Familiarize Yourself with the Harmonize Layout - Student Guide

Overview

New to Harmonize? This help guide will help familiarize you with the Harmonize discussions interface.

What is Harmonize?

Harmonize is a suite of online collaboration and discussion tools that helps maximize student engagement in online courses. Harmonize is an interactive, inclusive space where you can post your work and discuss topics with teachers and other students in your online classroom using rich content and media. Record audio and video from any device to create personal and engaging discussions.

Topic Overview

A graded Harmonize Discussion has five sections:

1. Title & Navigation Menu
2. Requirements & Activity
3. Instructions & Options
4. Create a Post
5. Display Options & Discussion Posts

Section 1: Title & Navigation Menu

Topic Title

This is the title your instructor has given your Harmonize discussion.

Navigation Menu

This menu makes it easy for you to navigate through all of the Harmonize components. Click the following links to learn more.

	Harmonize Chat	Clicking the Chat icon will open Harmonize Chat in a new tab.
	Components Drawer	Clicking the Grid icon will open the Harmonize Component Drawer. Available menu options include: Components Non-Graded Discussions Course Q&A Chat Account Profile Settings Help & Support Tips Harmonize Knowledge Base Course Questions* Technical Support Information*
	Harmonize Notifications	Click the Notification icon to access your Harmonize Notifications.
	Harmonize To Do Drawer	Clicking the calendar/To Do icon will open the Harmonize To Do drawer. Click any event in the drawer to be taken to the referenced discussion. Read more about To Dos here: To Dos (Canvas) To Dos (Blackboard, Brightspace, Moodle)
	Harmonize Profile	Clicking the Profile icon will open the Harmonize Profile menu. Click your name to visit Profile Settings. Use the drop down menu to set your Harmonize Chat status.
	Additional Options	Clicking the Additional Options icon will open a menu with the following options: Assignment Open in new tab Your Activity  Print Account Profile Notification Settings Chat Settings

*If enabled by your institution

Section 2: Your Requirements and Activity

Your Requirements (Milestones)

Milestones are multiple participation requirements within a single discussion, encouraging students to engage in the discussion multiple times rather than all at once before the due date.

Your Activity Counter

Your Activity Counter reflects the number of Posts and Comments in the current Harmonize Discussion.

Section 3: Instructions, Watch Topic, Your Activity, Full Screen

Topic Instructions

These are your topic instructions. Click the Instructions button (highlighted above) to collapse or expand these instructions.

Watch Topic, Activity, Edit, Full Screen

	Watch Topic	Toggle this option "On" to receive activity notifications for this Harmonize discussion.
	Your Activity	Click this button to view all your activity in the current Harmonize Discussion.
	Full Screen	Click this button to open your Harmonize discussion in full screen mode.

Section 4: Create New Post

Click "Create post..." to create a post in your Harmonize discussion. See Creating a Post in a Harmonize Discussion for more information.

Section 5: Display Options & Discussion Posts

Display Options

Grid View or List View: Click these icons to toggle your Harmonize student posts between Grid View and List View. 

Sort & Search Options

• Sort: Click the drop down menu to sort the posts in your Harmonize discussion. Sorting options include My Posts & Comments, Oldest, Most Recent, New / Unread, Flagged, Instructor, and Name.
• Search: Enter your search parameters in the Search Posts & Comments field. Click the magnifying glass icon to begin your search.

Discussion Posts

Both instructor and student posts will appear in this area. 

To see a more detailed view of these posts, click on the picture above the post's time stamp. Clicking the post's picture will expand the discussion post, allowing you to view the full post as well as any comments and replies.

From this view you may:

• Click All Posts to return to the top-level view of the discussion
• Click Previous Post or Next Post to easily navigate between all available discussion posts
• Click React to leave an emoji-based reaction on the discussion post
• Click Reply to reply to a comment left by your classmate
• Click the Add Comment field to start a new comment on the discussion post
• Click Back to Top to navigate to the top of the page

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. Do I need an account to participate in Harmonize Discussions?

• No separate account is needed to participate in Harmonize Discussion. Simply login to your online classroom with the credentials given to you by your school, click on the title of your course discussion to open it, and participate using the "Creating a Post" instructions listed above.

Q. How do I find Harmonize discussions in my online course?

• Harmonize discussions will appear the same as regular LMS discussions. Navigate to your course discussions and click the title of the discussion you want to access. If it is a Harmonize discussion, the Harmonize interface will load automatically and you'll be free to participate using the "Creating a Post" instructions listed above. If you are having issue finding your discussions in your course, please contact your instructor for assistance.