentiated due dates"? And how is this different from "multiple due dates" (checkpoints)? 

[tom_gibbons]

Differentiated due dates: different students/groups/sections have different due dates for the same assignment, e.g., Group A will be presenting in class on Monday, Group B on Wednesday. They have to submit their presentation materials on the day they present. Group A is assigned a due date of Monday, and Group B on Wednesday. OR--another example--you need to grant an extension for the midterm essay to one student due to a medical emergency. That student get a due date of Friday, while everyone else is due on the previous Sunday. 

Multiple due dates/check points example: a discussion board requires multiple postings. Initial posting on Wednesday, responses all wrapped up by the end of Sunday. Currently, discussion boards can't do that. You have to set up a nudging assignment for one of the deadlines, or a calendar event. 

[birger_eriksson]

Do you have mobile app support for anonymity in the roadmap Q1 2023? More then 50% of visits by our students are in the app. Today they are not able to access Discussions with anonymity setting. Do we have to downgrade Discussions...?

[JDPearson]

@birger_eriksson Unfortunately we do not. We're still working to with our Mobile partners on the adoption of Discussions Redesign and at this time I don't have dates to provide.

[lshulman]

@tom_gibbons thanks for the clear explanation.i could certainly use multiple duedates ("check points"). For the "differentiated due dates" you describe, seems that can be easily accomplished by using the multiple "assign" option. Instead of assigning "everyone" the same date, assign selected students to different due dates.

[tom_gibbons]

@lshulman Yes, that feature was originally called differentiated due dates when it was released. So that's what I call it. https://community.canvaslms.com/t5/Instructor-Guide/How-do-I-view-differentiated-assignments-with-di... 

The issue that I was pointing out is that they've created a feature that allows you to see the differentiated due dates on discussions when you're on the particular page for the discussion. Which is nice I suppose. But checkpoints/multiple due dates are something that people have wanted for over 10 years. And here we are. 

[Nva2023]

@JDPearson 

Any new recent development  on the discussion update? 

We are very interested in multiple due dates for a discussion board.

Thank you.

[b_w_reid]

Hi,

I've recently read 2 posts that may cover what you're looking for: 

• Discussions Redesign Coming to Canvas LMS on July 20, 2024!
• Improve the user experience with discussions to provide for more meaningful discourse among course p...

The split screen is now available for discussions, so that you can either see then threaded or open in another panel.

Hope this helps!