New Features Coming to Discussions Interface in Canvas

On June 1, all existing and newly created Canvas Discussions will have an updated experience. Because the Announcements tool in Canvas uses elements of Discussions, the Announcements interface will also be updated to reflect these new features.

The Discussions redesign offers updated modern, flexible discussion features by taking some of the impactful legacy Discussions functionality and giving it a modern user interface, improved peer-to-peer interaction, and more robust moderation tools for instructors.

Existing functionality in Discussions will not be lost with this redesign, and many new features will be added. These include:

  • A cleaner interface, including a new split-screen viewing option to read discussion posts, improved search, and updated sorting options;
  • Fully and partially anonymous discussions, allowing for more candid discussions;
  • The ability to at-mention participants, and new notifications if you have been mentioned;
  • Role labels, used to quickly identify the discussion creator, teachers, or TAs within the discussion board; and
  • Improved accessibility, including a cohesive experience for mobile users.

Users can preview the new Discussions interface before the change is made on June 1 by enabling the feature in their Canvas course. Alternatively, a quick overview video is available to show the improved design.

For any questions or concerns, please contact canvashelp@case.edu or the University Technology Service Desk at 216.368.HELP or help@case.edu.