diff --git a/docs/en_us/course_authors/source/Images/viewing_all_or_cohort.png b/docs/en_us/course_authors/source/Images/viewing_all_or_cohort.png new file mode 100644 index 0000000000..c3e09c8aed Binary files /dev/null and b/docs/en_us/course_authors/source/Images/viewing_all_or_cohort.png differ diff --git a/docs/en_us/course_authors/source/Images/visible_to_contentspecific.png b/docs/en_us/course_authors/source/Images/visible_to_contentspecific.png new file mode 100644 index 0000000000..e0a7367721 Binary files /dev/null and b/docs/en_us/course_authors/source/Images/visible_to_contentspecific.png differ diff --git a/docs/en_us/course_authors/source/cohorts/cohorts_discussions.rst b/docs/en_us/course_authors/source/cohorts/cohorts_discussions.rst index 3ef8f4ea95..2a829c2fcf 100644 --- a/docs/en_us/course_authors/source/cohorts/cohorts_discussions.rst +++ b/docs/en_us/course_authors/source/cohorts/cohorts_discussions.rst @@ -4,30 +4,48 @@ Managing Discussions in a Course with Student Cohorts ########################################################## -The experience that students have in the course discussions is different in -courses that do, and do not, enable the cohort feature. Additional features are -also available to the staff members and community TAs who moderate the course -discussions. This section describes how students and staff can :ref:`find out -who can read a post`. +In a course that has the cohort feature enabled, every post has an indicator of +who can read it: either everyone, or only the members of a single cohort group. +For students, this is the only noticeable difference between discussions in +courses that include cohorts when compared to courses that don't. You can share +the examples in the :ref:`Read the Cohort Indicator in Posts` section with your +students, along with the :ref:`Discussions for Students and Staff` section of +this guide. -.. to come in a separate PR: a better introduction, info on how a moderator can post into one cohort or all cohorts, how students see posts in a course with cohorts, more +Staff members who have the discussion admin, discussion moderator, or community +TA role see the same indicator of who can read each post. Unlike the students, +however, the discussion staff members can read and contribute to every post, +regardless of the cohort group assignment of the student who posted it. + +.. note:: Students who have the Community TA role can read and + contribute to all posts. + +In courses that enable the cohort feature, members of the discussion staff can +also: + +* Choose who will be able to see the posts that they add to divided topics. See + :ref:`Choosing the Visibility of a Post`. + +* Filter the posts that are listed on the **Discussion** page by cohort group. + See :ref:`Viewing the Posts of a Cohort Group`. + +All of the other options and features described in the :ref:`Discussions` +section continue to be available to the discussion staff. .. _Finding Out Who Can See a Post: ******************************** -Finding Out Who Can Read a Post +Identifying Who Can Read a Post ******************************** -In a course with the cohort feature enabled, all posts include a cohort -indicator above the title. This indicator appears after a student or staff -member adds each post. Other than choosing the cohort group names carefully -when you add them, no configuration is necessary to include this identifier. -You can share the information in the :ref:`Read the Cohort Indicator in Posts` -section with your students. +In a course that includes cohorts, all posts include a cohort indicator above +the title. This indicator appears after any student or staff member adds a +post. Other than naming the cohort groups carefully when you add them, no +configuration is necessary to include this identifier. -For students to see who will be able to read their posts before they add them, -you can name the discussion topics so that they identify who will be able to -see posts. See :ref:`Apply Naming Conventions to Discussion Topics`. +Optionally, you can name your discussion topics to show students who will be +able to view their posts. See :ref:`Apply Naming Conventions to Discussion +Topics`. .. _Read the Cohort Indicator in Posts: @@ -36,7 +54,8 @@ Read the Cohort Indicator in Posts ================================== Every post includes a sentence that identifies whether everyone can see and -contribute to it, or only the members of a cohort within the course. +contribute to it, or only the members of a cohort in the course. Examples +follow. .. image:: ../Images/post_visible_all.png :alt: A discussion topic post with "This post is visible to everyone" above @@ -46,13 +65,9 @@ contribute to it, or only the members of a cohort within the course. :alt: A discussion topic post with "This post is visible to" and a cohort name above the title -.. image:: ../Images/post_visible_default.png - :alt: A discussion topic post with "This post is visible to Default Group" - above the title - -You see this identifier after you add your post. The responses and comments -that others add to a post are visible to the same group of people as the -post itself. +You see this identifier after you add your post. All of the responses and +comments that other contributors add to a post are visible to the same group of +people as the post itself. .. _Apply Naming Conventions to Discussion Topics: @@ -60,29 +75,25 @@ post itself. Apply Naming Conventions to Discussion Topics ========================================================= -All of the content-specific discussion topics that you add to units in Studio -are divided by cohort. However, course-wide topics can either be divided by -cohort or remain unified (all students can read and react to all posts). +Optionally, course team members can give students the