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      Section Filtering

      Admins can configure discussion activities to restrict students to viewing replies only within their enrolled section or to allow them to view replies across all sections in a course

      Admins can configure discussion activities to restrict students to viewing replies only within their enrolled section or to allow them to view replies across all sections in a course. This setting is subject to Canvas course restrictions and requires that students are also restricted from seeing all sections in Canvas.

      Configuration for Section Filtering

      To enable section filtering, the following Canvas section custom parameters must be added to the LTI tool settings:

      For LTI 1.1:

      1. Edit the installed tool.
      2. Add the following parameters to the custom fields: 
        canvas_section_ids=$Canvas.course.sectionIds

        canvas_section_restricted=$Canvas.course.sectionRestricted

      For LTI 1.3:

      1. Edit the Developer Key.
      2. Navigate to Additional Settings > Custom Fields.
      3. Add the same fields as above.

      Section Filter Dropdown

      A feature flag controls whether the section filter dropdown is shown to teachers and admins. By default, this feature flag is disabled. When the flag is disabled:

      • Replies from all sections will always be shown to teachers.

      • The section filter dropdown will not be visible.

      • This behavior matches the experience prior to the March 5th 2025 release.

      When the feature flag is enabled:

      • The section filter dropdown is visible to teachers when there is more than one section in the course.

      • Teachers can filter replies by section as needed.

      • Teachers will always see their own replies, regardless of the selected section.

      • Threaded replies will be displayed consistently, ensuring that discussions remain visible even when replies span multiple sections.

      • An All Sections filter is the default selection when the dropdown is enabled, allowing teachers to view replies across all sections at once.

      • When filtering by a specific section, all replies and threaded replies related to that section will be shown.

      The feature flag can be set in the Admin Settings of Atomic Discussions, accessible via the course navigation. If the course navigation entry is not visible in your course, you may need to enable it in the Canvas course settings. If the Discussions course navigation entry is not available at all, even in a disabled state, installation in a sandbox or test course may be required for access. Atomic Discussions may still be listed as Comments Box in some installations.

      Instructor and TA Access

      • Instructors, TAs, and other roles are limited to their assigned sections and will only see replies from students in those sections.

      • Instructors with access to multiple sections will default to viewing replies from the first section in the course selector but can switch between sections as needed.

      Student Access

      • Students can either be restricted to viewing replies only within their section or allowed to see replies across all sections.

      • By default, student access follows the Canvas section restrictions.

      • If the LTI variables for section restriction are not set, students will be able to see all replies, maintaining the behavior prior to the March 5th release.

      You can change the Canvas section restrictions during course enrollment or for individual students by navigating to the Canvas User Details settings and changing the Membership - Privileges for the course to "this user can only view students in their assigned course section(s)."

      Additional Section Restriction Settings

      Two optional settings allow overriding section restrictions for students and teachers. These settings are not enabled by default in most installations of Atomic Discussions:

      • Force Students to Be Section Restricted or Unrestricted

        • Overrides Canvas LTI variables to either restrict or allow students to see replies across sections.

        • If not enabled, Discussions will follow existing LTI variables (if set), or default to allowing students to view all replies.

      • Force Teachers to Be Section Restricted or Unrestricted

        • Similar to the student setting, this option forces teachers to be either restricted to their assigned sections or unrestricted, regardless of LTI variable settings.

      If these settings are required for your installation, contact support for further configuration assistance.