Within a Canvas course you can use discussion boards to create a space where students can communicate around a theme, topic or question. Discussion boards allow students enrolled on that course to engage by posting and viewing comments and replies.
However, if you would like to provide a shared space for communication and collaboration between students enrolled on different Canvas courses, at different cohort levels, or for interprofessional learning, then Microsoft Teams can provide this option.
MS Teams allows students to chat, share files, and create impromptu and scheduled online meetings, and can also facilitate external guests.
You can request a new team from the IT services at their Creating a New Team page and it should be ready to use within the hour.
More details on Teams can be found at the Getting Started with Microsoft Teams at LJMU.
If you would like to discuss any of this with the TEL team, please raise a helpdesk ticket at helpme.ljmu.ac.uk.