Anonymous Discussion Forums

[scottdennis]

This idea has been developed and deployed to Canvas

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Idea:

Instructors can create discussions that allow for posts to be made anonymously

Use Cases:

As an instructor, I want to create discussions in which participation is anonymous. This would free my students to share their thoughts without worrying about judgement / criticism by their peers or me. They'd take risks they might not otherwise.

transferred from the old Community

Originally posted by: Lynn McCarty
Thank you especially for contributions by: Rob Ditto, Allison Pyle, Renee Carney, Robert Jones

[Renee_Carney]

Thank you for checking back.  We do not have an update yet.  Please follow this idea to receive updates as they are available.

[aime_fournier]

This would be extremely useful for those of us teaching advanced mathematics, which seems to instill more hesitancy to ask questions if one is identified. Re-re-open the vote please.

[j_thorpe]

I also submitted this request recently, but I have been directed to add it as a comment to this original feed to create further support for it. So here is my request with supporting evidence for the idea. Thank you.

"Many academics have asked me if there is the ability to make student discussion posts anonymous. They believe it would increase student participation as they would feel less self conscious about asking a question or answering someone else's. This would greatly benefit learning, cohort interaction and the relationship between students and staff.

After researching this topic on the internet I have found a number of research articles which support all the above beliefs, as 'invisible' participants are more likely to  participate, make a comment/ ask a question they are more self-conscious about and engage in problem solving with their piers (Blau et al. 2010; Jessup et al. 1990; Blau et al. 2008).

I believe this would be a useful feature to turn on/ off as required not just for my institution but for all canvas users. Any support would be greatly appreciated.

Kind regards

Jamie Thorpe

University Of Birmingham

References

Blau, I., Caspi, A. 2008. Do Media Richness and Visual Anonymity Influence Learning? A Comparative Study Using SkypeTM. Learning In The Technological Era, 18-25.

Blau, I., Caspi, A. 2010. Studying Invisibly: Media Naturalness and Learning. Evolutionary Psychology and Information Systems Research, 24: 193-216

Jessup, L. M., Connolly, T., Galegher, J. 1990. The Effects of Anonymity on GDSS Group Process With An Idea-Generating Task. Management Information Systems Quarterly, 14(3): 313-321"

[ebelsan]

One of the highlights of FUSION which was used in our district a few years ago was that students could comment anonymously, which gave them a greater sense of freedom.  The program allowed the teacher to scroll over the pseudonym (e.g. Pink Gorilla) to see who the student actually was. This would allow for teachers and administrators to document inappropriate use or bullying by students.  If the other platform has this feature, I am sure Canvas could create it also. I hope it becomes a R&D priority.

[soxford]

This is a feature that we have used in our LMS for years. As we switch to Canvas,  I was surprised to find it not available in Canvas.  Is there another place to vote this up or re-open for vote?  We have many instructors that have an anonymous question board that is used as a best practice on our campus.

[Renee_Carney]

  Idea is currently in Product Radar Learn more about this stage...

[mabrams]

I think it's crucial to support anonymous discussions (anonymous to students but not to the instructor) so that students can feel freer to say what they want and try out new ideas (but the instructor can make sure the conversation doesn't get nasty).

[rislis]

Looks like you have the support for this request. I'm a new user and wanting it as well. What's the hold up?

[Chris_Hofer]

 @rislis ‌...

Please read through the blog post that  @Renee_Carney ‌ has linked to (also found at under the submitted Feature Idea near the top of the page) for more detail on what "Product Radar" means.

[rislis]

Thanks, Chris!  I had read that, but felt a sense of impatience from others as I read through the posts.