Ed Discussion
Ed Discussion supports these learning types (see definitions):
Ed Discussion is an online discussion platform set to replace Piazza as the University’s go-to Q&A tool in 2025. Designed to boost student engagement and foster meaningful interactions within Canvas, it integrates seamlessly within the University’s LMS.
As of 12 December 2024, Ed Discussion has now been enabled across the institution and plans are underway to roll out training for staff.
How-to guides
Ed Discussion in your Canvas course menu
Ed Discussion is activated by default in your course menu. If you don’t intend to use it for your course, follow these steps to disable it to reduce menu clutter.
- Navigate to your Canvas course.
- Click Settings in the course navigation menu.
- Select the Navigation tab.
- Drag Ed Discussion from the visible items list to the hidden items.
- Click Save to apply the changes.
Guides from the vendor
For setup help, visit the Getting Started guide
* Login is required. Select Australia as your documentation location then enter your University of Auckland staff email address, e.g., username@auckland.ac.nz. You will be sent a login link.
See also:
Why use Ed Discussion in teaching?
Ed Discussion fosters community and peer learning, promoting active student participation and continuous engagement beyond class hours. It provides a platform for students to reflect on their learning and articulate their understanding.
The tool allows asynchronous interaction through threaded discussions, where you can embed videos, annotate images, upload documents, and use LaTeX for math notation. It also supports collaborative coding in multiple programming languages.
For teaching staff, Ed Discussion centralises questions and discussions, reducing email volume and increasing efficiency. It is highly customisable with categories, tags, and specialised chat rooms, making it easy to organise and manage discussions. Posts can be categorised and set to private or anonymous as needed.
Use it to:
- Facilitate discussions by creating forums for students to ask questions, share insights, and engage in meaningful dialogue.
- Enhance collaboration through peer-to-peer interaction and collective problem-solving with collaborative coding and moderated threads.
- Build community by providing a space for students to reflect on their learning, share ideas, and engage outside of class hours.
- Track engagement using analytics and reporting to monitor participation and gain insights into student involvement.
- Provide feedback by highlighting and endorsing correct answers, guiding students towards accurate and valuable information.
- Organise content with categorised, tagged, and filtered discussion threads for efficient communication.
Piazza vs Ed Discussion vs other tools
Piazza and Ed Discussion are both great for online discussions, but Ed Discussion stands out in a few key areas:
| Feature | Piazza | Ed Discussion |
|---|---|---|
| User interface | Can feel cluttered. | Clean, modern interface. |
| Media integration | Supports rich media. | Advanced features like embedding videos, annotating images, and using LaTeX for math notation. |
| Collaboration | No collaborative coding. | Supports collaborative coding with multiple programming languages. |
| Customisation | Basic categorising and tagging. | More options for categorising, tagging, and filtering discussion threads. |
| Efficiency | Centralises questions and discussions, reducing email volume. | Centralises questions and discussions, reducing email volume; offers deeper insights into student engagement with analytics and reporting features. |
| Privacy options | Allows posts to be set as private or anonymous. | More flexibility in managing privacy settings. |
Overall, Ed Discussion enhances the user experience with its modern interface, advanced media integration, and robust collaboration tools, making it a strong successor to Piazza.
Support
For more information and support:
- Visit the vendor site for documentation: https://edstem.org/help
* Login is required. Select Australia as your documentation location then enter your University of Auckland staff email address, e.g., username@auckland.ac.nz. You will be sent a login link.
See also
Comparing Piazza, Ed Discussion, and Canvas Discussions
We provide a comparison chart between these popular discussion tools.
University of Melbourne guide
This might help teachers choose the right discussion and chat tools for teaching and learning, depending on context. The guide includes a comparison between Canvas Discussion, Ed Discussion, Microsoft Teams, Zoom Chat and Canvas Chat.
Page updated 12/12/2024 (now available across the institution)