{"id":811,"date":"2017-08-17T16:13:02","date_gmt":"2017-08-17T16:13:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.citl.mun.ca\/technologyresources2\/?page_id=811"},"modified":"2025-11-19T16:47:58","modified_gmt":"2025-11-19T20:17:58","slug":"using-the-discussion-tool","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/blog.citl.mun.ca\/technologyresources\/brightspace-guides\/communication\/using-the-discussion-tool\/","title":{"rendered":"Discussions: Introduction"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><div class='content-column one_third'><div id=\"bellows-main-discussions\" class=\"bellows bellows-nojs bellows-main bellows-source-menu bellows-align-left bellows-skin-vanilla bellows-type- bellows-expand-current\"><ul id=\"menu-discussions\" class=\"bellows-nav\" data-bellows-config=\"main\"><li id=\"menu-item-20943\" class=\"bellows-menu-item bellows-menu-item-type-post_type bellows-menu-item-object-page bellows-menu-item-home bellows-menu-item-has-children bellows-menu-item-20943 bellows-item-level-0\"><a  href=\"https:\/\/blog.citl.mun.ca\/technologyresources\/\" class=\"bellows-target\"><span class=\"bellows-target-title bellows-target-text\">Home<\/span><button class=\"bellows-subtoggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Submenu\"><i class=\"bellows-subtoggle-icon-expand fa fa-chevron-down\"><\/i><i class=\"bellows-subtoggle-icon-collapse fa fa-chevron-up\"><\/i><\/button><\/a>\n<ul class=\"bellows-submenu\">\n\t<li id=\"menu-item-20945\" class=\"bellows-menu-item bellows-menu-item-type-post_type bellows-menu-item-object-page bellows-menu-item-has-children bellows-menu-item-20945 bellows-item-level-1\"><a  href=\"https:\/\/blog.citl.mun.ca\/technologyresources\/brightspace-guides\/communication\/\" class=\"bellows-target\"><span class=\"bellows-target-title bellows-target-text\">Communication<\/span><button class=\"bellows-subtoggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Submenu\"><i class=\"bellows-subtoggle-icon-expand fa fa-chevron-down\"><\/i><i class=\"bellows-subtoggle-icon-collapse fa fa-chevron-up\"><\/i><\/button><\/a>\n\t<ul class=\"bellows-submenu\">\n\t\t<li id=\"menu-item-20949\" class=\"bellows-menu-item bellows-menu-item-type-post_type bellows-menu-item-object-page bellows-menu-item-has-children bellows-menu-item-20949 bellows-item-level-2\"><a  href=\"https:\/\/blog.citl.mun.ca\/technologyresources\/brightspace-guides\/communication\/using-the-discussion-tool\/\" class=\"bellows-target\"><span class=\"bellows-target-title bellows-target-text\">Discussions<\/span><button class=\"bellows-subtoggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Submenu\"><i class=\"bellows-subtoggle-icon-expand fa fa-chevron-down\"><\/i><i class=\"bellows-subtoggle-icon-collapse fa fa-chevron-up\"><\/i><\/button><\/a>\n\t\t<ul class=\"bellows-submenu\">\n\t\t\t<li id=\"menu-item-32609\" class=\"bellows-menu-item bellows-menu-item-type-post_type bellows-menu-item-object-page bellows-menu-item-32609 bellows-item-level-3\"><a  href=\"https:\/\/blog.citl.mun.ca\/technologyresources\/discussions-terminology\/\" class=\"bellows-target\"><span class=\"bellows-target-title bellows-target-text\">Discussions Terminology<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n\t\t\t<li id=\"menu-item-33053\" class=\"bellows-menu-item bellows-menu-item-type-post_type bellows-menu-item-object-page bellows-menu-item-33053 bellows-item-level-3\"><a  href=\"https:\/\/blog.citl.mun.ca\/technologyresources\/discussions-creating-a-forum\/\" class=\"bellows-target\"><span class=\"bellows-target-title bellows-target-text\">Creating a Forum<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n\t\t\t<li id=\"menu-item-33055\" class=\"bellows-menu-item bellows-menu-item-type-post_type bellows-menu-item-object-page bellows-menu-item-33055 bellows-item-level-3\"><a  href=\"https:\/\/blog.citl.mun.ca\/technologyresources\/discussions-creating-a-topic\/\" class=\"bellows-target\"><span class=\"bellows-target-title bellows-target-text\">Creating a Topic<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n\t\t\t<li id=\"menu-item-33123\" class=\"bellows-menu-item bellows-menu-item-type-post_type bellows-menu-item-object-page bellows-menu-item-33123 bellows-item-level-3\"><a  href=\"https:\/\/blog.citl.mun.ca\/technologyresources\/discussions-group-discussions\/\" class=\"bellows-target\"><span class=\"bellows-target-title bellows-target-text\">Group Discussions<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n\t\t\t<li id=\"menu-item-33299\" class=\"bellows-menu-item bellows-menu-item-type-post_type bellows-menu-item-object-page bellows-menu-item-33299 bellows-item-level-3\"><a  href=\"https:\/\/blog.citl.mun.ca\/technologyresources\/discussions-grading-discussions\/\" class=\"bellows-target\"><span class=\"bellows-target-title bellows-target-text\">Grading Discussions<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n\t\t\t<li id=\"menu-item-20951\" class=\"bellows-menu-item bellows-menu-item-type-post_type bellows-menu-item-object-page bellows-menu-item-20951 bellows-item-level-3\"><a  href=\"https:\/\/blog.citl.mun.ca\/technologyresources\/brightspace-guides\/communication\/discussion-statistics\/\" class=\"bellows-target\"><span class=\"bellows-target-title bellows-target-text\">Discussion Statistics<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n\t\t\t<li id=\"menu-item-20947\" class=\"bellows-menu-item bellows-menu-item-type-post_type