You can delay posting a discussion topic until a specific date by setting future availability dates. A discussion whose availability start date is in the future is locked to students until the discussion becomes available.
Open Discussions
In Course Navigation, click the Discussions link.
Add Discussion
To create a new discussion, click the Add Discussion button.
Add Availability Dates
To make your discussion available in the future, on a specific date, or during a specific date range, enter the dates and times in the Available from [1] and Until fields [2], or click the calendar icons to select dates. To delay the posting of your discussion, select a future date for the Available from field.
Notes:
- You are not required to enter dates in both of these fields, so if you want to delay your posting but do want your post to appear indefinitely, you can leave the Until field blank.
- If the discussion is graded, you can also assign a Due Date. Learn more the differences between due dates and availability dates.
Apply Changes
To save the dates, click the Save button.
Save and Publish
The Pending Changes label displays [1].
If you are ready to publish your discussion, click the Save and Publish button [2]. If you want to create a draft of your discussion and publish it later, click the Save button [3].
View Discussion
Assignment details display.
View Discussions Index Page
On the Discussions Index page, a message indicates that a delayed discussion is "not available until" the availability start date.
Student View
Students can open published discussions, but they do not have access to them until the availability dates. If they open a delayed discussion, a message indicates that the "topic is locked" until the availability start date.
