Canvas Discussions/Announcements Redesign
FAQ
Can I continue to use the old Canvas Discussions and Announcements?
It is not possible for instructors to use the old Discussions and Announcements tools.
What happened to my announcements and discussions from past classes?
All discussions and announcements in past Canvas classes were automatically converted to the redesigned format. Posts, replies, and grades were preserved.
Discussions & Announcements - New Features
The following video walks you through all the Discussions and Announcements redesign changes.
Below is a list of the new features broken out by individual topic.
Note: The new reply features are only available in Announcements when the instructor has enabled comments on Announcements.
New Look & Feel
The Discussions and Announcements interface has a new look and feel.
New Menu Bar
- Group Discussion button - The Group Discussion Menu button displays a list of Group Discussions and the number of unread posts for each Group Discussion.
- Search box - Enter a term to search all Discussion replies.
- View All/View Unread Replies - Filter Discussion by Unread to view only the replies you have not read.
- Sort - Sort the order of Discussion threads oldest to newest or newest to oldest.
- View Split Screen/View Inline - Split Screen displays a post's replies in a sidebar. Inline displays posts and replies in a traditional single-column format.
- Expand/Collapse Threads - Expand and collapse all threads in the Discussion.
New Location of Edit Button
The Edit button from classic Discussions has been replaced with an Edit link. To edit a Discussion, click its kebab and select Edit.
Resources
Teacher & TA Roles Labels
When Teachers and TAs post in Discussions and Announcements, their posts contain a label identifying their role. A label also indicates the author of the Discussion or Announcement.
Resources
Quote Reply
The Quote Reply feature allows a participant to include a quote from the post they are replying to. This feature helps clarify which post a person is replying to.
1. Instead of clicking the Reply button to reply to a post, click the post's kebab and select Quote Reply.
2. When you post your reply, a quote from the post you are replying to appears at the top of your reply.
Resources
Tag Other Participants with @Mention
You can tag other members of your class using the @mention feature in a reply. Simply type the at sign (@) in your reply, and select a name from the list of people in the class (e.g., @Jane Smith). The person will receive a Canvas notification when you post the reply.
Resources
Split Screen & Inline Viewing Options
You can display replies to posts in Split Screen or Inline mode. Click the View Split Screen/View Inline button to switch viewing mode.
Split Screen - Displays a thread's replies in a sidebar. Note that the sidebar only displays when you click to view a thread's replies.
Inline - Displays posts and replies in a traditional single-column format.
Resources
Threaded Discussions
What Are Threaded Discussions?
Threaded Discussions are the default type of Canvas Discussion.
In a threaded Discussion, when a student replies to the instructor's prompt, Canvas creates a new thread in the Discussion. Replies to a thread are nested underneath and indented to show the conversation hierarchy. This makes it easy to follow multiple conversations within the same Discussion topic. You can click the Collapse Threads/Expand Threads button to expand and collapse the replies to the threads.
The following is a Discussion with collapsed threads.
The following is a Discussion with expanded threads.
Can I Turn Off Threaded Discussions?
When you create a Discussion, the Disallow Threaded Replies checkbox determines whether your Discussion is threaded or not.
Disallow Threaded Replies Checkbox
- Unchecked - To create a threaded discussion, Leave Disallow Threaded Replies unchecked.
- Checked - To create a Discussion that does not have threads, check Disallow Threaded Replies. Note that a Discussion without threads only allows students to reply to the instructor's Discussion prompt. No one can reply to each other's replies. This is a single-level Discussion where all responses appear in one list.
Important: You cannot change this setting after students have replied to the Discussion.
Sorting Threads
Click the Sort button to sort a Discussion's threads (top-level posts) by their creation date: oldest to newest or newest to oldest.
Note that this only sorts the Discussion's threads (the direct replies to the instructor's prompt). The sort does not affect the order of the replies within a thread. Replies within a thread are always sorted oldest to newest.
Discussion View Settings
Instructors can configure a default Discussion view for themselves and their students.
- Default Thread State - Determines whether threads in a Discussion are expanded or collapsed when the Discussion opens.
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Expanded - The Discussion opens with expanded threads. Students can collapse threads unless Lock Thread State for Students is checked.
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Collapsed - The Discussion opens with collapsed threads. Students can expand threads unless Lock Thread State for Students is checked.
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- Lock Thread State for Students - When this box is checked, students cannot change their Discussion view from the Default Thread State set by the instructor.
- Default Sort Order - Determines the order in which the threads in a discussion are displayed. Sort order does NOT affect the order in which replies to a thread are displayed - replies to a thread are always sorted oldest to newest.
