Canvas Discussions are seamless way for students to have a space to ask questions, discuss ideas and explore together with their peers. Make sure you write clear instructions on what is required in the discussion.

Ideas for Discussions

Example 1: FAQ

If you have any questions from the lecture please post them below. I will also be posting any questions I receive via email so other colleagues can learn from them as well.

This discussion forum is a an opportunity for you to ask questions about the series of lectures and practical on Protein Sturcture and Function and includes topics from "Protein Synthesis"

Example 2: Activity

Read through "Radiography of the acutely injured shoulder" by Neep and Aziz (2011, p188-192)

Write a blog post (max 200 words) reviewing the following questions:

1. What are some of the existing issues relating to imaging of the glenohumeral joint in a trauma setting?

2. Propose a few of the benefits associated with the 'modified trauma axial' view that is discussed in this paper.

3. What are Hill-Sachs and Bankart lesions, and why are these significant in this study?

4. Are there any disadvantages, from a patient or radiographic perspective, to the 'modified trauma axial' described in this study?#

It is important to read through and answer the above as we will be building upon this concept in X session, having full participation before hand will give us more opportunity to work together and explore. I will be setting time aside on X date to reply to your posts!

Find your module

Open up the module you wish to set a discussion up in

Add Discussion

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 add YouTube videos, images, documents and link out to external content.

You can also add links, files, and images to the discussion using the content selector [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. You may not have sections set up, that is okay. If you do (eg: MBBS for Groups A,B,C etc) you can select which group you send this out to.

You can also add an attachment to your discussion by clicking the Choose File button [5].

More options

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]. This is great for ensuring engagement and the students post their own thoughts, if you use a discussion for a FAQ / QA style, would not recommend this setting.

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 module calendar, in the student-specific List View Dashboard, and in the global and module 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]. You may not have groups set up, that is okay. If you do (eg: BMS Practical and Tutorial groups), you can assign the discussion to them.

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.

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.

To watch how to set up a discussion, skip to 2.40.

You can click on Units to look through the other helpful guides on how to use Canvas discussions, quizzes, conferences (Big Blue Button), Panopto for pre-recording lecture content and Microsoft Teams to support your teaching.