Canvas Discussion Boards

1. Canvas Discussion Boards Advanced! Cathy Gillis

2. Let’s get some terms out of the way… A “pinned” discussion board stay at the top of the page for students.For example, you may want to pin the Q&A board so that it is always visible and available to students. You can “pin” any discussion board you created by clicking on the 3 dots and selecting “pin” (note the other options such as “duplicate”)

3. Read/Unread, deleted replies and Subscriptions: If you click on the “unread” box, only the unread posts in your discussion board will display. This is a quick and convenient way to see posts you have not yet seen. If necessary, you can click “see in discussion” to see the full context of the unread post. The eye icon, if clicked, will show you any deleted replies if necessary. If you or your students want to know when there is a new post on a particular discussion board, you can click “subscribe” and Canvas will notify you via the Canvas inbox and your email.

4. Variable/Graded Discussion Boards Canvas allows instructors to grade discussion board threads. Simply check the “graded” box when creating the discussion board and insert points possible, percentage, complete/incomplete, letter grade or GPA scale.

5. Special Symbols in the Discussion Board • If you have set up outcomes in your class, you will see the points or grade possible to the right of the discussion board. • If you are using a Blueprint course and using the same discussion board or more than one course, you will also see that reflected to the right of the discussion board title.

6. Creating a Group Discussion Board • If you create groups, each of those groups will have its own discussion board not visible to the rest of the class. For the instructor, these must be viewed by going to People Groups  then click on the group title. • To create a group discussion board assignment, create the board, then click the box “this is a group discussion” and either select previous groups that you have created or create new ones. All group discussion can be set to be graded as explained in the previous slide.

7. Using a Podcast Feed in a Discussion Board: You can insert a podcast feed for your discussion topics. A podcast is a way to distribute digital content for download on the Internet. This can be useful in getting student response to the podcast. Note: The Record/Upload Media Comment tool in the Rich Content Editor must be used for updates to be added to the podcast feed. Text-only discussion posts are not included in the feed. First, click the “enable podcast feed” box

8. Adding a Podcast Feed, Continued • Next, be sure to add the podcast link into the body of the discussion board instructions. Your podcast might be an audio file you already recorded (as in this example) or an external link from a website where your podcast is located.

9. How Students Respond to Podcast feeds • Students can download your audio file/podcast or they may need to go to an external site. Students should: • Right click to copy the external link • Open Itunes and click on “subscribe to podcast” under the “file” menu in itunes • When the dialogue box opens, paste the podcast URL in it and click OK. Students can now listen to the podcast in their itunes library.

10. Creating a Peer Review Discussion Board: Note: Peer Review Discussion Boards must be graded and “anonymous” posts cannot be selected. You can choose to either “manually” assign or “automatically” assign peer review partners. Students must make at least one comment. To begin, when creating the discussion board, be sure to check the box for peer reviews.

11. Manually Assign Peer Reviews: • If you selected “manually assign” you must then connect students with each other to review. • A list of students appears. You can then associate students with each other using the drop down menus.

12. Auto Assign Peer Reviews • If you let Canvas randomly assign peer review, you simply decide how many reviews are required by each student. • Once you have made your selections, simply save and publish your new peer review discussion board.

13. Discussion Board Options: • There are several options to the discussion board that may better serve your course needs. These include: • Allow threaded replies (the discussion board builds on replies like a website conversation board). These “threads” can be collapsed or expanded when viewing. • Require students to write a post before replying to others. By checking this box, students cannot reply to other posts until they have posted their own. • Click the “enable podcast feed” if using a podcast • Allow “liking” of posts. This option is familiar to students using social media. • “Add to student to do list.” If you check this box, the discussion board assignment appears in the students’ to-do lists on the home page.

14. Options, Then Save and Publish.

15. Embedding Pictures Into a Discussion Board • There are two places you may want to embed a picture into a discussion board rather than as an attachment that must be opened separately. • The first area is the description area of the discussion board when you are first creating it. As with all editor windows in Canvas, there are 3 areas to know about embedding.

16. Embedding Pictures, continued • By clicking on the picture icon to embed a picture, you will trigger another pop up (contextual) window. This method is only for pictures that already exist in Canvas, are at Flickr, or another 3rd party site where pictures are hosted (you need to paste the URL)

17. Embedding Pictures, continued 2/3. In order to upload a picture you have saved to your desktop, first set your cursor to the point where you want the picture to appear. Then click on the “images” tab on the top right and “upload a new picture.” Browse to the desired picture, provide alt text and click “upload” Your picture will now appear embedded in the description window. You can resize the picture that appears.

18. Embedding Audio and Video in a Discussion Board Canvas allows users to embed a variety of media including audio and video files. If you want to record an audio or video right in the window and are working on a computer with an onboard camera and microphone, you may do so by clicking on the play button icon.

19. Recording: On the “record media” tab, a title box opens and Canvas attempts to connect to your onboard audio and video when enabled. You may then speak into the microphone and/or record yourself talking into the computer’s camera. Follow the instructions in the black box screen, then save and publish your discussion board (or other area in Canvas) and publish.

20. Uploading Audio/Video files • When you have already created or saved an audio and/or video file, the “upload media” tab is the area that will allow you to browse for that recording and upload it into the discussion area. Be sure to select whether it is an audio or video file. Then save and publish. This is how an embedded audio file appears.

21. Using YouTube Videos in a Discussion Board • Embedding a YouTube file has become a very easy process in Canvas! Simply select the link icon and paste in the regular URL link to the YouTube Video. Canvas provides a thumbnail and the ability to watch the YouTube video from within the Canvas course page!

22. Embedding YouTube Videos • A message will appear that indicates the video will appear. That’s it! You will see the video in two stages:

23. I hope this training helps you in your online adventures!