Teaching Commons > Teaching Guides > Technology > Desire2Learn > Tools > Discussions > Participating in Discussions

Participating in Discussions in D2L

Participate in discussions by  posting a new thread to a Discussion topic or by replying to a thread that has been posted. Users can also use @mentions to direct other users to a thread by tagging them.

To keep track of new activity, subscribe to a Discussion and receive updates by email or text message immediately or as a daily email summary.

Post a New Thread

  1. Select Discussions in the course navigation bar. 
  2. The Discussions list page will open. Select the title of the Discussion topic.
  3. Select Start a New Thread.
  4. A text box will be displayed to compose a thread. Enter a subject for the thread and its main content in the text box. 
  5. Add images and video to the post and format text. View HTML Editor to learn more.
  6. Select Post. 

Reply to a Thread

  1. Select Discussions from the course navigation bar. 
  2. The Discussions list page will open. Select the title of the Discussion topic.
  3. Select the title of the thread.
  4. Select Reply to Thread.
  5. A text box will be displayed to compose a thread. Enter text, images or other content.
  6. Select Post. 

Use @mentions in a Discussion

The @mentions capability allows users to tag other users in a course within a Discussion thread or reply. When a user is tagged with @mentions, they will receive a notification within D2L directing them to the thread in which they were tagged. Users can select to receive email or text notifications using the instructions for Notifications.

  1. Navigate to the forum, topic, or thread in which to use @mentions.
  2. Post as normal using by selecting Reply to Thread or Start a New Thread.
  3. To tag a user, type @ and begin typing their first or last name.
  4. The user will appear on a list under the text. Select the user [A] to tag them.
    tag a user and select name from list
  5. The @mention will display the user's first and last name. 
  6. When complete, select Post.

Subscribe to a Discussion Forum or Topic

  1. Select Discussions from the course navigation bar. 
  2. The Discussions list page will open. Select the dropdown arrow [A] next to the title of the Discussion forum or the Discussion topic. 
  3. Select Subscribe [B] from the dropdown menu.
    Select Subscribe
  4. A pop-up window with notifications options will open. Select a notification frequency option:
    • Send me an instant notification: Receive a separate email notification for each post or reply to a thread.
    • Include in my summary of activity: Receive a daily summary of all posts to a forum or topic.
    • Show notifications in minibar only: Receive no email notifications, but have alerts for new posts show up in the update alerts in D2L, which are displayed in the top menu of the D2L home page.
  5. Select Subscribe. 
  6. If Send me an instant notification was selected, D2L Instant Notifications settings will need to be adjusted. To do so, select your name [A] in the top minibar. 
  7. A dropdown menu will appear. Select Notifications [B].
    select profile and select notifications
  8. Navigate to the Instant Notifications section. 
  9. Select the checkbox in the Email column next to "Discussions – a new post in a forum, topic, or thread that I subscribed to in instant notifications."
  10. Select Save.
    Select Email Checkbox

NEXT STEPS

To grade participation in a discussion, view Grading Discussions.

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