Summary
As we get ready to start the fall quarter here at Northwestern's School of Professional Studies, we wanted to update our faculty about some notable changes to Canvas features that have been phased in over the past several months. This is a summary of the main changes to the Discussions and Announcements features.
The fall quarter is here, so what is new in Canvas?
In the Summer of 2024, Canvas introduced several significant improvements to its discussion and announcement features, offering enhanced usability, engagement, and productivity for both students and instructors. The enhancements available to instructors and students include the following:
- Discussions and announcements can be optionally viewed in a split screen that displays the original post and replies for a single thread of the discussion.
- Discussion threads can be expanded or collapsed to show or hide any replies.
- Posts can be filtered to display all posts or only unread posts.
- Discussion posts can be sorted “oldest to newest” or “newest to oldest.”
- All discussion posts can include “at mentions” (@).
In addition, there are these enhancements for instructors:
- AI-generated summaries of discussions.
- Anonymous discussions for students.
Note: These new features apply to discussions and announcements, but both will be referred to as “discussions” in this document.
What are the Benefits of These Enhancements to Students?
Improved Organization: The split-screen view and expandable/collapsible threads make it easier to follow and manage discussions, reducing confusion.
Personalized Experience: The ability to filter posts by read/unread status and sort them by date allows students to focus on the most relevant information.
Real-time Engagement: @ mentions enable students to directly address and engage with their peers and instructors.
Candid Discussions: Anonymous discussions allow for candid responses to sensitive or controversial topics.
What are the Benefits of These Enhancements to Instructors?
Enhanced Oversight: The split-screen view and filtering options provide a clearer overview of discussions, making it easier to monitor student engagement and participation.
Timesaving: The AI-generated summaries can help instructors quickly grasp the major themes of the discussion.
Improved Communication: @ mentions facilitate more direct and targeted communication with students.
View a Discussion Thread in Split Screen
To view discussion posts and replies in Split Screen, click the View Split Screen button.
To view an original post and its replies in the Split Screen panel, click the link that indicates the number of replies.
The original post and its replies will be displayed in the Split Screen panel.
Note: The option to Expand Threads is not available in Split Screen view.
Expand/Collapse Discussion Threads to Show/Hide Reply Posts
By default, all replies will be collapsed (not displayed) when a discussion page loads. Click the Expand Threads button to display all replies to the post.
With discussion threads expanded in the inline view, the reply posts are displayed below their original posts.
Note: The option to Expand Threads is only available in Inline view.
Filter Posts
Discussion posts can be filtered so that all posts or only unread posts are displayed. Click the View menu to filter the posts.
Sort Posts
The default sort order for Canvas discussions is newest to oldest. Use the Sort button to change the date order that posts will be displayed.
Whenever a discussion is re-sorted, replies will collapse and must be expanded to be displayed.
Use “At Mentions” in Discussion Posts
Canvas discussions now support “at mentions.” Type the “at sign” (@) in a discussion post to display the list of students, instructor(s), and TA(s) enrolled in the course. Select the name of the person to be mentioned. The person selected will receive an email informing them that they were mentioned in the discussion post. The message will include the text of the post and instructions for replying to the post.
Create an AI-generated Discussion Summary
Canvas can provide an AI-generated summary of each discussion that is visible ONLY to Instructors. Click the Summarize button to generate the summary.
The summary is displayed on the discussion page following the prompt and instructions.
The instructor can fine-tune the summary by entering specific topics to be drawn out from the discussion posts. The Summarize button and discussion summaries are not visible to students.
Make an Anonymous Discussion
Instructors may designate a discussion as partially or fully anonymous. This feature is particularly useful for allowing students to respond candidly to controversial or sensitive topics. Instructors can select the level of student anonymity when they create new discussions. Partial anonymity gives each student the choice to display their name and profile picture with their discussion posts. A fully anonymous discussion conceals the names and profile pictures of all students. The anonymity settings are listed with the other discussion options.
Instructors and TAs are never anonymous in a discussion, regardless of the settings. Students can still report inappropriate posts in anonymous discussions.
One new checkbox that can trip you up!
We have had some instances of instructors finding their recently imported classes with discussions where students cannot reply because a newly added checkbox has been inadvertently checked. If you find your discussions are not allowing students (or you) to reply to one another, be sure to verify that the Disallow Threaded Replies checkbox is not checked. You can uncheck this box at any time to allow students to reply to one another.
Where Can I Learn More About These Updates to Canvas Discussions?
Enhancements and Changes Coming to Canvas in June (Northwestern Teaching & Learning Technologies) provide a high-level overview and some more details about these discussion features.
Canvas Release: Discussions/Announcements Redesign (Instructure) provides detailed information about these discussion features.
You can schedule a consultation with a Distance Learning team member to address your questions or learn to use these new features.