Discussion Summary

The Discussion Summary feature uses generative AI to summarize key points and questions in a discussion thread. Once generated, summaries may be refined by passing a description of desired outputs (e.g. “concerns about grading policy”) or be regenerated. These summaries are only available/visible to instructors and administrators.

How to Create a Discussion Summary

  1. Go to a discussion thread in a course. In the upper right-hand corner, find the Summarize button. To summarize the thread, click the Summarize button.
    Location of the Summarize button.

  2. Enter the desired area or topic to summarize.
    Input box to refine AI summary.

  3. To generate a summary, click the Generate Summary button [1]. To exit the discussion summary, click the Disable Summary button [2].
    Generate Summary and Disable Summary button locations.

  4. A summary is created based on the topics asked about.
    Example discussion summary.

How to Disable Discussion Summary in a Course

The Discussion Summary feature is enabled by default in all courses. However, instructors can disable it at any time from the course Settings. To disable:

  • Click on Settings in the course navigation.
  • Select the tab for Feature Options.
  • Find the row for Discussion Summary and click the green checkmark and select Disabled from the pop-up menu.
  • When disabled, the row for Discussion Summary will display a red X.

If you have any questions about the Discussion Summary feature in Canvas, please email canvas@northwestern.edu.