Teachers can use the AI Discussion Summary tool in Canvas to use AI to summarize the posts in a discussion. This tool is only available to Teachers in Canvas (not students).

Using the AI Discussion Summary Tool

1. Go to the discussion in Canvas. Click on Summarize Discussion.

2. (Optional) Enter a prompt for the topics you want the summary to focus on, then click Generate Summary.

3. The AI-generated summary will appear below. You can generate up to 25 discussion summaries per day.

Prompt Suggestions

If you do not specify a prompt for the discussion summary, you may find that the summary is too generic and not helpful. Here are some suggestions for making the AI discussion summaries more meaningful:
 

• Analyze and list the major recurring themes related to [topic] that emerged from the student discussion.
• Provide a quantitative analysis of the discussion by listing key terms or concepts related to [topic] and their frequency of mention by students.
• Identify and list, using bullet points, potential areas of confusion or misunderstanding evident in the student discussion.
• Based on the student discussion, outline a brief lesson plan identifying key topics or concepts that warrant further review or instruction.
• Identify and describe the specific concepts or points within the discussion that students appeared to struggle with.
• Summarize the most common recommendations or suggestions offered by students within the discussion.
• Extract and list the distinct questions posed by students during the discussion.
• Highlight any apparent misconceptions students displayed regarding the topics discussed.
• Based on the discussion content and student questions/confusion, suggest information or resources that would have been beneficial for students to have before participating.

More Information

• Discussion Summaries (Feature Preview) - Discussion Summaries User Group in the Canvas Community
• Discussion Summaries Overview - Information and instructions from the Canvas Community Site