bellows-menu-item-object-page bellows-menu-item-20947 bellows-item-level-3\"><a  href=\"https:\/\/blog.citl.mun.ca\/technologyresources\/brightspace-guides\/communication\/discussion-tool-faq\/\" class=\"bellows-target\"><span class=\"bellows-target-title bellows-target-text\">Discussions &#8211; FAQs<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n\t\t<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\t<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div><\/div><br><div class='content-column two_third last_column'><h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Discussions<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">The Discussions tool in Brightspace provides students with a space to communicate with one another by posting, reading, and replying to messages. Instructors can create discussion forums to allow students to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<li>Ask questions about the course, assessments etc.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Comment and share reflections on course material<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Collaborate in groups (e.g., on a group project)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Discuss answers to an assignment<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Share files with the whole class or group (e.g., PPT presentations or articles)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Discussions in Brightspace can be <strong>open<\/strong> to the entire class or <strong>restricted<\/strong> to smaller groups. Group discussions can be set up in two ways: each group can discuss the same topic in a private setting, or different topics can be assigned to different groups. Also, when teaching a course with combined course sections, section-specific discussions can be created. Instructors can also create discussions where students can post anonymously. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-background\" style=\"background-color:#d9f0fe\"><strong>NOTE<\/strong>: Students are not able to create discussion forums or topics. Instructors need to structure the discussion area for students.<a href=\"Students are\nnot able to create discussion forums or topics. Instructors need to structure\nthe discussion area for students.\"><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Benefits of Using Discussions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>There are many benefits of incorporating discussions into a course. Discussions can: <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>promote communication and collaboration among students,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>provide a platform where students can learn from each other and co-create knowledge,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>give each student an equal opportunity to share their ideas,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>provide a comfortable place to share ideas to shy or introverted students, who may be reluctant to speak in a classroom,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>allow students to practice writing skills (although they should not be treated as writing assignments but dialogues).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Video Overview<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The following video provides instructions on using the Discussions tool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"The New Discussions Creation Experience | Instructor\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/T41Rd2OMnt4?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":132,"featured_media":0,"parent":763,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[201],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-811","page","type-page","status-publish","category-discussions"],"featured_image_src":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.citl.mun.ca\/technologyresources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/811","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.citl.mun.ca\/technologyresources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.citl.mun.ca\/technologyresources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.citl.mun.ca\/technologyresources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/132"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.citl.mun.ca\/technologyresources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=811"}],"version-history":[{"count":35,"href":"https:\/\/blog.citl.mun.ca\/technologyresources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/811\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36323,"href":"https:\/\/blog.citl.mun.ca\/technologyresources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/811\/revisions\/36323"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.citl.mun.ca\/technologyresources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/763"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.citl.mun.ca\/technologyresources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=811"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.citl.mun.ca\/technologyresources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=811"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.citl.mun.ca\/technologyresources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=811"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}