audience context of their +posts before they add them. Indicating who will be able to read posts in the +names of the topics themselves can be useful when a cohort is particularly +sensitive about the privacy of their conversations. -Optionally, you can use a naming convention for your discussion topics to give -your students the audience context of their posts *before* they add them. -Applying a naming convention can be useful if the students in your cohort -groups are particularly sensitive about the privacy of their conversations. - -For example, you can use a naming convention such as "everyone" for unified -course-wide discussion topics to distinguish them from topics that are divided -by cohort. (You may only find it necessary to identify topics that offer a -unified, public audience for all posts in this way. However, in this -illustration, each topic has been given an identifier of either "everyone" or -"private".) +For example, you add "(everyone)" to the names of the unified course-wide +discussion topics in your course. .. image:: ../Images/discussion_category_names.png :alt: The names you supply for course-wide topics in Studio appear on the dropdown list of discussion topics in the live course -When students visit the **Discussion** page and use dropdown lists to select -one of the course-wide topics, the topic names indicate who can see the posts, -responses, and comments. +When students visit the **Discussion** page and use dropdown lists to select a +course-wide topic, the topic names indicate who can see the posts, responses, +and comments. + +(In the illustration above, every topic name includes either "(everyone)" or +"(private)". You may only find it necessary to explicitly identify topics that +have a unified audience for all posts.) For more information about adding and configuring course-wide discussion topics, see :ref:`Organizing_discussions` or :ref:`Identifying Private @@ -97,3 +108,84 @@ you could include an identifier like "(private)" or "(small group)" in the :alt: The Subcategory name that you supply for a Discussion component in Studio appears on the dropdown lists of discussion topics in the live course + +.. _Choosing the Visibility of a Post: + +*************************************** +Choosing the Visibility of a Post +*************************************** + +If you have the discussion admin, discussion moderator, or community TA role, +you can make posts to divided discussion topics visible to everyone who is +enrolled in the course or to the members of a selected cohort group only. When +you :ref:`add a post`, the **Visible to** dropdown list appears +above the **Title** field. + +This example shows a new post being added to a content-specific +discussion topic. + +.. image:: ../Images/visible_to_contentspecific.png + :alt: The fields and controls that appear when a staff member clicks + New Post for a content-specific topic + +As a discussion staff member, you can choose the visibility of your posts in +topics that are divided by cohort. This means that you can add a single post +with information that you want everyone to see, rather than having to write a +separate post for each cohort group. It also means that it is possible for you +to unintentionally share information with a different audience than you +intended. + +.. note:: Students do not choose the visibility of their posts. The + visibility of student posts is determined by the configuration of the topic + they post in. See :ref:`Options for Discussion Topics`. + +Posts that discussion staff members add to unified discussion topics are always +visible to all students, regardless of cohort assignment. + +.. _Considerations When Editing Posts: + +=================================== +Considerations When Editing Posts +=================================== + +It may be helpful to keep these additional considerations in mind when you edit +posts in a course that includes cohorts. + +* You cannot change the visibility of a post after it has been added. If you + notice that a post contains information that is not appropriate for the + cohort who can read it, edit the content of the post or delete the post. + +* If you change the topic that a post appears in, the visibility of the post + and its responses and comments **does not change**. This ensures that + students who are following the post, or who have contributed responses or + comments to it, will still be able to read it. + +* All of the responses and comments that are contributed to a post will be + visible to the same group of people as the post itself. You cannot change the + visibility of individual responses or comments. + +.. _Viewing the Posts of a Cohort Group: + +************************************ +Viewing the Posts of a Cohort Group +************************************ + +When a course includes student cohorts, you can view posts and monitor +discussion activity for one cohort group at a time. You can also view all +posts. + +Above the list of posts on the **Discussion** page, the **in all cohorts** +filter is selected by default. You see every post when you make this selection, +as shown in the illustration on the left. To limit the list so that you can +view the same set of posts as the members of a cohort group, select the name +of that group as shown on the right. + +.. image:: ../Images/viewing_all_or_cohort.png + :alt: The list of posts on the Discussion page, first showing all posts then + showing only posts that members of the Univeristy Alumni cohort group can see + +Note that both of these lists include posts that are visible to +everyone. When you filter the list by cohort group, you see the same, complete +set of posts that the members of the cohort see. + +For other options that you can use to view posts, see :ref:`Find Posts`. diff --git