Piazza

Getting Started with Piazza

Piazza is a web application used for question-and-answer discussions on assignments or other course topics. It is an external application that can be integrated with Canvas.

Piazza data is stored on servers outside of Canada therefore it is not FIPPA compliant. To protect your identity, UBC obfuscates personal data when accessing Piazza. Students are asked to use an alternate email and pseudonym on the system to protect their privacy.

This guide covers the following topics:

Add Piazza to your Course Menu
Create a course in Piazza
Manage the Piazza Course Settings

I. Add Piazza to your Course Menu
II. Create a course in Piazza
III. Manage Piazza Course settings

Add Piazza to your Course Menu

In your course menu, click Settings.
At the top of the Settings page, click the Navigation tab
Scroll down to the bottom list; at the right of Piazza, click the three dots and select Enable.
When finished, scroll down and click Save. Piazza now lists in the course menu.

Create a course in Piazza

In your course menu, click Piazza.
A new web browser tab will open in Piazza displaying a partially filled course creation form (filled with data transferred from Canvas). Enter the approximate enrollment, and check that the details are accurate.
Click Create New Piazza Class.
A Configure your Class page opens. Most settings can be configured later by accessing Manage Course. Scroll to bottom of the page and click Finish Setup and Continue to Class Q & A.
If this is your first time using Piazza, your class home page will open with a tutorial overlay. Take note of the key features for postings, and where to edit your account settings. Click anywhere on the page to dismiss the tutorial.
To learn more about Piazza features, at top right, click the gear, and in the dropdown menu, click Support.

Manage Piazza Course settings

When you have a better idea about the number of discussion topics and your desired Piazza features, access Manage Class in the Piazza toolbar.

In the Piazza course top menu, click Manage Class.
A grey menu across the top of the page provides quick access to the settings sections. In the General Settings section, check that the class information is correct. If you make any changes to the Class Information, click Save Changes.
In the Q&A Settings section, you can disable most options at first, then enable them later as needed for your discussion activities. The CTL recommends the following settings:
1. Disable Posting Anonymously (so instructors can see which student posted)
2. Enable Private Posts
3. Enable Student Polls
4. Enable Instructor Tagging
5. Enable Duplicate Post Suggestions
6. If you made any changes in the Q&A settings section, click on Save Changes
1. In the Manage Folders section, your folders are listed. The folders are the topics of discussion; these could be assignments, projects, or weekly lectures etc. Sometimes a discussion topic or assignment has several parts which may be represented by subfolders.
2. In the Manage Enrollment section, you can enroll professors/TAs or students. Instructors and TAs have the same access and administration capabilities in Piazza, so be aware that your TAs or other instructors will be able to change the settings or enroll/un-enroll other instructors, TAs, or students. Students can enroll in the class through the Canvas link, or you can add them by pasting student email addresses into the Enroll Students section.
3. In the Create Groups section, Enable Group Based Discussion by creating groups from a CSV file or manually entering the groups.
4. The settings within the Customize Course Page section should be left at their defaults.
5. In the Piazza Network Settings section, the CTL recommends that you disable the Top Student badge to maintain student privacy. Click Save Changes.

To learn more about Piazza, contact ctl.helpdesk@ubc.ca.

UBC Okanagan Centre for Teaching and Learning Piazza Directory

Updated July 2021