The Office of Academic Technology and the Learning Technology Adoption Process Team recommend the use of Ed Discussion, an online threaded discussion platform. Ed Discussion was selected because of its superior privacy protections, vendor transparency, advanced accessibility standards, and positive feedback from instructors who tested both Ed Discussion and Piazza discussion board platforms.

Billing, Training, and Support

Ed Discussion is not a free tool. Colleges, Schools or Units (including programs and departments) that elect to use Ed Discussion will be included in a centrally administered contract, and billed back by the Office of Academic Technology for their seat counts. The pricing for Ed Discussion is 3.16/seat for 2023-2024 and will be 4.00/seat for 2024-2026. The contract works on a seat estimate basis, and there is no charge for exceeding the seat estimate (and there is no refund for under enrollment).

The Office of Academic Technology will oversee the contract for any units electing to use Ed Discussion. This includes leading contract and pricing negotiations, procurement, vendor oversight, vendor engagement/trouble shooting, and other contract administration duties.

Training, technical assistance, and ongoing support for Ed Discussion, including Canvas Integrations will be provided by ITS. CSUs that have pre-engaged with the Office of Academic Technology to use Ed Discussion will have the tool automatically installed in Canvas for all courses in their units.

Interest in Ed Discussion

If you, your college, school, or unit is interested in using Ed Discussion, please complete this interest form, and feel free to forward this form to your department, chairs, program directors or other constituents who may be interested.