a/docs/en_us/course_authors/source/cohorts/cohorts_overview.rst b/docs/en_us/course_authors/source/cohorts/cohorts_overview.rst index 4d66deb4df..a2405169ae 100644 --- a/docs/en_us/course_authors/source/cohorts/cohorts_overview.rst +++ b/docs/en_us/course_authors/source/cohorts/cohorts_overview.rst @@ -8,19 +8,19 @@ Cohorts create smaller communities of students within a course. Students who are in a cohort can communicate and share experiences privately within course discussion topics. -When you enable the cohort feature for your course, the discussion topics -that you include in units by adding discussion components are divided by -cohort. This means that each post that a student makes to those -content-specific topics can only be read, and responded to, by members of the same -cohort. However, any course-wide discussion topics that you set up for your -course remain unified. This means that all posts can be read, and responded to, -by every student. You can change some, or all, of your course-wide topics to be -divided by cohort. See :ref:`Options for Discussion Topics`. +When you enable the cohort feature for your course, the discussion topics that +you include in units by adding discussion components are divided by cohort. +This means that each post that a student makes to those content-specific topics +can only be read, and responded to, by members of the same cohort. However, any +course-wide discussion topics that you set up for your course remain unified. +This means that all posts can be read, and responded to, by every student. You +can change some, or all, of your course-wide topics to be divided by cohort. +See :ref:`Options for Discussion Topics`. This section also describes your options for :ref:`assigning students to cohort groups`. When you enable the cohort -feature, you define a set of cohort groups to reflect the student cohorts, and -select a strategy for assigning students to the groups. Note that: +feature, you define a set of cohort groups to reflect communities of students, +and select a strategy for assigning students to those groups. Note that: * Every student must be assigned to a cohort group. This assures that every student has the ability to read and contribute to all of the course @@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ Options for Discussion Topics By enabling the cohort feature in a course, you provide students with the ability to ask questions of, and have conversations with, other members of -their cohort. By offering these cohort-only discussion oppotunities, the cohort +their cohort. By offering cohort-only discussion oppotunities, the cohort feature can help students develop a sense of community, provide specialized experiences, and encourage deeper, more meaningful course involvement. @@ -241,9 +241,16 @@ when they visit the **Discussion** page or a discussion topic in the course content. Students who are assigned to the default cohort group see a cohort name of -"Default Group" in discussion posts. See :ref:`Read the Cohort Indicator in -Posts`. If you want students to see a different cohort name, add an auto cohort -group with the name that you prefer. See :ref:`Define Auto Cohort Groups`. +"Default Group" in discussion posts. + +.. image:: ../Images/post_visible_default.png + :alt: A discussion topic post with "This post is visible to Default Group" + above the title + +If you want students to see a different cohort name when your course starts, +you can add an auto cohort group with the name that you prefer. See +:ref:`Define Auto Cohort Groups`. (Adding an auto cohort group to your course +for this purpose is not recommended after your course starts.) You can check the :ref:`student profile information report` for your course to see if any students are assigned to the diff --git a/docs/en_us/course_authors/source/running_course/discussions.rst b/docs/en_us/course_authors/source/running_course/discussions.rst index eebd2741e9..2eabb1a1a8 100644 --- a/docs/en_us/course_authors/source/running_course/discussions.rst +++ b/docs/en_us/course_authors/source/running_course/discussions.rst @@ -27,8 +27,9 @@ sections: * :ref:`Close_discussions` -For information about how enabling the cohort feature for a course affects the -course discussions, see :ref:`Moderating Discussions for Cohorts`. +For information about how enabling the cohort feature for a course affects +options for moderating course discussions, see :ref:`Moderating Discussions for +Cohorts`. .. _Overview_discussions: @@ -93,9 +94,9 @@ that contains it. Students cannot contribute to these discussion topics until that date. .. note:: In courses that include the cohort feature, all of the - content-specific discussion topics are private. Student posts to these topics - can only be read, and responded to, by members of the same cohort group. See - :ref:`Cohorts Overview`. + content-specific discussion topics are divided by cohort. Student posts to + these topics can only be read, and responded to, by members of the same cohort + group. See :ref:`Cohorts Overview`. .. _Create CourseWide Discussion Topics: @@ -153,10 +154,10 @@ Discussion list now includes the topic you added. :alt: Image of a new topic named Course Q&A in the list of discussions .. note:: In courses that include the cohort feature, the course-wide - discussion topics that you add are public. All of the posts can be read, and + discussion topics that you add are unified. All of the posts can be read, and responded to, by every student, regardless of their assignement to a cohort - group. You can configure course-wide discussion topics to be private. See - :ref:`Identifying Private CourseWide Discussion Topics`. + group. You have the option to configure these topics to be divided by cohort. + See :ref:`Identifying Private CourseWide Discussion Topics`. .. _Assigning_discussion_roles: