{"id":757,"date":"2024-05-01T06:30:00","date_gmt":"2024-05-01T10:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bsu.edu\/teaching-innovation\/?p=757"},"modified":"2024-05-13T10:43:21","modified_gmt":"2024-05-13T14:43:21","slug":"new-in-canvas-discussions-redesign","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bsu.edu\/teaching-innovation\/2024\/05\/01\/new-in-canvas-discussions-redesign\/","title":{"rendered":"New in Canvas: Discussions Redesign"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Update (May 13, 2024): <\/em>The authors of this post presented a virtual workshop entitled Introducing the Canvas Discussions Redesign. You can watch a recording of that workshop here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Learn about the Canvas Discussions Redesign, which brings a new look and new features to Canvas Discussions and Announcements, beginning July 20, 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Canvas Discussions and Announcements will soon have a new look and new features. What do you need to know about these updates, and how can you put them to use to improve Discussions in your course?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to Enable Canvas Discussions Redesign <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Canvas Discussions Redesign will automatically be enabled in all your Canvas courses beginning on July 20, 2024. Prior to July 20, you can manually enable it in each course. Open the course you want to enable the redesign on, go to Settings > Feature Options, and change Discussions\/Announcements Redesign from Disabled to Enabled. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Discussions\/Announcements<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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Changes to Know About in Canvas Discussions Redesign <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Canvas Discussions Redesign is intended to better facilitate communication through Canvas Discussions. Below, we highlight a variety of new features and changes, including @mentions, quoted replies, anonymous discussions, and interface changes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

@mentions <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Users can now tag other users in Discussion posts and replies. To tag a user, type @, which will open a pop-up box where you can select the user you would like to mention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Mention<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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By default, users will receive immediate notifications via email and push notification of any @mentions. These notifications can be customized at Account > Notifications > Discussions > New Mention. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Discussions<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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Consider encouraging your students to use @mentions when replying to each other. @mentions may also open new possibilities for Discussions. For example, in one writing course I (Eva) teach, I assigned a Discussion where students working on a collaborative project read each other\u2019s past Discussion posts and identify 2-3 strengths in each other group member\u2019s writing. I required students to @mention each other so they could quickly and easily identify what their peers said about their strengths as writers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Quoted Replies <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Users can now quote replies in their own replies. To quote a reply, click the three dots and select \u201cQuote Reply.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Discussion<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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The quoted reply will display above your own reply, with a toggle to turn on or off the quoting. Unfortunately, you cannot currently quote part<\/em> of a reply, only the entire reply. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consider encouraging students to use this when you have large or complex discussion threads. These threads can be difficult to navigate and fully understand what someone is replying to, and quoting a reply can help bring clarity to complex threads. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anonymous Discussions <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Teachers can now configure a new Discussion with three different levels of anonymity: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Off:<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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Some features are not supported in Anonymous Discussions, including Grading and Groups. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consider using Anonymous Discussions for situations where you want students to reply honestly without concern for their academic performance. For example, you could use Full anonymity on a Q&A Discussion, where your students can ask questions about the course without concern that you will judge them for their questions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can also read about more possible uses of Anonymous Discussions in Shane Lanning\u2019s post, \u201cHow to Create Anonymous Discussion Boards with New Canvas Redesign and Why You Might Want To<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Edit History <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Teachers can now view the edit history on posts that have been edited by a student. On any post that a student has edited, a button at the top of the post will appear labeled \u201cView History.\u201d Clicking this link will open a pop-up window to view all past versions of the post. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Edit<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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Reporting Replies <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Users can now report any Discussion reply by clicking the three dots next to the reply and selecting \u201cReport.\u201d This will open a pop-up window where they can select one of three reasons: Inappropriate, Offensive \/ abusive, or Other. Reported replies will remain visible unless they are deleted by the Teacher. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reported replies will be sent to you to review. You can edit your notification settings for reported replies by opening your course and clicking the \u201cView Course Notifications\u201d button in the right sidebar. Scroll down to the Discussions area and make any desired adjustments to the Reported Reply row.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Sidebar<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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By default, the ability to report replies will be toggled on. You can turn this off on a course-by-course basis by visiting Discussions in your course navigation and clicking the gear icon in the top-right corner to open your course\u2019s Discussion settings. Uncheck the box labeled \u201cReport replies\u201d to toggle this feature off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Discussion<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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Checkpoints (Multiple Due Dates) <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The much-requested feature of Checkpoints will allow Teachers to add multiple due dates to a Discussion, such as an initial post date and a follow-up reply date. This feature is coming prior to the official launch of Discussions Redesign \u2013 Canvas has currently identified June 30, 2024 as the rollout date for Checkpoints. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We will update this blog post with more details about Checkpoints when they are available for you to use. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interface Updates in Canvas Discussions Redesign <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Canvas Discussions Redesign also includes a new top bar for searching posts and changing the display of posts. New options in this top bar include: <\/p>\n\n\n\n