New Discussions is awful. Please revert to the old format

[NigelCaplan]

Dear Canvas, please roll back the enforcement of New Discussions. The format is virtually unusable. I can't find new posts, I have to make multiple clicks to do basic functions, and the default view discourages discussion by hiding replies. This makes your product worse. Get rid of it, or at least give users the choice.

[dspiel]

The failure of the two big redesigns Canvas has had the last few years (Discussions and New Quizzes) shows how poorly Instructure is listening to their customers. Each of these main and core features of any LMS system is extremely important to instructors and neither have been liked. Instead of listening to your customers you have meetings and acting like you care but continue and tell us how WE are wrong and they are the greatest things ever created. Usability for both items is awful and instead of making things better and easier for both faculty and students all they have done is made it more difficult.

[kylecage0]

We just flipped the switch today in anticipation of the July 20 "enforcement." The default view, particularly the extra clicks to see replies, reminds me of YouTube comments. It seems that, as with many Canvas updates, Instructure was going for aesthetics over academics. Sure, on the surface, the redesign looks cleaner by tucking the replies away behind extra clicks, but for the students and faculty who have to actually read the posts and provide substantive feedback to each other, this is counterproductive and will result in even less engagement than before. 

Also, the font size in the replies is smaller, so if you are reading a reply to a reply, you better get your reading glasses or a magnifying glass. This issue is present whether you use the default in-line view or the split screen view. I figured maybe split screen would at least retain the same font size, but nope - still small. The right-hand panel in split screen view is similar to how a rubric displays in SpeedGrader, but unlike SpeedGrader, the panel isn't expandable. Maybe if you could drag it out to the left more, that would increase the font size.

The main issue we have is the default order displaying newest posts first. Our discussion prompts are built into the course, so faculty typically make an initial post by replying to the built-in prompt. Their initial posts provide students with additional instructions, links, videos, and other helpful resources. Those are getting pushed down to the bottom by default now, so we're advising students to use the Sort button to flip it to oldest-to-newest. There does not seem to be a way to change this at the account level.

[Scarlet22]

The redesign is awful for me.

1. It is less accessible with smaller fonts for the replys.

2. Each time I open the discussion if I want replies visible I have to click the button which is annoying.

3. The change in order in the discussion based on time of latest response is INFURIATING. I cannot find everything and don't always remember who specifically I responded to but I usually would remember "where" it was in the discussion. As well, I presonally hate sorting by newest (even for just posts) and prefer the order being the order posted. At least give us the option to have it sort by newest or oldest but keep it related to the original posting NOT the most recent comment.

4. PLEASE for the love of all things, let us set the settings to save for all discussion posts. EVERY TIME I OPEN IT I have to reset to the settings that I want that make it slightly less awful. Just give us a feature to save our preferred settings ❤️

[mmoore1]

While it does take some time to get used to the new interface there are some good reasons for moving forward.  Here are some helpful guides from Canvas that could help you with the new changes.  

Discussions Redesign

• How do I use Discussions Redesign as an instructor?
• How do I create a discussion using Discussions Redesign as an instructor?
• How do I publish or unpublish a discussion in Discussions Redesign as an instructor?
• How do I reply to a discussion in Discussions Redesign as an instructor?
• How do I view and sort discussion replies in Discussions Redesign as an instructor?
• How do I mark discussions replies as read or unread in Discussions Redesign as an instructor?
• How do I like a reply in a course discussion in Discussions Redesign as an instructor?
• How do I subscribe to a discussion in Discussions Redesign as an instructor?
• How do I view a rubric for a discussion in Discussions Redesign as an instructor?
• How do I view a discussion thread in Discussions Redesign as an instructor?
• How do I mention a user in a discussion reply in Discussions Redesign as an instructor?
• How do I allow students to create anonymous course discussions?
• How do I allow users to report a reply in a discussion in Discussions Redesign as an instructor?

[cheryltice]

I have been using the interface for months. There are very real accessibility issues with this tool. I do instructional support and teach part time at the college level. Using this tool with students shows just how problematic the new functionality is from an accessibility and student engagement perspective. It is not an improvement over the previous version. I'm fully aware of the functionality and have provided PD on it, in addition to teaching with it.

My students have let me know they don't like all the extra clicks and their participation in discussions is way down since the switch. If the goal was to improve usability and engagement, the goal was not accomplished,  from my perspective.

The comments in the forum seem to indicate educators have been using it extensively and fully understand the functionality. The problems they indicate track with what I, and my instructors and students, have experienced when using it.

I'm all for progress when it makes sense. Forcing users into an interface that isn't fully accessible and negatively impacts student engagement is problematic, in my opinion.

[Hypershark]

This new discussion board is absolutely horrible compared to the previous version and seriously degrades the quality of this LMS. Both instructors and students now have a harder time posting. The great thing about Canvas was the ease with which students and instructors could engage in discussions. This new design will discourage participation because it's simply more difficult to navigate and read. Please change it back or give instructors the capability to revert to the legacy view. I teach at many organizations that use Canvas, and none of them are happy about this change. PLEASE scrap this new discussion board, as there was nothing wrong with how it was.

[SK1010]

Completely agree. When I logged onto discussions today, I was not pleased at all. Please revert this ugly design.

[JoshuaPatrick]

Absolutely agree. It is so buggy that I have put in more hours than I am comfortable admitting, all because of this redesign which, per Canvas's word, was mainly put into action to streamline canvas for phones. It has, at least for me, been a nightmare. Items remained locked even though I double and triple check them, students complain that they have weird errors when posting, such as a random gigantic blank space choosing to come up or things posting twice. The lack of boxes around DF posts is awful and everyone above is totally right about student engagement decreasing because replies are hidden by default. It is so much more difficult (and buggy) to simply set a due date, and on multiple occasions I can't change, or delete a due date. Students tell me things are locked which are simply DUE on a certain date. I do not use any lock feature. This never happened before. There are many, many bugs.

My heart-felt feelings for those who have also had to deal with this.

[OnlineFaculty2]

I just can't believe the engineers and designers would think this is a good discussion update. Replies are hidden; reordering and opening replies is required every time I enter a discussion. I then need to do this again and reorder again if the discussion makes it to a second page in a larger class.

I am using Canvas in a face-to-face class, and students complain every day about the new discussion.

Finally, it is super laggy! The engineers embedded a discussion page within the Canvas page, so scrolling is met with freezing and lags--even when I use one our 6 month old Alienware machines. Please give faculty the option to revert to the previous discussion format in classes.