Sending a message to students (Announcements / News)

Sally Hanford/Helen Whitehead
Learning Technology Section
Adobe Connect Training Course June 2013

Chris Walters
Biology
Microbiology (C41105)

Background (1: Adobe Connect course)

The Adobe Connect training course is entirely online. We wanted to inform all  participants about an  Adobe Connect event so that they could experience one before the course starts. Students (participants) were already enrolled.

What we did (1: Adobe Connect course)

We used the News Forum (often now called Announcements) via the Latest News block. We typed in a message which was sent by email to all students.

How it worked (1: Adobe Connect course)

• The email was sent FROM the Moodle system – and it will have the module code in the Subject.
• It went to some students after 30 minutes, and some at the end of the day. Editing teachers and students (participants) can re-read the message at any time by visiting the News Forum.
• The Sender’s personal email is in the REPLY TO field which means that students can respond by email directly to sender

How it was received by students (1: Adobe Connect course)

Students cannot turn off News Forum / Announcements

Users can edit their preferences in their profile settings to choose

• One email at a time OR
• Digest of all emails – once per day at around 5 pm  (can have just Subjects or full post content)

How to edit email preferences: In your profile

Individual emails look like this:

The Digest looks like this:

Why not use messaging participants? 

If they are online it also arrives by email

If they are OFFLINE it goes into their Messages folder and arrives by email.

Messaging Participants or News Forum?

• We don’t know how they will receive a message- a message is person-to-person not relating to a particular module.
• A message doesn’t have the context of the module so they might not realise that’s why they are getting it
• Students can turn off getting messages – but they can’t turn off News Forum emails
• News Forum posts are always there for them to refer back to

Background [2: Microbiology (C41105)]

The 11 am Microbiology lecture was unavoidably cancelled at short notice and we needed to let students know as soon as possible.

One way to contact students was to use the News Forum / Announcements but students may not have got that message in time (if they are set to Digest) 

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What we did [2: Microbiology (C41105)]

We used three routes for delivering this message:

1. Sent out a message via Announcements (Still useful, because that puts a message clearly in the Moodle space for the module)
2. Emailed all students via SATURN
3. The lecturer in the 10am class also made the announcement
   

Further information

• Powerpoint presentation (PDF version)

Moodle Help Guides

• How do I send messages to students?
• How to send students on your module an email
• I'd like to change the number of emails Moodle sends me

Webinar recording (Video)

•  The News Forum, Messaging and Communicating with Students