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Discussion Board

Pawtograder’s discussion board feature allows students and staff to discuss course content and ask questions. It is not intended to be a replacement for office hours, although there is an option to format the post as a question that needs an answer (as opposed to a “note” that does not need an answer).
Discussion board showing My Feed with posts, Pinned Posts sidebar, and active help request widget

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Key Features

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Feed and Topic Organization

The discussion board uses a feed-based layout with two main views:
  • My Feed: Shows all posts relevant to you, including posts from topics you follow
  • Browse Topics: Allows you to explore posts organized by topic categories
Posts can be filtered by “Followed topics” to show only content from categories you’re interested in.

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Pinned Posts

Instructors can pin important posts that appear in a dedicated “Pinned Posts” section in the sidebar. This is useful for:
  • Highlighting frequently asked questions
  • Surfacing important announcements
  • Drawing attention to helpful resources
Pinned posts remain visible and easily accessible regardless of how many new posts are created.

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Post Visibility and Identity

Posts can be shared with the entire class, or with course staff only. Each user in a class has a pseudonym, and can choose to use their real name or their pseudonym. Staff can always see the real name of a user. Students can edit their own posts, and staff can edit any post.

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Post Metadata

Each post displays:
  • Topic tag: Color-coded category (e.g., “Logistics”, “Assignments”)
  • Author email: The poster’s identity
  • Timestamp: When the post was created
  • Reply count: Number of responses, with indicators for new replies
  • Like count: Community engagement metric
  • Answered badge: Indicates whether a question has been resolved

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Active Help Request Integration

When a student has an active help request in office hours, a widget appears in the discussion board sidebar showing:
  • The current status of their help request (e.g., “in_progress”)
  • Video call notifications when staff starts a video chat
  • A “Join Video Call” button for quick access to help sessions
This integration ensures students never miss updates on their help requests, even while browsing the discussion board.

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Notifications

By default, users do not get notifications for new posts, but can optionally “watch” a post to receive notifications when the post is updated or receives a new reply. Interacting with a post (e.g. replying to it) will automatically watch the post.

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Image Uploads

Students and staff can upload images to posts and replies using drag-and-drop. Simply drag an image file from your computer into the post editor, and it will be automatically uploaded and embedded. This feature makes it easier for students to share:
  • Screenshots of errors or issues
  • Diagrams and visual explanations
  • Code output or terminal messages

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Karma and Leaderboard

Pawtograder includes a karma system to encourage helpful participation on the discussion board. Students earn karma when:
  • Their posts receive likes from other students or staff
  • Their answers are marked as helpful
  • They actively contribute to discussions

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Configuring the Leaderboard

Instructors can optionally enable a leaderboard to display top contributors. The leaderboard can be configured to:
  • Show or hide the leaderboard entirely
  • Set the number of top contributors to display
  • Customize the time period for ranking (e.g., all-time, this semester)
The leaderboard feature is designed to be less cluttering and can be disabled if you prefer a simpler discussion board interface.