Post Announcement
The Announcements forum is a special forum for general news and announcements. This forum is automatically created in a new module. By default, it is placed at the top of the central section, and only lecturers and tutors can post in it. Everyone in the module can read the postings, and the news is automatically emailed to them. Hence, it’s a good tool for making general announcements and sending reminders to students about upcoming module updates. The only drawback of this approach is that the lecturer should remember to post the announcement in the Announcements forum; it does not happen automatically.
Suggestions for when to use the "Announcements" forum
Welcome and Introduction: At the beginning of the semester, use an announcement titled "Welcome to [Module Name]" to introduce yourself as the lecturer and provide an overview of the module structure and expectations.
Module Updates: Use the "Announcement" forum to inform students about any updates or changes to the module schedule, assignments, or materials.
Emergency Information: In case of emergencies or unexpected situations, the "Announcement" forum is a vital tool for quickly sharing important information with students, such as last-minute class cancellation.
Upcoming Events: Notify students about upcoming events, such as guest lectures, webinars, or workshops, by creating an announcement with a title like "Upcoming Guest Speaker - Mark Your Calendars!"
Feedback and Surveys: Encourage student feedback and participation by posting announcements about Teaching and Engagement (TES) surveys.
Post to the Announcements forum
- Go to the module.
- Click on the Announcements then click Add discussion topic.
- Type in the Subject and your Message.
- Click Advanced.
- Check Pinned if you would like to pin your announcement to the top of the forum.
- Check Send forum post notifications with no editing-time delay if you want to post to the mail queue immediately, otherwise it will be added in 30 minutes, allowing you to edit the message before it is added to the mail queue.
- Enter the Display Period to specify when the announcement will be visible to students and when it will automatically be hidden.
- Click Post to forum when you are ready to post.
- If you have added the Latest announcements block, the subject line of the new post will appear in the block once the post is processed.
Latest Announcements Block
Lecturer can enable the "Latest announcements" block in the module to ensure that the students receive timely and relevant information. When lecturers make announcements, the messages appear in the block, so students can quickly see any new updates or changes to the module. Please refer to Managing Blocks in course for how to add "Latest Announcement Block" to your module.
Send Content Change Notification
When creating a new resource or activity, check 'Send content change notification' to automatically alert students. This ensures they stay informed about new module content and activities.
Note: To receive the notification, course content change notifications should be enabled in student notification preferences, and they need to be able to access the activity.
- Click Add an activity or resource
- Choose an activity, e.g. Assignment.
- The Assignment page will be displayed.
- Fill in all the necessary information.
- Scroll down to the bottom and check 'Send content change notification' then click Save and return to course or Save and display.
