Setting up a discussion is a two-step process:
-
Create a forum that can hold one or more discussion topics.
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Create discussion topics within that forum.
D2L uses specific terms to refer to different parts of the Discussions area:
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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 a forum titled "Week One Discussions" could contain those.
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Topics are where the discussion actually takes place. This is where students can post threads in response to a discussion prompt.
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Threads are the initial comments added to a discussion topic.
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Replies are responses posted to a specific discussion thread.
If a discussion topic or forum has been deleted, instructors can
restore the discussion.
Note: To add a link to a Discussion Forum or Topic to a module in Content, follow the directions to
Add Links to Other Parts of the Course Site.
Create a Discussion Forum
- Select Discussions in the course navigation bar.
- Select New.
- Select
New Forum from the dropdown menu.
- Enter a title [A].
- (Optional) Enter a description [B].
-
Select Save and Close [C].

Create a Discussion Topic
- Select New.
- Select
New Topic from the dropdown menu.
- Select a
forum from the Forums dropdown menu (or select the
New Forum to create a new forum.)
- Choose a Topic Type [A]:
-
Open topic: Everyone can access the topic and contents.
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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).
- Enter a title [B].
- (Optional) Enter a description [C].

- (Optional) Select options [A] for the topic:
- (Optional) Select an
option for Rate Posts [B] to set up a rating scheme. The default is No Ratings. Other options include Five-Star Rating Scheme, Up Vote/Down Vote Rating Scheme, and Up Vote Only Rating Scheme.
- Select the
Save and Close [C] button.

Restore a Discussion
- Navigate to the Discussions area.
- Select the
More Actions button.
- Select
Restore.
- A new tab will open with a list of deleted discussions. Next to the discussion to restore, select
Restore.
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.