Canvas LMS Instructor Guide

How do I assign a graded discussion to a course group?

You can create a graded discussion for a course group by setting it using the group discussion option. Canvas uses group sets to assign group discussions, and each group within the group set that is assigned to the discussion is required to complete the discussion. Grades for group discussions are assigned to each group member individually.

You will need to assign a group set as part of the discussion. You can add an existing group set, or you can create a new group set as part of the discussion and add students to groups later. However, if you create a group set with self sign-up or manual group assignments, you will not be able to use the group set until users have been added to the subgroups.

When differentiating groups in graded discussions, students can only view the discussion if they are a member of an assigned group. Otherwise the discussion does not appear in the group's discussions page. Grades cannot be assigned for students who have not been included in the graded discussion, and graded discussions that are not assigned to a student are not factored into overall grades.

You can still view the links to all groups that are in the group set (as with any other group discussion). However, if you do not select a group in the differentiated assignments list, the group does not show a differentiated due date.

When Multiple Grading Periods are enabled in a course, graded discussions are also validated against closed grading periods.

Notes:

Before assigning a group set to the group discussion, ensure all students have been added to a group. If a student is not added to a group and replies to the discussion, the student's reply will be part of the original discussion topic.
You can learn more about grading a graded discussion in SpeedGrader.
Graded discussions do not support anonymous grading.

00:07: How do I assign a graded discussion to a course group?

00:10: In Course Navigation, click the Discussions link.

00:14: To create a discussion, click the Add Discussion button.

00:19: Enter a topic title and discussion details.

00:21: You can also attach files.

00:24: Click the Graded checkbox and the This is a Group Discussion checkbox.

00:29: To select which groups will be assigned, click the Group Set drop-down menu. Select

00:34: a group name.

00:36: Or add a new group set by clicking the New Group Category link.

00:41: Enter the total number of points possible in the Points Possible field.

00:46: To select a grading type, click the Display Grade As drop-down menu.

00:50: Then select a grading type. You can display grades as points,

00:54: percentages, complete or incomplete, a letter grade, or

00:58: a GPA scale.

01:01: To choose an assignment group, click the Assignment Group drop-down menu. Then,

01:05: select a group.

01:07: If you display grades as letter grades, the grading scheme defaults to the Default

01:11: Canvas Grading Scheme. To select another grading scheme, click the Grading

01:16: Scheme drop-down menu and select another scheme.

01:19: You can view or copy the current grading scheme.

01:22: You can also create a new grading scheme or manage all grading

01:26: schemes.

01:28: By default, peer reviews are not assigned.

01:31: To assign peer reviews manually, click the Assign manually radio button.

01:37: To assign peer reviews automatically, click the Automatically assign

01:41: radio button.

01:43: To manage assignees, the discussion due date, or availability dates, use

01:47: the Assignment Settings options. By default, Canvas

01:52: assigns your graded discussion to everyone in your course.

01:56: To assign to only certain students or differentiate due dates for groups,

02:00: remove Everyone by clicking the Remove icon.

02:04: To add one or more individual groups, click the Assign To field and

02:08: select a group name.

02:10: Add the due date as well as the availability dates.

02:14: To add one or more students with a different due date and availability

02:18: dates, click the Assign To button.

02:21: You can also delete assignments by clicking the Remove icon in the appropriate assignment

02:25: section.

02:27: If you submit an invalid string of due dates, Canvas generates

02:31: an error notification. Invalid

02:34: entries include not unlocking the discussion before it is due, not placing

02:38: the due date inside the range of availability dates, or assigning a

02:42: date that is outside the course or term dates.

02:46: Correct the date and then update the discussion again.

02:50: Canvas displays the time zone date and time

02:53: according to context. If you manage courses in a time zone other

02:57: than your local time zone and create or edit a due date for a graded discussion,

03:01: the course and local times are displayed for reference.

03:05: If you are ready to publish your discussion, click the save and publish button.

03:09: If you want to create a draft of your discussion and publish it later, click

03:13: the save button.

03:15: If you do not add course sections or students to the assignment, a

03:19: warning message displays. If you don't want to add any others to the assignment,

03:23: click the Continue button, or to go back and add additional sections

03:28: or students, click the Go Back button.

03:31: You can view dates the discussion was created, posted, or edited.

03:36: To view the assignment setting details, click the Assign To button.

03:41: If there are multiple assignments, you can view users and due dates for the discussion

03:45: by clicking the View Due Dates link.

03:49: View the dates assigned to the graded discussion. To close the Due Dates window,

03:53: click the Close icon.

