We discussed how to set up Discussion Boards in Module 3.7. But Discussion Boards can also be used as a valuable communication tool. Canvas provides an integrated system for class discussions, allowing both instructors and students to start and contribute to as many discussion topics as desired. Discussions allows for interactive communication between two or more people; users can participate in a conversation with an entire class or group.

Discussions can also be created as an assignment for grading purposes (and seamlessly integrated with the Canvas Gradebook), or simply serve as a forum for topical and current events. Discussions can also be created within student groups.

👉 Heads Up!

Discussion topics can be organized as focused or threaded discussions, so take these features into consideration based on your discussion topic:

Focused discussions
- only allow for two levels of nesting, the original post and subsequent replies
- relatively short-lived interactions
Threaded discussions
- allow for infinite levels of nesting
- allow replies within replies and may last for a longer period of time

Within Discussions you can:

Create, edit, and delete discussion topics. You can also reply to, edit, and delete individual student discussion posts.
Create threaded or focused discussions within your course. (Private discussions can be initiated within student groups, which are not viewable by others outside that group.)
Create discussions with varied due dates for different sections within your course.
Create a group discussion as an assignment.
Create a graded discussion for everyone, individual students, course sections, or course groups. When a discussion is marked as a graded assignment, the Canvas SpeedGrader isolates each student’s comments from the thread and combines them into one easily readable view for grading.
Subscribe to a discussion and be notified of replies.
Enable podcast feeds within your discussions.
Embed or attach files, images, and YouTube videos.
Add course content directly from your course.
Delay discussion posts until a defined date.
Pin discussion threads that you want your students to see at the top of the Discussions page.

👉 Heads Up!

In case you haven't viewed Module 3.7 Create Discussion Boards, here's how to create Discussions. If you've already reviewed that module, you can skip ahead to the next module.

Quick Start: How to Create a Discussion

In Course Navigation, click the Discussions link.

Click the Add Discussion button.

Create Discussion

In the Title field [1], create a title for your discussion.

Use the Rich Content Editor [2] to create content for your discussion. You can also add links, files, and images to the discussion.

The Rich Content Editor includes a word count display below the bottom right corner of the text box [3].

If you want to create a section-specific discussion that is not graded, select one or multiple sections in the Post to drop-down menu [4]. Graded section-specific discussions must be created as part of the Graded option in the next section.

Add Discussion Options

You can add an attachment to your discussion by clicking the Choose File button.

By default, discussions are created as focused discussions. To create a threaded discussion, click the Allow threaded replies checkbox [1].

To require users to reply to the discussion before they can see any other replies, click the Users must post before seeing replies checkbox [2].

To enable a discussion podcast feed, click the Enable podcast feed checkbox [3].

To allow students to like discussion replies, click the Allow liking checkbox [4].

To add an ungraded discussion to the student to-do list, click the Add to student to-do checkbox [5]. Student to-do items display in the course calendar, in the student-specific List View Dashboard, and in the global and course home page to-do lists. Graded discussions automatically display in a student's to-do list.

To make the discussion a group discussion, click the This is a Group Discussion checkbox [6].

To make your discussion available on a specific date or during a specific date range using availability dates, enter the dates in the Available From and Until fields [7], or click the calendar icons to select dates. If you create a graded discussion, the Available From and Until dates can be set in the Assign field. Before the Available From date, students will only be able to view the discussion title. After the Until date, students can view the discussion topic and all responses but cannot add or edit any responses.

Create Graded Discussion

To create a graded discussion, click the Graded checkbox. If this option is selected, additional options will be added to the page where you can assign graded discussions to everyone, individual students, course sections, or course groups.

👉 Heads Up!

If you want to create a graded discussion and you have added sections in the Post To field, the Graded option will be unavailable. You must remove the sections from the Post To field before selecting this option. You will be able to add sections as part of the graded discussion options.

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 icon.

Show Me

This 5 minute video will give you an overview of how discussions work and how to create a graded discussion.

🤿 Deeper Dive Guides

What are Discussions?
How do I create a discussion as an instructor?
How do I create a group discussion in a course?
How do I use the Discussions Index Page?
How do I assign a graded discussion to an individual student or course section?
How do I allow students to attach a file to a discussion post?
How do I attach a rubric to a graded discussion?
For more information on Discussions, click here.