<<Note: This content is provided as an example. The content should be updated with your institution's LMS materials.>>

The Discussions Tool allows you to create gradable (and non-gradable/non-assignment) discussion topics to which students can post and reply. Its asynchronous nature is recommended for communication that requires reflective thought. You may use the Discussions tool to generate class discussions, facilitate peer review, and evaluate students based on their responses to open-ended questions. All gradable discussions are considered assignments in <Replace - Your LMS>. The following video provides an overview of creating discussions in <Replace - Your LMS>:

VideoDiscussions Tool Video


Features of the Discussions tool


Logistical Considerations

There are a few logistical considerations before adding Discussions to your course:

 Check out the Canvas Help Guide if you would like more information about discussions.

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There is no universal way to structure a discussion. To help you think through the options, visit Teaching Online Pedagogical Repository to view best practices for discussions, in areas such as creating a discussion prompt, facilitating discussion as it happens, and evaluating the discussion once it is posted.  Below, we have gone ahead and linked a few select discussion topics from the repository:

 

Creative Commons License

TOPKit Sample Course was prepared by the University of Central Florida (UCF). This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.