03:56: This guide covered how to assign a graded discussion to a course group.

Open Discussions

In Course Navigation, click the Discussions link.

Add Discussion

To create a discussion, click the Add Discussion button.

Enter Discussion Details

Enter a topic title [1] and discussion details [2]. You can also attach files [3].

Set Graded Group Discussion

Click the Graded checkbox [1] and the This is a Group Discussion checkbox [2].

Note: Graded discussions cannot be anonymous. If the Graded checkbox is not visible, you may need to turn off anonymous discussion.

Select Group Set

To select which groups will be assigned, click the Group Set drop-down menu [1]. Select a group name [2] or add a new group set by clicking the New Group Category link [3].

Note: Groups created by students cannot be used for Group Discussions and do not display in the Group Set drop-down menu.

Enter Grading Details

Enter the total number of points possible in the Points Possible field [1].

To select a grading type, click the Display Grade As drop-down menu [2]. Then select a grading type. You can display grades as points, percentages, complete/incomplete, a letter grade, or a GPA scale.

To choose an assignment group, click the Assignment Group drop-down menu [3]. Then, select a group.

Choose Letter Grade Scheme

If you display grades as letter grades, the grading scheme defaults to the Default Canvas Grading Scheme. To select another grading scheme, click the Grading Scheme drop-down menu [1] and select another scheme.

You can view [2] or copy [3] the current grading scheme. You can also create a new grading scheme [4] or manage all grading schemes [5].

Learn more about adding grading schemes to an assignment such as a graded discussion.

Manage Peer Reviews

By default, peer reviews are not assigned.

To assign peer reviews manually, click the Assign manually radio button [1].

To assign peer reviews automatically, click the Automatically assign radio button [2].

Assign to Student

To manage assignees, the discussion due date, or availability dates, use the Assignment Settings options [1].

By default, Canvas assigns your graded discussion to everyone in your course.

To assign to only certain students or differentiate due dates for groups, remove Everyone by clicking the Remove icon [2].

Select Group

To add one or more individual groups, click the Assign To field and select a group name.

Note: You can include more than one group in the Assign To field as long as the groups are to be assigned the same due and availability dates.

Edit Due and Availability Dates

In the date fields, add your preferred date(s) for the following:

DueDate [1]: Set the date and time that the graded discussion is due.
Available from [2]: Set the date and time when the discussion will become available.
Until [3]: Set the date and time when the discussion will no longer be available.

Notes:

If you have set section override dates in your course, you may need to select a course section and set due and availability dates that fall within the section override dates.
If the course does not include specified course start and end dates, Canvas validates the discussion against the term date set for the course.
If your course is not using Multiple Grading Periods, the due date is validated against the closed grading period and requires the discussion date to be past the date of the closed grading period.

Add Additional Assignments

To add one or more students with a different due date and availability dates, click the Assign To button.

Remove Assignment

You can also delete additional assignments by clicking the Remove icon in the appropriate section.

View Date Error

If you submit an invalid string of due dates, Canvas generates an error notification. Invalid entries include not unlocking the discussion before it is due, not placing the due date inside the range of availability dates, or assigning a date that is outside the course or term dates.

Correct the date and then update the discussion again.

Notes:

If the course does not include specified course start and end dates, Canvas validates the graded discussion against the term date set for the course.
If your course is using Multiple Grading Periods, the Assign field validates the due date against the closed grading period and requires the discussion due date to be past the date of the closed grading period.

View Date Time Zones

Canvas displays the time zone date and time according to context. If you manage courses in a time zone other than your local time zone and create or edit a due date for a graded discussion, the course and local times are displayed for reference.

Save and Publish

If you are ready to publish your discussion, click the Save and Publish button [1]. If you want to create a draft of your discussion and publish it later, click the Save button [2].

View Due Date Warning

If you do not add course sections to the assignment, a warning message asks you if you want to add those sections.

If you don't want to add any sections to the assignment, click the Continue button [1], or to go back and add additional sections or students, click the Go Back button [2].

Note: This warning message does not display if Everyone, Everyone Else, or all course sections are assigned to the assignment.

View Discussion Dates

You can view dates the discussion was created, posted, and, if applicable, edited [1].

To view the assignment setting details, click the Assign To button [2].

View Multiple Due Dates

If there are multiple assignments, you can view users and due dates for the discussion by clicking the View Due Dates link.

View the dates assigned to the graded discussion [1].

To close the Due Dates window, click the Close icon [2].

Canvas LMS Instructor Guide

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