Focused Discussions are relatively short-lived interactions that only allow for two levels of nesting, the original post and subsequent related comments. One discussion leader typically posts a message and multiple learners can comment on it. Participants may leave a side comment to a reply, but cannot develop the conversation beyond two layers of nesting which makes it a viable option for an assignment in which students post glossary terms.
- In Course Navigation, click the Discussions link.
- Click the Add Discussion button.
- Enter a title in the Topic Title field and enter discussion details and/or instructions using the Rich Content Editor. You can also attach files.
- In the Options section, check the Disallow threaded replies checkbox. You may also choose to select the Participants must respond to the topic before viewing other replies option.
- If this is a graded discussion, click the Graded checkbox. Note: If you would like to assign graded checkpoints for initial posts and replies, select the Assign graded checkpoints box to enable it.
- Enter the total number of points possible in the Points Possible field.
- To select a grading type, click the Display Grade As drop-down menu. Then select a grading type. You can display grades as points, percentages, complete/incomplete, a letter grade, or GPA scale.
- To choose an assignment group, click the Assignment Group drop-down menu.
- In the Assignment Settings section, you can manage the due date, and the availability dates. If you enabled the Assign graded checkpoints option, you can add a due date for replies to the discussion topic and required replies.
- If you are ready to publish your discussion, click the Save and Publish button. If you want to create a draft of your discussion and publish it later, click the Save button.
For additional information see, How do I create a graded discussion.