canvas-discussion-facilitator

name

canvas-discussion-facilitator

description

Educator skill for browsing, reading, replying to, and creating Canvas discussion topics. Surfaces active threads, unread entries, and announcement activity — then lets you post replies or create new topics without leaving your agent session. Trigger phrases include "discussion board", "course discussions", "reply to discussion", "create a discussion", "what's in the discussion forum", "check announcements", or "post to discussion".

Canvas Discussion Facilitator

Educator skill for managing course discussion boards: browse topics, read threaded entries, post replies, create new topics, and monitor announcement activity — all from your agent session.

Prerequisites

• Canvas MCP server must be running and connected.
• You must have instructor, TA, or student role in the target course (read access). Creating or updating topics requires instructor or TA role.
• Student names and post content are visible in output — only run this in a private or educator-only session when reviewing discussion entries.

Tool naming note

get_discussion in canvas-lms-mcp returns the full topic details and inline discussion entries in a single call. There is no separate list_discussion_entries tool — all thread content comes through get_discussion. If you search for list_discussion_entries you will not find it; use get_discussion instead.

Steps

1. Identify the Target Course

Ask the user which course's discussions to work with. Accept a course name, course code, or Canvas ID.

If unclear, call list_discussions with the course ID — it will fail with a 404 if the course ID is wrong, which surfaces the issue early.

2. Choose a Mode

Ask the user what they want to do:

Mode	When to use
Browse topics	See all active discussion topics at a glance
Read a thread	Read the entries in a specific topic
Check announcements	View instructor announcements
Post a reply	Add an entry to an existing discussion
Create a topic	Open a new discussion topic

3A. Browse Topics

Call list_discussions with the course ID. This returns all discussion topics in the course with their title, type (discussion_topic or announcement), reply count, unread count, and posting status.

Present a summary table:

Discussions — [Course Name]

OPEN TOPICS
• "Week 3 Reflection" — 34 replies, 5 unread, posted by Prof. Lee
• "Reading Questions Ch. 4" — 12 replies, 0 unread, posted by TA Park
• "Introduce Yourself" — 28 replies, 0 unread

CLOSED / LOCKED
• "Week 1 Check-in" — 19 replies (locked)

Ask the user if they want to read a specific topic.

3B. Read a Thread

Call get_discussion with the course ID and topic ID. The response includes the topic metadata and all discussion entries inline — you do not need a separate entries call.

Summarise the thread:

• Topic title, author, and posted date
• Number of entries and unread count
• The most recent 5 entries (or all entries if ≤ 10), showing author, timestamp, and a preview of the message body

If entries are long, offer to show the full text of a specific entry on request.

3C. Check Announcements

Call list_announcements with the course ID. This returns announcements as a separate list from discussion topics.

Present the most recent 5 announcements:

Announcements — [Course Name]

• [Apr 28] "Final Project Rubric Posted" — Prof. Martinez
• [Apr 22] "Office Hours Change This Week" — Prof. Martinez
• [Apr 15] "Midterm Grades Released" — Prof. Martinez

3D. Post a Reply

Requires explicit user confirmation before posting.

1. Identify the target topic (Steps 1–3B if not already done).
2. Draft the reply message with the user. Show them the draft and ask "Post this reply to [topic title]? (yes/no)".
3. Only after confirmation: call post_discussion_entry with the course ID, topic ID, and message body.
4. Report the posted entry ID and timestamp.

3E. Create a Topic

Requires explicit user confirmation before creating.

1. Collect from the user:

   • Title (required)
   • Message body (optional — can be empty for a blank prompt-style topic)
   • Whether the topic is threaded vs. side-comment style (defaults to threaded)
   • Whether to post now or as a delayed-post

2. Show the full topic draft and ask "Create this discussion topic in [course name]? (yes/no)".

3. Only after confirmation: call create_discussion with the course ID, title, message, and discussion type.

4. Report the new topic ID and URL.

3F. Update a Topic (Instructors Only)

Requires explicit user confirmation before updating.

To edit an existing topic's title, message, or settings (lock/unlock, publish/unpublish):

1. Identify the topic to update via Steps 3A–3B.
2. Show the user the current values and proposed changes.
3. Only after confirmation: call update_discussion with the course ID, topic ID, and updated fields.
4. Report the updated topic ID.

Output Format

Discussion Facilitator — [Course Name]

TOPIC: "Week 3 Reflection"
Posted: Apr 20 by Prof. Lee  |  Type: Threaded  |  Replies: 34  |  Unread: 5

RECENT ENTRIES
• Alex Doe (Apr 27, 9:14 AM)
  "I found the reading on constructivism really compelling because it reframes
   how I think about student-driven learning..."

• Jordan Park (Apr 26, 11:02 PM)
  "Totally agree with Sam — the Vygotsky section was the most relevant for
   my practicum..."

• Sam Lee (Apr 26, 3:30 PM)
  "The zone of proximal development framework maps really well onto the
   collaborative assignments we've been doing in class."

[31 more entries — ask to see more or a specific entry]

Notes

• Read-only by default — browsing topics and reading threads does not modify any Canvas data.
• Write operations (post_discussion_entry, create_discussion, update_discussion) require explicit user confirmation before each call.
• get_discussion returns inline entries — there is no separate list_discussion_entries tool in canvas-lms-mcp. Do not search for one.
• For courses with very active discussions (100+ entries per topic), the inline entry list from get_discussion may be long; summarise and offer to show full text on request rather than dumping the entire thread.
• Announcements are a separate feed from discussion topics — use list_announcements for instructor announcements, list_discussions for student discussion topics.