Discussions

A discussion is a topic thread — a place for a focused conversation. You can attach a discussion to a course, a quiz, an event, a cohort, or a learning path. Learners can ask questions, share ideas, and reply to one another, all in one organized thread.

What you can do

• Start a discussion on a course, quiz, event, cohort, or learning path.
• Make a discussion public (anyone with access can see it) or private.
• Let learners post replies, and replies under those replies (nested replies).
• See how many people have viewed each discussion.
• Step in to edit or remove any discussion when you need to moderate.

How to start a discussion

1. Open the course, quiz, event, cohort, or learning path you want to discuss.
2. Go to its Discussions area.
3. Click New Discussion (or Start a Discussion).
4. Give it a clear title and write your first message.
5. Choose whether it should be public or private.
6. Click Post.

Your discussion now appears in that item's discussion list for everyone who has access.

How learners join in

1. A learner opens a course or other item they are enrolled in.
2. They open the Discussions area and pick a topic.
3. They type a reply and post it.
4. They can reply to a specific message to keep related points together — this creates a nested thread.

What the learner sees

• A list of discussion topics for that course or item, newest activity first.
• Each topic shows its title, who started it, and how many replies it has.
• Opening a topic shows the full thread, with replies neatly indented under the messages they answer.
• A view count, so popular topics are easy to spot.
• Private discussions only appear to the people meant to see them.

Moderating discussions

As an admin you can keep conversations healthy:

• Edit a discussion's title or first message if it needs cleaning up.
• Remove a discussion that is off-topic or breaks your rules.
• Use discussions to spot common questions — if many learners ask the same thing, it may be worth adding it to the course itself.

Tips

• Pin your expectations early. A short "How we talk here" discussion sets the tone.
• Use private discussions for sensitive groups, such as a single cohort.
• Reply to learner questions promptly — an active first week encourages everyone else to join in.

Related

• Comments — shorter replies you can attach to lessons and many other items, including a discussion itself.
• Reactions — let learners respond to a discussion with a single tap.
• Courses & Content — the courses, cohorts, and learning paths discussions attach to.