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The Discussions functionality in Brightspace allows students for online discussions with each other. Discussions work asynchronously; the options for participation are flexible, and everyone has an equal chance to join in. The variety of ideas shared in a discussion forum can make learning more interesting.

This functionality can be used in various ways, for example:

• Setting up a Q&A after a lecture or seminar. If there is not enough time during contact hours to answer students’ questions, you can use Discussions to set up a Q&A. Students can post questions and, as a teacher, you can answer them. The answers are then visible to all students within the course. This gives you insights into the topics that students are still struggling with.
• Using a Q&A in Discussions as “peer learning” where students answer each other’s questions. In that case, you as a teacher can moderate the answered questions.
• Encouraging students to collaborate by sharing information. You can create separate discussion topics for separate groups and also provide opportunities to share files.
• Have students provide each other with (peer) feedback: in a discussion topic, students can share files such as documents and videos that everyone in the topic can see. This allows students within the topic to give peer feedback on the shared files and receive feedback on the files they share. This can be done, for example, with a predefined rubric or a star rating.