Discussions in D2L Brightspace enrich learning in all course formats—online, in-person, or hybrid—by facilitating meaningful conversations. The tool is key to student engagement and meets federal Regular and Substantive Interaction (RSI) standards, often required for accreditation in online education. This guide will help you set up and manage these discussions, creating a student-centered and inclusive learning environment.
Glossary
Forum
– a category that organizes individual discussion topics.
Discussion Topic
– an area where the instructor states what will be discussed.
Post
– a message that a student (or instructor) adds to a Discussion Topic. It is an individual’s contribution to a discussion.
Thread
– the initial post that starts the conversation within a Discussion Topic.
Structure
Forums in Brightspace resemble big folders that hold various Discussion Topics. This hierarchical model helps you organize complex discussions and guide learners through a structured learning path. This saves you time and ensures that students have a consistent experience when participating in discussions.
↗️ Example
Quick Tips
Create Forum(s) – categories for your discussion questions first. From the Discussions link at the top menu, click on the New button and select New Forum.
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Click on the arrow next to your Forum title and select Add Topic to create an individual discussion question.
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Make the Discussion Topic available to students by clicking the Visibility icon at the bottom. Save your work.
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Option A
Click on the Discussions link on the top navbar.
Option B
Click on the Course Admin Link at the top navbar.
Click on the Name at the top of the page to organize Brightspace tools by name.
Click on Discussions.
If you opt to filter Brightspace tools by category, the discussion tool will be located under the communication category.
Option C
Add New Discussion to Module or Sub-module.
From your course navbar, navigate to Content.
Click on the module name on the left side menu.
Click on the Upload/Create button.
Select New Discussion from the list.
Add Existing Discussion Topic to Module or Sub-module.
From your course navbar, navigate to Content.
Click on the module name on the left side menu.
Click on the Choose Existing button.
Select Discussion from the list.
Discussion Forums are the top organizing level and are used to organize Discussion Topics. For example, a Forum named Climate Change can contain: Topic 1: Causes of Climate Change and Topic 2: Effects of Climate Change.
Students can’t do anything in an empty Forum. It must have Topics inside of it for discussion to take place.
To facilitate navigation, it is recommended to create a Forum first and then add individual Topics. However, if you create a new Topic before a Forum, the Topic will be nested under an automatically created Forum having the same name as the Topic.
Once on the discussions page, click on the New button and then on New Forum.
1Title. Enter the Forum title reflecting a topic you are covering in your course.
2Description. Convey the purpose and scope of the discussions that will be housed within the Forum.
3 Set participation options.
Brightspace forums are categories under which individual Discussion Topics are nested. If a Forum in Brightspace has its availability restricted, then all of the Topics nested under it will also be hidden.
Restrictions applied to a Forum will affect all the Topics within that Forum.
However, you can also set restrictions for individual Topics if needed, but in the text below, we will discuss how to apply restrictions to the Forum.
1 Availability. Set the availability range for all Topics within the Forum.
2 Release Conditions. Apply conditions to all Topics within the Forum.
3 Apply restrictions to groups or sections. Limit access to all Topics within the Forum at the same time.
In Brightspace, Discussion Topics are the specific areas where students can start Threads and engage in conversation. They live under Forums, which are used for organizing discussion Topics. A Discussion Topic is where instructors state what is to be discussed. Students reply to the Discussion Topic by starting a Thread.
Option A Recommended!
From the top navbar, navigate to Discussions.
Navigate to the Forum under which you want to place the new Topic (see above).s.
Click on the arrow next to the Forum name.
Select Add Topic.
Option B
From the top navbar, navigate to Discussions.
Click on New Topic.
In Brightspace, when you create a new Topic, a Forum is automatically created using your new Topic name. This means that you don’t have to manually create a Forum before creating a Topic. However, it is recommended to organize Topic under Forums.
Add title & instructions
1 Topic Title. Enter the Topic title. This field is required.
2 Description. Add instructions and the discussion prompt or question to the Topic in the Description box.
A Forum. Change the Forum under which the topic is nested.
Make the topic gradable
1 Grade Out Of. Add the maximum points possible if you want to grade the Topic.
A Rubrics. Click on the Evaluate Posts to expand the section. Add a rubric to grade student responses.
Brightspace offers features designed to enhance student engagement by effectively integrating Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles through customizable participation settings.
Click on the Post & Completion link to expand the section. Select options for managing how students interact with the topic and how their participation is tracked.
A Default participation.
B Allow learners to hide their name from other learners.
cLearners must start a thread before they can view or reply to other threads.
DPosts must be approved before they display in the topic.
Topic Visibility setting acts as a master switch for Discussion Topic access, which can be further fine-tuned by Topic Availability Dates & Conditions. However, Forum-level conditions and availability dates override Topic settings.
If a Forum is unavailable, its Topics will be inaccessible regardless of their individual settings.
This hierarchical structure allows for nuanced control over learner access, aligning with guided learning paths.
Click on the Visibility icon at the bottom of the screen and set the Discussion topic to Visible.
Set the date/time range when students will have access to the Discussion Topic.
Structure your discussions to accommodate accessibility – use clear, simple language for prompts, enable text-to-speech compatibility, and provide alternative formats for any attached materials.
To promote accessibility in your discussion posts, click on the accessibility icon within the discussion text editor. This feature assists in evaluating and adjusting your content to comply with accessibility standards, making it inclusive for all students.
When aligned with Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles, online discussions in Brightspace offer a dynamic and inclusive platform for student engagement, representation, and expression supporting diverse learning preferences. For instance, enabling multimedia responses in discussions enriches the interaction and adheres to UDL’s emphasis on providing multiple means of expression, catering to various learning styles and preferences.
Click on the Insert Stuff icon to add multimedia to your Discussion Topic.
Your students can use the same tool to insert multimedia in their posts.
