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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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Rich Content Support

Posts support Markdown formatting and include drag-and-drop image upload functionality. Users can:
  • Drag images directly into the post editor
  • Paste images from clipboard
  • Upload attachments to support their questions or explanations
This makes it easy to share screenshots, diagrams, and other visual content when discussing course material.

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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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Karma System

The discussion board includes a karma system that rewards students for helpful contributions. Students earn karma points through:
  • Receiving likes on their posts
  • Having their answers marked as helpful
  • Generating meaningful engagement in discussions
Karma scores are visible on student profiles and serve as a measure of community contribution. This system encourages students to:
  • Provide thoughtful, helpful responses
  • Actively participate in course discussions
  • Support their peers’ learning
As an instructor, you can use karma scores to identify students who are particularly engaged and helpful in the course community.

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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.