This document covers setting up D2L Discussions. The Discussions tool is a collaborative area for students and instructors to post, read and reply to threads on different topics, share thoughts about course materials, ask questions, share files, or work with peers on assignments and homework.

Important Note: All settings made at the forum level automatically filter down to the topic level. Make sure the forum settings and topic settings match to ensure the intended discussion availability for students.

Creating a Forum

Access the Discussion tool. In order to create a discussion, you must first create a Forum. Forums organize discussion topics into categories. You can have multiple forums and multiple topics within each forum, but you must create a forum before you can create a topic since all topics must belong to a forum.

To create a new forum, click “New” and choose “Forum” from the drop-down menu.

Enter a title and optional description for the forum. If you wish to create a new topic with the same name, check the box “Create a new topic in this forum with the same title.” Otherwise, you can add a topic later.

Under “Options”:

Determine if you want to “allow anonymous posts.” Selecting this option will allow users to post anonymously to topics. Since the post will display as an anonymous author, this setting is typically not recommended. A scenario in which this setting would be useful would be to solicit course feedback from students.
Determine if “a moderator must approve individual posts before they display in the forum.” Selecting this option will require a moderator (instructor) to approve posts to topics before they display to users.
Determine if “users must start a thread before they can read and reply to other threads in each topic.” This option will require a user to start their own new thread in each topic before they are able to view or reply to other threads in the topic. This can help foster originality among postings. Note: If the forum also requires post approval, users will not be able to view or reply to other threads until their thread is approved by the moderator (instructor).

On the "Restrictions" tab, set the “Availability.”

Check "Has Start Date" and determine the start date and time for the discussion forum. Determine the forum visibility:
- Visible with access restricted before start - the discussion forum will be visible to learners before the Start Date, but they will not be able to click or open it. Learners will see the discussion forum title, dates, and restrictions.
- Visible with submission restricted before start - the discussion forum will be visible to learners before the Start Date, but they will not be able to complete it. Learners will be able to access the discussion forum description and evaluation requirements (including rubrics). This setting mimic the previous "locked" functionality.
- Hidden before start - the forum will be hidden from learners until the Start Date. Calendar events for the discussion will also be hidden until the start. Notifications will not be sent until the Start Date.
Check "Has End Date" and determine the end date and time for the discussion forum.
- Visible with access restricted after end - the forum will be visible to learners after the End Date, but they will not be able to click or open it. Learners will see the discussion forum title, dates, and restrictions.
- Visible with submission restricted after end - the forum will be visible to learners after the End date, but they will not be able to complete it. Learners will be able to access the discussion forum description and evaluation requirements. This setting mimic the previous "locked" functionality.
- Hidden after end - the forum will be hidden from learners after the End Date. Calendar events for the discussion will also be hidden after the End. Notifications will not be sent after the End Date.

You can attach “Release Conditions” or “Group Restrictions.” For more information, see the Release Conditions article or the Group Discussions article.

Click “Save and Add Topic” to add a topic to the forum. If you have elected to automatically create a topic with the same name, or wish to set topics up at another time, click “Save and Close” to return to the Discussion page.

Creating a Topic

Click “New” and select “Topic” from the drop-down menu.

Note: If you are continuing from setting up a forum (above), the “New Topic” page will display and the forum you just created will be selected by default.

Select a forum from the “Forum” drop-down menu, or create a new forum now.

Enter a title and optional description for the topic.

Set the desired “Options." These options are the same as the forum options (refer to Step 4 above). Remember, if any options were set at the forum level, they will filter down and overwrite any settings at the topic level.

Set the “Availability” settings.

Check "Has Start Date" and determine the start date and time for the discussion forum. Determine the forum visibility:
- Visible with access restricted before start - the discussion forum will be visible to learners before the Start Date, but they will not be able to click or open it. Learners will see the discussion forum title, dates, and restrictions.
- Visible with submission restricted before start - the discussion forum will be visible to learners before the Start Date, but they will not be able to complete it. Learners will be able to access the discussion forum description and evaluation requirements (including rubrics). This setting mimic the previous "locked" functionality.
- Hidden before start - the forum will be hidden from learners until the Start Date. Calendar events for the discussion will also be hidden until the start. Notifications will not be sent until the Start Date.

You can also attach “Release Conditions” or “Group Restrictions.”

On the “Assessment” tab, you can link a discussion topic to an item in Grades.

Please see the Assessing Discussions article more information on setting up discussion assessments.