| Note: To read about how to work with discussions in the new interface, click here. |
TalentLMS lets you and your users communicate with each other through Discussions, a forum-like communication tool.
By default, discussions are enabled for all users. However, there are some restrictions:
- Instructors can create new discussions.
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Note: When the "Moderate" permission (2) is disabled from the Instructor section (1), users with this user type can moderate their own posts within 2 hours from creation. Learners can also edit their posts within 2 hours from creating them. |
- Learners can reply to discussions created by instructors.
- Learners cannot create new discussions unless the respective permission is enabled for their custom user type (see below).
- The SuperAdmin and other administrators can create and view discussions, as well as reply to user comments.
| Note: Branches have separate branch-specific discussion forums, nested under the branch URL. Topics posted within a branch are only visible to users that sign in through the branch URL. To access discussions posted on the main portal, users have to log in through the main URL (if they are allowed to). |
To open a new discussion, just follow these simple steps:
1. Sign in to your TalentLMS account as Instructor.
2. On the right-hand panel, click Discussions (1).
3. On the Discussions page, you can see all your previously created discussion topics (2). From here you can:
- Sort topics by Name, Creation date, Most recent and Most active (3).
- Narrow down your search more by using the Filter to view discussions by the Course or Group they belong to (4).
| Note: The filter is visible when there are 5 or more discussions available. |
To start a new discussion, click New topic (5).
| Note: If you haven’t created any discussions yet, what you see is the Create your first discussion button. |
4. In the Topic field, type a title about the topic of your discussion.
5. In the Message text area, type a description to prompt discussion. If necessary, attach an external file to your message (click Select attachment).
6. Now, select an audience for your new topic. Click the drop-down list at the bottom (6) and choose among:
- Everybody can see this topic (i.e., everyone that logs in through the same URL, main or branch)
- Only specific users can see this topic (i.e., users associated with a course or a group)
- This is a private topic (i.e., only you can see this topic)
7. Click Post to publish your new discussion topic (7).
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Note:To format the post, select the word(s) on your page and the formatting options will appear. You can make the text bold, italic, underline, create a hyperlink or insert a picture. |
A label will appear beside the Discussion topic and shows the chosen audience of that discussion (Either the name of the group or course). The label is only visible to Instructor roles. (8)
On the topic page, instructors and learners can sort out replies either by date (i.e., oldest to most recent and vice versa) or by the number of upvotes (descending/ascending) (9).
To be notified each time a comment is made by other users on that topic, select Subscribe (10). To unsubscribe, click the same button once again.
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Note: When a user is subscribed to a discussion topic, they will receive email notifications when users comment on the discussion. |
How to let learners initiate discussions
For learners to be able to initiate discussions, an administrator must assign the related permissions to their custom User Type.
Here's how:
1. Sign in to your TalentLMS account as Administrator and go to Home > User types.
2. Click Learner-type or the edit symbol.
3. On the multi-level nested list, under Learner, click Discussions (1) and check Create (2).
4. Click Save to update the user type.