A Topic holds one prompt inside a Space, such as a weekly discussion, unit reflection, oral defense, or open Q&A. Students post video responses under the Topic, and you can review new posts before classmates see them.
If you do not have a Space yet, start with Create Your First Space.
Open your Space
Open your course Space. New Spaces include a General Topic, which you can keep for questions or other discussion. Add separate Topics for weekly prompts and assignments.
Only space owners and admins can add Topics.
Open Add Topic
On the Space page, open the ⋯ menu next to the Space name (Space options) and choose Add topic.
Fill in the Add Topic form
Fill in the prompt and choose its settings:
| Field | What to enter |
|---|---|
| Topic Title | A clear prompt students will recognize (for example, “Week 3: Explain a research method”). |
| Description | Optional guidance: length, what to cover, or how you will use the responses. |
| Require approval for new posts to show up | When on, new posts stay pending until an admin publishes them. |
| Enable comments for this topic | Turns on comments, @mentions, and timestamped feedback under posts. Free on every plan. |
| Enable captions for this topic | Adds a CC button to every video in the Topic. Part of Vivipod Plus for the account that owns the Space; the switch shows a lock until the owner upgrades. |
Turn on approval if you want to review responses before classmates see them. The General Topic starts with approval on. Other new Topics start with approval off, so check this setting before sharing the assignment.
Choose Create Topic when the fields look right.
What you see after creating a Topic
The new Topic appears on the Space page, usually above existing Topics. It shows the title, description, a Moderated badge when approval is required, and an empty post area ready for the first recording.
From here you can:
- Use Create a post to model the first response yourself
- Share the Space link so students land on the full Space (and can open the Topic)
- Edit the Topic later from its ⋯ menu if you need to change the prompt or settings
Moderation, comments, and captions (quick reference)
- Require approval: New posts wait in Pending until a Space admin publishes them. Students can see their own pending Posts.
- Comments: Written replies under a post, with @mentions and timestamps. Free on every plan; see Comments, Mentions, and Feedback.
- Captions: A CC button on every video in the Topic. The first Space member to press it generates the captions in about ten seconds; everyone after that sees them right away. Requires Vivipod Plus on the Space owner's account. See Vivipod Plus, captions, and comments.
Next steps
Once you have a Topic, continue with Record and Upload Your First Post. For design ideas for oral explanations and assessment prompts, see the guides on the Learn hub.