Discussions and Messages
Many assignments have a Discussion where you can ask questions and talk about the assignment with your classmates and teacher. Your teacher can also allow private messages.
Your teacher decides whether an assignment has a discussion. If you do not see the Discussion button, it is turned off for that assignment.
Opening a Discussion
- On My Assignments, click Discussion on the assignment card. The discussion opens in a panel on the right. The number on the button is how many messages the discussion has.
- In the editor, click the chat bubble icon at the top of the screen.
Posting and Replying
- Type in the "Type a message..." box. A message can be up to 1000 characters.
- Press Enter or click the send button.
Your name is shown with your messages. Posts from your teacher have a Teacher label.
You can edit or delete your own messages. Your teacher can still see what you wrote before.
Messages are checked by a safety filter. If a message is blocked, you see "Your message was blocked by our safety filter. Please revise your message and try again." Change the message and send it again.
Private Messages to Your Teacher
If your teacher turned on private messages for an assignment, the discussion panel has two tabs: Discussion and Private Messages. Only you and your teacher can see private messages.
- Click Private Messages.
- Type in the "Type a private message..." box and send.
When your teacher replies, you get a notification and the Private Messages tab shows a number.
Discussion Assignments
Some assignments are discussions. Clicking Open Assignment opens a discussion page instead of the editor.
- Read the Discussion Prompt at the top.
- Check the dates: Post by is the deadline for your first post, and Reply by is the deadline for replies.
- Write your answer in the Share your thoughts box and click Submit Post.
You see your classmates' posts only after you submit your own ("Submit your post to see what your classmates wrote"). After the post deadline passes, everyone's posts are visible.
After you post, a bar shows how many replies you have written, for example "Replies: 1 / 2". The second number is how many replies you need. The bar shows Goal met! when you reach it.
In a discussion assignment:
- You cannot reply to your own first post or delete it.
- After the Post by date you can no longer add or edit your first post. After the due date you can no longer reply.
- When it closes, you see "This discussion is closed." You can still read everything.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Can I post anonymously? A: No. Your name is shown with your posts.
Q: Why can't I see what my classmates wrote? A: In a discussion assignment, submit your own post first.
Q: The discussion says it was disabled by my teacher. A: Your teacher turned off the discussion for this assignment. You can still work on the assignment.