Course Discussions can be set as an assessment, when a Discussion is set as marked it will appear in the Gradebook. Discussions can be used in formative or summative assessment.
Create or Edit a Discussion and open the Settings panel by clicking on the settings cog in the top right-hand corner.
Marking options panel
In the settings panel, check the Mark discussion box. This will reveal the marking options.
Marking and Participation
- (a) Due Date – set as desired
- (b) Participation requirement – you can specify the number of posts or replies required to complete the activity.
- (c) Add a second deadline and Participation requirement, if necessary
- (d) Stop discussion activity after due date – After due date, students cannot reply or edit posts
If you wish to prevent students from continuing with the discussion after the due date, select this option.
- (e) Standard marking options
- Mark Category – Discussion
- Marking using – points
- Maximum points – 100
Additional Tools
- (f) Use marking rubric
Add rubric to the discussion for marking and feedback.
- (g) Group discussion
Assign to groups- create groups on the course beforehand and assign groups.
When you have completed the settings Save.
Once you have saved the settings the new/edited discussion will have a corresponding column in the gradebook and will have the additional tab, Marks & Participation.
Guide last updated on March 17, 2026