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Oldest First - When instructor selects Oldest First, the Discussion opens with oldest threads first and newest threads last. Students can choose to sort the threads by newest first unless the Lock Sort Order for Students checkbox is checked.
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Newest First - When instructor selects Newest First, the Discussion opens with newest threads first and oldest threads last. Students can choose to sort the threads by oldest first unless the Lock Sort Order for Students checkbox is checked.
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Lock Sort Order for Students - When this box is checked, students cannot change their Discussion thread sort order set by the instructor.
Resources
Report Inappropriate Replies
Participants can use the Report feature to discreetly report inappropriate comments to the instructor. The instructor will receive an email notification about the post that has been reported.
Resources
View History of Edited Replies
Instructors and TAs can view the edit history for replies and can click to view each version of the reply.
Resources
Anonymous & Partially Anonymous Discussion Options Available
Instructors can choose to create fully or partially anonymous Discussions. Fully anonymous discussions assign a random identifier to each student participant. Partially anonymous discussions allow students to decide if they would like to reply anonymously or with their name listed. Instructors and TAs are never anonymous.
Important: You cannot edit Anonymous and Partially Anonymous Discussion settings once students have posted in a Discussion.
Resources
Feature Comparison: Redesigned vs Classic Discussions and Announcements
The following is a feature comparison of classic Discussions and Announcements and the redesigned Discussions and Announcements.
| Feature |
Redesigned Discussions & Announcements |
Classic Discussions & Announcements |
| ⭐Anonymous & Partially Anonymous Discussions |
NEW FEATURE Instructors can choose to create fully or partially anonymous Discussions. Fully anonymous discussions assign a random identifier to each student participant. Partially anonymous discussions allow students to decide if they would like to reply anonymously or with their name listed. |
Not available |
| Collapse/Expand Threads |
Can collapse or expand all threads at top level only.
|
Can collapse replies at every level.
|
| ⭐Edit History |
NEW FEATURE Instructors and TAs can view the edit history of any reply and view each version. |
Not available |
| ⭐Filter by Unread Posts |
Filtering feature has moved to the top of the announcement and discussion prompt.
|
Available
|
| Group Discussions |
Access discussions for each group through the Groups Menu button.
|
Available
|
| Hierarchy |
Levels 1 and 2 are indented to indicate hierarchy, but level 3, 4, 5, etc. are all on the same level. Discussion Prompt: Level 1 Reply Level 2 Reply Level 3 Reply Level 4 Reply Level 5 Reply Etc… |
Each level of reply is indented from the previous level to indicate hierarchy. Discussion Prompt: Level 1 Reply |
| ⭐@ Mentions |
NEW FEATURE Participants can tag others in their replies by typing the @ symbol and then selecting the name of a class participant from the drop down menu that appears. |
Not available |
| Mark Read/Unread |
The ability to manually change the read status of a comment or entire thread has moved to the kebab menu. |
Available |
| Peer Review |
This functionality can be enabled in the Discussion settings after checking the graded discussion box.
|
Available
|
| ⭐Quote Reply |
NEW FEATURE Participants can quote another participant’s comment in their own reply by clicking the kebab next to the comment. This provides clarity during active discussions with many responses. |
Not available |
| ⭐Report Reply |
NEW FEATURE Participants can use the Report feature to discreetly report inappropriate comments to the instructor. The instructor will receive an email notification about the post that has been reported. |
Not available |
| ⭐Role Pill (Label) |
NEW FEATURE Instructors and TAs are identified by a label on each reply. |
Not available |
| Search |
Available
|
Available
|
| ⭐Sort Topics |
NEW FEATURE Discussion threads (the top-level posts) can be sorted by their creation date: oldest to newest or newest to oldest. Note that replies nested in threaded conversations are not affected by the sort and are always arranged from oldest to newest.
|
Not available |
| Split Screen/Inline |
You can display replies to posts in Split Screen or Inline mode. Click the View Split Screen/View Inline button to switch viewing mode.
Split Screen - Displays a thread's replies in a sidebar. Note that the sidebar only displays when you click to view a thread's replies. Inline - Displays posts and replies in a traditional single-column format. |
Not available |
Resources
UWM's Video Resources for Instructors
- Enable Discussions and Announcements Redesign Before May 25, 2024
- Creating a Canvas Discussion
- Quote Reply in Discussions and Announcements
- Managing Discussions and Understanding Reply Levels, Sort, and Quote Replies
- Inline View and Split Screen View
- Group Discussions
- Discussion Reply Reporting
- @Mentions in Replies
- Quote Replies
- Discussions Edit History
- Post Before Seeing Replies Discussion
- Anonymous and Partially Anonymous Discussions
Documentation Resources
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