Can each of my courses have its own discussion room?
Yes. Today you do it with a tag: give the course’s students a tag in your contacts, and the course’s room follows that tag. Filling a room straight from course enrolments is not built yet, so for now the tag is how students get in.
The prompt
“Open a room in my forum for the [course] students, kept to people tagged [tag].”
Signed in, Get my prompt fills in your site for you. Otherwise press Copy and fill in the [bracketed] parts. First time? Connect your AI to bernard once: Use your own AI (opens in a new tab).
Setting up a room for a course
- Tag the students. Give everyone on the course the same tag. The room’s name works well, for example “Wide Open Landscapes 2026 Discussion”.
- Ask for the room. “Open a room for the Autumn Skies course, kept to people tagged Autumn Skies.” Bernard links the tag to a new group named after the room, shows you how many students carry it, and on your yes creates the room kept to that group.
- Check. Ask who can see the room. Other members, and students of other courses, do not see it at all.
A room is never left open while it is being set up: Bernard creates it already kept to its group.
Students who are not in the forum yet
Tagged students who have never been let into the forum need letting in once. Bernard can do that for the whole tag at once, quietly or with a sign-in email: see How do I let my whole member list into the forum at once?.
When the course ends
Keep the room as an archive, or hide it: hiding a room keeps every post, and it can be brought back. Deleting a room removes its posts for good, so Bernard only does that on your clear word. See How do I add, rename or tidy the areas in my forum?.
The general steps for any private room are in How do I give my subscribers their own private area?.
Questions people ask
- Does the room fill itself from course enrolments?
- Not yet. Today you tag the students, and the room follows the tag. Filling a room straight from enrolments is planned, and the room will not need setting up again when it arrives.
- Can the new room work like an existing course room?
- Yes. Ask for it to be set up like the other room. The new room gets its own group and its own tag, so each course’s students see only their own room.
- Does Bernard ask before creating the room?
- Yes. Bernard shows you the room’s name, who will be able to see it and how many students carry the tag, and acts only after your approval.