Creating Discussions in D2L

D2L uses specific terms to refer to different parts of the Discussions area, including the following:

• Forums are used to house discussion topics that are similar. For example, there might be several discussions in the first week of the course, so create a forum titled "Week One Discussions" for them.
  
• Topics are where the discussion actually takes place. This is where students can post threads in response to a discussion prompt.
• Threads are the initial comments added to a discussion topic.
• Replies are responses posted to a specific discussion thread.
  

Setting up a discussion is a two-step process: first create a forum that can hold one or more discussion topics, then create discussion topics within that forum.

Create a Discussion Forum

1. Select Discussions in the course navigation bar.
2. Select New.
   
3. Select New Forum from the dropdown menu.
   
4. Enter a title A.
5. (Optional) Enter a description B.
6. Select Save and Close C.
   

   

Create a Discussion Topic

1. Select New.
2. Select New Topic from the dropdown menu.
   
3. Select a forum from the Forums dropdown menu (or select the New Forum to create a new forum.)
4. Choose a Topic Type A:
• Open topic: everyone can access the topic and contents.
  
• Group or section topic: everyone can access the topic, but students only see threads from their group or section (course must have groups set up before setting up group- or section-based topics).
5. Enter a title B.
6. (Optional) Enter a description C.
   

   

7. (Optional) Select options A for the topic:
• Allow anonymous posts: Select this option to allow students to anonymously post to this topic (not recommended).
• A moderator must approve individual posts before they display in the topic: Select this option to approve posts before students are able to view them (or to have a TA review and approve them.)
• Users must start a thread before they can read and reply to other threads: Select this option to force students to post to the topic before they can read and reply to other posts (recommended).
8. (Optional) Select option for Rate Posts B. The default is No Ratings.
   
9. Select the Save and Close C button.
   

   

NEXT STEPS

Add restrictions to a discussion by making it available during specific dates or restricting it to groups of students. View Setting Dates for Discussions for more information.

Post the first thread to a discussion topic and require students to begin adding threads and replies to it. View Participating in Discussions for more information.