How can I require students to reply to a course discussion before they see other replies?

[#1]

You can require that students reply to a discussion before the see any of the other students' replies.

Open Discussions

In Course Navigation, click the Discussions link.

Add Discussion

Click the Add Discussion button.

Enter Discussion Details

Enter a topic title [1] and discussion details [2].

Select Discussion Options

Select the Users must post before seeing replies checkbox.

Save and Publish

If you are ready to publish your discussion, click the Save & Publish button [1]. If you want to create a draft of your discussion and publish it later, click the Save button [2].

When your discussion is saved in a draft state, you can return to the page and publish it at any time by clicking the Publish button.

Student View Discussion

Students will see a 'Replies are only visible to those who have posted at least one reply' message when they view the Discussion topic.

Note: Sometimes students will work around this requirement by deleting their posts. You can change your course settings to keep students from deleting their posts.