Discussions: Availability Dates & Conditions

How to Edit an Existing Discussion

1. On the navbar, click Communication then Discussions.
2. On the Discussions List page, click the drop-down menu next to the forum or topic title.
3. Select Edit Forum (or Edit Topic).
4. On the Properties tab, add or edit the discussion Title and/or Description.
5. Click Save and Close.

The image below illustrates steps 2 and 3 for an example discussion topic.

Setting Dates for Discussions

You can add start and end dates to discussion forums or topics. If you add date restrictions to a forum, they will be applied to all of the topics within that forum.

Add Date Restrictions to a Discussion

• From the Restrictions tab, the previous Locking Options are now consolidated with the Availability Start Date and End Date options and display as the following options:  
  • Visible with access restricted before/after start/end. The topic/forum is visible to learners before/after the start/end date, but they cannot access it. Previously, Classic Content was the only tool to make discussions visible without access. 
  • Visible with submission restricted before/after start/end. The topic/forum is visible to learners before/after the start/end date and they can access it, but they cannot post new threads or replies. This effectively makes a discussion read-only. Previously, this was accomplished with the lock option or unlock dates.  
  • Hidden before/after start/end. The topic/forum is hidden from learners until the start/end date. This is a new feature. Calendar events for Availability Starts and Availability Ends are hidden until the start/end date. Notifications are also not sent until the start/end date. Previously, the hidden status of a discussion topic was decided by the tool displaying the topic. 
• From the Restrictions tab, the Display in Calendar option is now consolidated with the Availability Start Date and End Date options, which adds the start date and end dates to the calendar. Previously, the tool decided which calendar event should be added to the calendar. With this change, calendar events for availability dates may change and additional events for Availability Start Dates may be added.  
• Where Discussions and User Progress may have previously hidden a topic or forum when outside of availability dates, those tools now may show them as visible, but inaccessible. 
• From Discussion Settings, instructors can now set the default visibility and access behavior for new discussion forums and topics. 

Figure: The new consolidated options for visibility and posting restrictions in the Restrictions tab

Figure: The new default options for visibility and posting restrictions in the Discussions Settings

How to Delete an Existing Discussion

1. On the navbar, click Communication then Discussions.
2. On the Discussions List page, click the drop-down menu next to the forum or topic you wish to delete.
3. Select Delete.
4. Click Yes to confirm.