How to Add a Discussion Board to a Course?
A discussion gives learners a dedicated space in a course to post, reply, and share ideas around a prompt you set. You add it from the Add New menu inside any course chapter.
What Is Discussion?
A discussion is a page in a course that works as a course discussion board. You add it inside a chapter, give it a title and prompt, and choose how learners can respond. Learners and instructors then post comments, reply in threads, like posts, and share links or attachments.
Why Use It?
Discussions turn a one-way course into a space where learners talk to you and to each other.
- A new cohort starts and nobody knows each other. An introduction prompt gets learners talking from the first chapter.
- Learners finish a lesson with unanswered questions. They post in the chapter, and you reply where everyone can see the answer.
- You need learners to reflect on a topic by a set date. A due date keeps responses on schedule and in one place.
Example Use Cases
- A corporate trainer opens a new-hire course with a “Please introduce yourself!” discussion so the cohort connects on day one.
- A compliance manager asks employees to share how a new policy affects their daily work.
- A sales enablement lead invites reps to attach their best pitch decks for peer feedback.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Click Add New in the chapter.
Step 2: Select Discussion from the menu.
Step 3: Enter a name for the discussion in the Title field and write the discussion in the Description field.
Step 4: Configure the discussion settings in the pop-up.
- Allow threaded replies: Lets learners reply directly to individual comments.
- Allow liking: Adds a like button under every comment.
- Set due date: Sets a deadline for learners to respond.
Note: If you leave Allow threaded replies off, learners can still post comments but cannot reply to each other.
Step 5: Click Add to create the discussion.
Pro Tips & Interactive Settings
Moderation: Open the ⋮ menu on any comment to Pin or Unpin it, Lock the thread, or Delete it. A locked thread stops all learners from replying to that comment.
Permissions: Instructors add discussions to a chapter, either in an existing course or while building a new one. Once published, both instructors and learners can post, reply, and like comments.