Discussions – How to Create a Group Discussion
The following will show how you can create discussion topics which are only available to members of groups that you have created and assigned using the Groups Tool. There are actually two methods for accomplishing this goal. The method you choose depends on whether you wish to view all of your students posts in the same discussion topic vs. viewing posts on individual discussion topics specifically setup for each group.
Method One - Single Group Discussion Topic
Click on Activities > Discussions
Create a New Discussion Forum (if you have not done so already)
Create a New Discussion Topic
By default you should be in the “Properties tab“. Here, change the forum to the desired discussion forum.
Under Topic type pick “Group or section topic, everyone can access this topic but students only see threads from their own group or section” and select the desired Group Category that was created in the Groups Tool.
Now give the discussion topic a Title, Description (required) and any Options or Rate Posts (optional)
Click Save and Close
Method Two - Multiple Open Topics with Group Restrictions
Click on Activities > Discussions
Create a New Discussion Forum (if you have not done so already)
Create a New Discussion Topic
By default you should be in the “Properties tab“. Here, change the forum to the desired discussion forum.
Under Topic type pick Open topic, everyone can access this topic and its contents
Now give the discussion topic a Title, Description (required) and any Options or Rate Posts (optional)
Now scroll back up and select the “Restrictions” tab
In the Restrictions tab scroll down until you see Group and Section Restrictions and tick the box that says Restrict this topic to the following groups and sections. Then click on Add Groups and Sections
In here select the desired Group Category created from the Groups Tools under Group or Section Category. Next, select only the individual group you want to have access to this discussion topic and then click Add
You should now see a message under Group and Section Restrictions that should say Only members of the following groups and sections may access this item. Now click Save and Close
Repeat all of the steps from New discussion topic until all of the groups have been added to your discussion forum.