About Anonymous Discussions

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Participants in an anonymous discussion are not able to view the real usernames or avatars of other participants. Instead, all participants are assigned a randomized “color and animal” username & avatar combination, such as “Purple Butterfly”.
Discussion admins are able to view the “real” usernames of all participants in the discussion (see here).
Participants in an anonymous discussion are informed of their newly assigned username upon entering the discussion for the first time.
Once a discussion is anonymized, it cannot be reverted back to a standard discussion.
Students can theoretically work out the identity of another participants, such as if they reveal any personally identifiable information a comment or in the discussion chat.

Tip: You may wish to remind students that as discussion Admins, teachers/educators are able to view the real usernames of all participants.

How to Anonymize an Existing Discussion

Note: Only discussion Admins can anonymize a discussion.

Reminder: Standard Participation discussions can be converted to Anonymous Participation discussions, however this change cannot be reverted.

To anonymize an existing discussion:

Click the ≡ (three horizontal lines) button in the top-left of the discussion.
Open the Discussion Settings.
Scroll down to the Anonymous Participation section and click Change Participation Type.
Select Anonymous Participation, then click Save.

To anonymize a new discussion, select the relevant option while creating a discussion.

Note: Only discussion Admins are able to view the real usernames of users in an anonymous discussion.

To view the real usernames of participants in an anonymous discussion:

Click the ≡ (three horizontal lines) button in the top-left of the discussion.
Open the Discussion Settings.
Scroll down to the Anonymous Participation section and click List Deanonymized Users.