Canvas has provided an updated version of Discussions and Announcements! This redesign includes an updated UI for both Announcements and Discussions as well as several new Discussion features without losing any of the existing functionality. The redesign was turned on in all Canvas courses on May 6, 2024. No migration is necessary for existing discussions.

Overview Video from Canvas

Canvas Discussions & Announcements Redesign Workshop Recording

Discussions Redesign

The Discussion redesign includes updates to the user interface as well as provides new features.

User Interface updates

Here are highlights of the user interface design for Discussions:

Toolbar has moved to the top of the page for searching, filtering, setting the viewing option (Inline or Split Screen)
Sort options (Newest to Oldest, Oldest to Newest) allow you to reorder posts with the default being to display the newest replies at the top of the page
The expand/collapse buttons for viewing replies has been replaced with options to view replies Inline or in Split Screen modes. For Inline view, a new buttons to Expand or Collapse replies appears in the toolbar at the top.
Subscribe button has been replaced with bookmark icon
Filter option has been changed from a Read/Unread button to a drop-down selection
Role labels for Teachers & TAs display automatically for topics and replies that they post

New Features

The redesigned Discussions includes all of the feature functionality that you are familiar with and adds a few new things you can do!

Here are the new features:

Create Anonymous Discussions with either full or partial (optional) anonymity
Users can mention (@) other users enrolled in the course to support more social, interactive discussions
Users can quote another reply when they are posting a reply
Teachers can view an Edit History to see all versions of a student's post if the student has edited it

For details on using the redesigned Discussions feature, see How do I use Discussions Redesign as an instructor? in the Canvas Instructors Guide.

Announcements

The Announcements redesign includes minor updates to the user interface and no changes to the functionality. No changes have been made to creating or posting Announcements. The user interface changes are the same as those listed above for Discussions.

Here are some of the highlights for Announcements with replies:

Toolbar has moved to the top of the page for searching, filtering, setting the viewing option (Inline or Split Screen) for announcement replies

Sort options (Newest to Oldest, Oldest to Newest) allow you to reorder replies with the default being to display the newest replies at the top of the page
The expand/collapse buttons for viewing replies has been replaced with options to view replies Inline or in Split Screen modes. For Inline view, a new buttons to Expand or Collapse replies appears in the toolbar at the top.
Subscribe button has been replaced with bookmark icon
Filter option has been changed from a Read/Unread button to a drop-down selection
Role labels for Teachers & TAs display automatically for topics and replies that they post

For details on using the redesigned Announcements feature, see How do I use Announcements Redesign as an instructor? in the Canvas Instructors Guide.