Add a Topic to Your Space

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.

Prefer to watch first? This three-minute video adds a Topic to a class Space: writing the prompt, choosing approval, recording length, comments, video reactions, and captions, then sharing the Topic's own link. It predates the + Topic button, the current form labels, and the discussion window, so follow the written steps below where they differ.

Watch · 3 min

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, select + Topic beside Members, next to the Space name. On a phone the button shows just +.

The same form is also in the ⋯ menu beside the Space name (Space options), as Add topic.

Fill in the Add Topic form

Fill in the prompt and choose its settings:

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.

Schedule when the Topic opens and closes (optional)

A Topic is open as soon as you create it and never closes. To run it on a schedule, set a Discussion window: for example, open a prompt on Monday morning and close it at the end of the following Sunday.

1. Select the Discussion window field (it reads Always open).
2. Select the day the Topic opens, then the day it closes.
3. Adjust the time under Opens and Closes if needed. A Topic opens at 9:00 AM and closes at 11:59 PM unless you change them, so by default it stays open through the whole closing day.
4. Choose Done. The field now shows when the Topic opens and closes.

Either end can stay empty. If you select only an opening day, the Topic opens then and never closes. For a one-day discussion, select the same day twice. To keep only a closing time, use the × beside Opens. Clear removes the window, so the Topic is always open again. The Topic must close after it opens. You can choose dates in the past, for example to close a Topic that has already run. To change the window later, edit the Topic from its ⋯ menu.

Times are set in your own timezone, and every viewer sees them in theirs.

What students see outside the window

Outside its window the Topic stays on the Space page with its prompt and any posts, but it is locked:

• A lock badge next to the title says when it opens or when it closed.
• Members cannot add posts, comments, or video reactions. The add-post button is hidden, and an empty Topic shows Not open yet or This topic has closed.
• The lock lifts at the opening time without a page reload.
• If a Topic closes while a student is recording, the recorder tells them, and the finished video is saved to their library instead of posted.

Space owners and admins can still post and comment while a Topic is locked, for example to record the prompt video before the Topic opens. An empty locked Topic offers you Post as admin. Members see your post but cannot add their own until the Topic opens.

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, a lock badge while it is outside its discussion window, 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 Topic's own link so students land on this prompt (see below)
• Edit the Topic later from its ⋯ menu if you need to change the prompt or settings

Open the Topic's page and share its link

Every Topic has its own page. Select the Topic's title on the Space page to open it. The page leads with the prompt and shows all of its posts in a grid that keeps loading as you scroll. The Space name above the title links back to the rest of the Space.

To send students straight to this Topic, copy its link in either of two ways:

• On the Topic page, select the copy icon beside the Space path (Copy topic link).
• On the Space page, open the Topic's ⋯ menu and choose Share.

Paste the link into an LMS announcement, a module page, or the week's email. The Space's access settings still apply: in a Private Space, people who aren't members must request access first.

Moderation, comments, windows, 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.
• Video reactions: Members can reply to a post with a video recorded beside the original. Space owners and admins can react in any Topic and can send a reaction privately as feedback. See React with a Video.
• Discussion window: When the Topic opens and closes. Outside it, members can browse but not post or comment; Space owners and admins still can. See Schedule when the Topic opens and closes above.
• 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.