Canvas: Discussions

What do they do?

Canvas provides an integrated system for class discussions Links to an external site., allowing both instructors and students to start and contribute to as many discussion topics as desired. Discussions allow 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.

Discussion Options

discussion options

Discussion topics can be a focused or threaded discussion:

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

How do I make one?

Refer to this Canvas Guide to learn how to create discussions as an instructor.

Best Practices

Pin active discussions Links to an external site. to the top of the Discussion index page.
Use small group discussions Links to an external site. (5-8 students each) to encourage deeper interaction.
Consider if you want students to be able to edit or delete their posts Links to an external site..
Consider requiring students to post their own original post Links to an external site. before seeing others.

Example Use Case

Example 1: An instructor of blended course would like to better understand students' motivations and interests in relation to the course material. To accomplish this, the instructor creates a non-graded discussion for the class of 30 students to introduce themselves.
Example 2: An instructor would like small groups to share and discuss current events that relate to the week's topic. To accomplish this, they create a graded group discussion Links to an external site. and new "small group discussion" group set Links to an external site. to keep the group size manageable.