Adding Discussions To Your Course in TekMatix Using Disqus

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In-lesson discussions are a great way to elevate student engagement.

While TekMatix does have in-lesson Comments that can be enabled on a per module (category) or per lesson basis, right now there are no Admin notifications for Comments.

Now, while you could go in and monitor comments on your courses daily, this just isn’t feasible for most – enter Disqus.

Disqus has not, historically, been my favourite tool, however it’s definitely a tool that can be used in this case.

You’ll want to pay to upgrade so that the ads are removed from the in-lesson discussions, configure it, then install the discussions in different lessons and different courses correctly – because TekMatix is a relatively new platform and it’s not an option to integrate natively.

Want to enable in-lesson discussions for your courses on TekMatix with Disqus so that you can engage with your students?

Save yourself HOURS of time and follow these step-by-step instructions to set it up.

STEP 1

Create a profile on Disqus if you don’t yet have one. If you already have one, login.

STEP 2

On the next screen, click on I want to install Disqus on my site.

STEP 3

On this screen:

• Website Name = name of the course you want to enable discussions in
• Category = choose the best match

Then click Create Site.

STEP 4

Now you need to select a plan. Originally I went with Basic (free) to test it out, but after discovering that various ads were displayed in my forum/chat box, I decided to upgrade to Plus in order to remove ads. For $11 / month (paid annually) this was definitely worth it as I don’t want my students viewing ads inside my course.

STEP 5

At this point you’re going to be prompted to install install Disqus on your TekMatix site, but before you do that you’ll want to configure it, so click on Configure Disqus.

Website Name = your course name
Website URL = the domain where your course lives (go into course > preview to find the domain)
Comment Policy URL = add the URL to your Comment Policy page (optional)
Comment Policy Summary = shows on the widget when installed
Category = choose the best match
Description = chat description; shows on the widget when installed
Color Scheme & Typeface = choose from limited options on Plus plan. May have additional options on higher Disqus plans.

STEP 6

Now click on SETTINGS at the top of the page.

Go through each of the Settings and configure based on your preferences.

Note: you will likely have to return to edit some of the configurations once installed and you see it live.

STEP 7

Time to install!

1. Click on Installation > I don’t see my platform listed
2. Copy the code here by clicking on COPY

3. In TekMatix, Sites and Courses > Memberships and Courses > Products > click on the course you want to add the discussion to > Details > scroll down and click on Advanced

4. Paste the code you copied into the Tracking Code > Footer Code section.

5. Where it shows this.page.url = PAGE_URL replace PAGE_URL with the page (lesson URL).

To get the lesson URL you’ll need to manually enroll yourself in the course as a student, go into the lesson when you’re logged in as a student, and copy the URL from the browser bar.

Example from my page, once I replaced the PAGE_URL with the lesson URL:

6. Where it shows this.page.identifier = PAGE_IDENTIFIER replace PAGE_IDENTIFIER with your own.

To get your page identifier go to your Disqus account > choose your Site > copy the Shortname.

Example from my code, once I replaced the PAGE_IDENTIFIER with my own:

You need both the page url and the page identifier if you don’t want duplicate threads in different lessons or courses.

7. Go back to the Disqus installation instructions and scroll down the page. Copy the script id code.

8. Paste this into the Custom JS section in TekMatix (just above where you pasted the Footer Code).

9. In the Custom CSS section of TekMatix, add:

#disqus_thread {
padding: 50px;
}

This CSS will prevent the Disqus forum from running over the edge of your lesson page.

10. Scroll down the Tekmatix page and SAVE.

11. Open your online school and login to your student test account. Go to the lesson in the course where you installed the Disqus forum to view. You will have to verify your email account with Disqus before posting the first time as a test student.

You can also login with your Disqus admin account and get the party started!

12. Adjust your Disqus settings in your Disqus admin dashboard if needed. No need to change the code you entered in TekMatix after adjusting your settings in Disqus.

Repeat for all lessons you want to add discussions with Disqus to.

Need some help getting your TekMatix account set up properly, creating funnels and automations, or setting up your courses?

The TekMatix team can help!