New Discussions is awful. Please revert to the old format

[NigelCaplan]

Dear Canvas, please roll back the enforcement of New Discussions. The format is virtually unusable. I can't find new posts, I have to make multiple clicks to do basic functions, and the default view discourages discussion by hiding replies. This makes your product worse. Get rid of it, or at least give users the choice.

[amanda_mueller]

100% agree! And why can't we just click the red circle to check off a post we've read? We have to intuit that we have to go to the three dots now? I had to go to Canvas support to learn how to use that. Seems like a step back, not forward. 

[mmoore1]

I like the Announcement Discussions Redesign.  Have you tried searching for keywords?  Using the Split Screen?  Expanding Threads?  It seems more user friendly to me and a user can find someone with similar interests when the posts get boring and static.  

[LillianMarrujo]

Nigel,

I agree, there are some features of the New Discussions that are problematic. I did find the "expand" button so that I did not have to click on all the replies. BUT, the shrinking font in the replies is a real visibility issue. Also, the greyed-out background in the speed grader is going to create wear and tear on our eyes and brain as we spend hours grading. This background needs to be reverted to white. 

[LillianMarrujo]

I want to add to my own complaint: I really need the order of the discussions to be organized by the date and time of the original post - not rearranged each time someone replies. As I work with the discussions this summer, I just have no expedient way of tracking my own replies to students to provide equity and balance. I just do not have time to keep searching through and see what I missed because an original post is hidden between others that have been replied to. 

[NAshcraft]

I agree.  I also systematically read through (and reply to) the posts in the order in which they have been submitted.  When the order constantly changes, it makes my work more difficult and time consuming.  I would like to have a setting where I can "fix" or freeze the order of the posts.

[amanda_mueller]

Have also discovered that you have to constantly re-expand the threads if you reply to something, or refresh, or sneeze... And the shrinking text seems like a potential accessibility issue. Seriously how is this an improvement? I don't think I've ever felt the need to visit a discussion forum and complain so insistently, but this update is especially terrible. 

[StephanieMeredi]

I want students to read MY replies to students' posts. They are not going to do that if they have to click on every post to see what kinds of replies are there. This redesign makes discussion boards completely useless for things like brainstorming project design among a group of students and myself, which is a major use of discussion boards for me in my classes. I will have to take this activity outside of Canvas until we have the option to set expanded threads as the default for all users in the class.

[mangles]

Please forgive me for piggy-backing on your posting. I tried to start a new one, but Canvas would not save it.

My use of Canvas discussions requires my students see and read every posting. Call it a "discussion", just like in a classroom.

Well the new release destroys this. It is that simple. Who ever wrote the spec on this new release does not teach distant education classes. I like some of the features. But what are you thinking when the default enables students to hide from our discussions.

Stupid...

Allow me to repeat myself:

I need my posting replies to each student to be visible to the whole class by default.
They are not.
My written word is how I teach. I add eye-catching gimmicks to postings to gain their attention. Now they won't see 'em.

The written postings of the students and myself is our classroom.
All of them need to be visible by default.

They need to be keyword searchable; this is important to the discussion learning process.
Now the replies are hidden. Students will NOT click on '# Unread'.

PLEASE, please change the default to display all postings as we had before where they are visible, or gives instructors the ability to configure how postings are displayed.

Don't assume. It will make an ass of u and me.

~mike angles, West Valley College

[kbeyer]

Thank you Mike, for articulating the issues so clearly.  This redesign seems built to discourage student participation and engagement.  

I suspect that while there are a lot of tech engineers and experts who worked on this, there is a critical gap in understanding the technology we use to teach, and actually teaching using that technology.  There are so many things in this redesign that make everything harder for instructors and students, and forcing it upon us next month is ridiculous.

I am teaching three summer classes.  I have turned off the redesign and am using the legacy layout for my classes.  But on July 20, that option goes away and everyone will be forced to use the new redesign.  That will happen in the middle of the summer term.  Since we don't have the option to stick with legacy after that date, I will simply cancel all remaining discussion assignments for the remainder of my summer classes.

PLEASE DO NOT FORCE THIS UPON US NEXT MONTH.  LEAVE THE OPTION TO STICK WITH LEGACY OR ADOPT THE NEW REDESIGN UP TO EACH CLASS/INSTRUCTOR!!!

[gcako]

I agree: "PLEASE DO NOT FORCE THIS UPON US NEXT MONTH.  LEAVE THE OPTION TO STICK WITH LEGACY OR ADOPT THE NEW REDESIGN UP TO EACH CLASS/INSTRUCTOR!!!"

[jcrozier2]

100% agree - the redesign is awful.  Worse than awful. 

It is NOT user friendly.

The posts do NOT thread and to hide them makes more work for students - who want less work.

There was just an article about students not willing to read and then you go and HIDE under the replies button all the posts.  I want my students to be able to SKIM the whole board and look for specific concepts to help them ... and now you made that include steps to open and read replies.

Also there HAS to be boxes around the posts so we can EASILY see which reply goes to which post.

Whoever redesigned this has not been teaching.

Here is what is good - the tagging is good. 

The side view - although I will not use it but I get how someone might like it.

If you want to put that collapse button in and let the DEFAULT be the expanded view - then do that.

But if I am expanding the board for me - it does not expand it for my students and frankly it does not stay open for me either.  To have to add more clicks is not helpful.

Let me FORCE the expand for students.

And put back the lines around the posts so I can see who is responding.

OH and HOW DARE CANVAS put out a redesign without giving us the ICONS - you changed how to subscribe and you did not provide new images or a new VIDEO.

Never ever put out a redesign without a video we can share. 

Is is not a best practice to not give videos on how to do something to students.  Then we are all taking screenshots and making videos - that is such a time waster.

Poorly executed and poorly rolled out.