Overview
Instructors have the ability to reply privately to student posts and comments within Harmonize Discussions. Follow the steps outlined below to learn more.
Marking a Comment or Reply as Private
- To leave a comment, begin by navigating to a student post, type a comment in the Add Comment field.
- To leave a reply, begin by navigating to a student comment. Click Reply and type your reply in the text field provided.
- Once the comment or reply is completed, click the kebab menu icon located in the top right of the text field. Click Mark as Private Comment or Mark as Private Reply.
- A message prompt will appear at the top of the page confirming the comment or reply is marked as private. An additional confirmation will appear below the comment or reply.
Unmarking a Comment or Reply as Private
- To unmark a comment or reply as private, click the kebab menu icon located in the top right of the Add Comment field. Click Unmark as Private Comment or Unmark as Private Reply.
- A message prompt will appear at the top of the page confirming the comment is unmarked as private.
- Note: Once a private comment or reply is published, it can no longer be unmarked as private. To remove a private comment after it has been published, click the kebab menu located in the top right of the comment or reply and choose Delete.
Publishing a Private Comment or Reply
- Click Publish to publish the private comment or reply.
- The Confirm Post Private Response prompt will appear.
- Click Publish to proceed.
- Click Continue Editing to close the prompt and return to editing.
- The private comment or reply is now published and viewable to both the instructor and the student.
Viewing Private Comments and Replies
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Private comments and replies are visible only to the the instructor and tagged student.
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To view, navigate to the post or comment with the private comment or reply. All private comments and replies are labeled with the message, "This comment is private to you and [student name]. Private comments are not included in Milestone or Activity counts."
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To view only private comments, click the "Show private comments only" option.
Replying to Private Comments and Replies
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The instructor and tagged student may continue the private comment or reply thread.
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To do so, click Reply.
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Enter a reply in the text field provided. All private replies will be clearly marked with the message, "This reply is private to you and [student name]."
- Click Publish to publish the reply. The new private reply is now visible to both the instructor and the tagged student.
A Quick Note on Private Comment/Reply Counts
- Private comments and replies are not counted in Student Activity, Milestones, or Engagement Insights. If you have any questions about how private comments and replies might affect student data reporting within Harmonize, please contact Harmonize Support.