Announcements
Announcements
Embedded Files
Announcements are located on the homepage of each Brightspace classroom and are used to engage students and update them about the course.
Table of Contents:
Table of Contents:
Access the Announcements Tool
Access the Announcements Tool
Click on the dropdown menu next to Announcements on the course homepage to reveal the following:
Announcements Tool
New Announcement
Reorder Announcements
Notifications
Collapse Widget
Create a new announcement directly from the dropdown or by using the Announcements tool via Go to the Announcements tool.
Announcements Tool Features
Announcements Tool Features
Create New Announcement button
More Actions button, which includes
Reorder
Notifications
Restore
Delete
Slim Announcements Feature
Slim Announcements Feature
Brightspace Slim Announcements allows for a more streamlined appearance on the course homepage. View the video comparison from D2L to see the key differences and features.
Create an Announcement
Create an Announcement
To create a new announcement, select either
New Announcement
Go to Announcements Tool
From the dropdown menu next to Announcements on the course homepage.
In the Announcement dialogue box, complete the following:
Headline*
Content*
Availability
If the 'Always show start date' box is unchecked, the announcement start date will not be visible to students.
Fill in a future start date and time, or select Now.
Check the box for 'End Date' to remove the announcement based on an end date.
Attachments
Select the 'Add a File' button to attach a file.
When adding attachments, PDF and MS Word are recommended.
Use alternative text to maintain ADA compliance. When adding a graphic, you will be given an option:
Provide alternative text for the image. This text should convey the same information as the image.
If this image does not convey any information, select "this image is decorative"
Use files saved on your local hard drive.
Be aware that each attachment is coded for your particular class and will only be accessible to users enrolled in that class section.
Attachment links in announcements or feedback cannot be copied and pasted from one section to another.
Additional Release Conditions
Release conditions provide an extra element of engagement with students. As an example, if availability dates are set to the last 3 days of Unit 1, all students who meet the criteria of having no threads or replies authored in the Unit 1 Discussion area would have this announcement available on their classroom homepage, encouraging them to participate in the discussion before the unit ends. Those who have been participating and do not meet the selected conditions will not see the announcement.
Set Additional Release Conditions
Set Additional Release Conditions
Click Create and Attach.
Select a condition type.
Depending on the option selected for type, further drop downs will display with condition details. The condition details selected will determine under which conditions the announcement should show for each individual student.
You will have the option to publish your announcement, save it as a Draft or cancel to leave the page without saving. Once all selections are made, click the blue Publish button. Once the conditions have been set and the announcement is published, the content of the announcement will be visible to all students who meet the selected conditional criteria during the period you have established.
You can personalize these announcements by adding {FirstName} to the post. This will fill the student’s name in the announcement. Preview by selecting the preview feature. Remember, using {FirstName} is unique to each user, so when you preview the announcement, it will include your name.
Best Practice for Adding Links to Announcements
Best Practice for Adding Links to Announcements
Background: With the slim announcement widget, there has been an increase in support cases where instructors and students have to vertically scroll within the widget or the “Read More” link is cut off. The issue has been attributed to long URL links being added improperly to an announcement.
When adding external links to an announcement, it is best practice to use either Insert Stuff > Insert Link or Insert Quicklink > URL. Additionally, adding the descriptive text helps the readers know where a link is directing them and is also required for accessibility.
Insert Stuff
Insert Stuff
In the text editor, select Insert Stuff.
In the window that appears, scroll down and select Insert Link.
Enter the link you wish to use in the URL field and click next.
Then enter the text you would like displayed in the Link Text field.
Clicking “Refresh Preview” will give a preview of the URL once all the information has been entered.
The back button can be used to edit the URL if that needs to be changed.
The Insert button will place the URL into the editor.
Kaltura Note: Please use the Insert Stuff option to add Kaltura videos to Announcements. Detailed instructions can be found at Adding Kaltura Videos to Discussion Board Posts or Announcements.
Insert Quicklink
Insert Quicklink
In the text editor, select Insert Quicklink.
In the window that appears, scroll down and select Url.
Enter the URL in the URL field and the text that you would like displayed in the Title field.
Ensuring Images in Announcements Are ADA Compliant
Ensuring Images in Announcements Are ADA Compliant
NOTE: Anything posted within the classroom should be accessible to screen readers. Screen readers cannot read a JPEG or image of any kind. Please avoid scanning documents and sharing them as images. PDF and Word documents are recommended.
Tip: Avoid using vector images or graphics. The recommended and supported file types for images include jpeg or png files.
Adding Images to Announcements
Adding Images to Announcements
When creating a new announcement, add the required headline and content information.
Within the content dialogue box, click the camera icon.
Locate the image. Always use images stored on your computer’s local hard drive.
After locating the image on your computer’s hard drive, select Upload.
The file name will display. Click Add.
Images should be used sparingly and for decorative purposes only. Content should not be added to images (including PowerPoint slides) as it cannot be picked up on a screen reader. To add decorative images, ensure that descriptive text is included for ADA compliance.
The Center for Disability Services (CDS) can provide additional information on accessibility.
Tel: 317-208-1686
Email: cds@purdueglobal.edu
Fax: 866-422-4773 (Toll Free)
TTY: TTY users may dial 711 from their TTY phone, at no charge, to be connected with a Telecommunications Relay Services (TRS) operator who will assist with the call. For more information regarding 711, visit the FCC Telecommunications Relay Services (TRS) page.
Copy Announcements to Other Courses
Copy Announcements to Other Courses
This feature adds the ability for a faculty member to copy an existing announcement from one course to other courses.
Faculty must be enrolled in both the source and destination courses.
A single announcement can be copied to multiple course offerings.
Users can copy announcements from the Announcements tool or the Announcements widget from the context menu of an announcement by selecting Copy to Other Courses.
Once copied to the destination, the announcement is in a draft state.
Faculty must review copied announcements for any date and content updates needed in the destination course.
Faculty must publish the copied announcement in the destination course to complete the copying process.
The following attributes are copied:
Headline
Display Author Information
Content
The copied Content attribute includes any associated files, such as inserted images.
This does not include Kaltura videos. To ensure Kaltura videos display appropriately for students, the video must be re-added to the announcement in the destination course.
Attachments
Attachments include any file added using the Insert Stuff option, such as documents, presentations, PDFs, etc.
Pin state
Note: Release conditions are not copied.
To Copy an Announcement to Other Courses:
To Copy an Announcement to Other Courses:
From the course homepage, navigate to the Announcements widget and select Show All Announcements.
For the announcement that needs to be copied, click the arrow to the right of the Announcement title.
Select Copy to Other Courses.
In the search, type the name of the course the Announcement will be copied to.
From the list of destination courses, select the checkbox next to each course that the Announcement will be copied to.
Click the Next button.
Confirm the correct course has been selected, and click the Copy button.
When the announcement is successfully copied over, Copy Complete will show in the progress window.
You may now select Done to close out the Copy Announcement window.
More Actions Menu
More Actions Menu
Reorder
Reorder
After selecting Reorder, you'll see a listing of all announcements by title, start date, end date (if specified), and the sort order.
Go to the Sort Order column and renumber in the desired order.
Click the blue Save button.
Note: Check with your Academic Leadership Team for specific expectations for announcements.
Notifications
Notifications
Notifications control how you receive notifications about activity in your courses.
Summary of Activity
You can receive a periodic summary of activity or receive instant notifications. Set to Never or Daily at a specific time.
Subscription Options
Check the box(es) next to one or more areas. Options that will assist in managing your work and may increase your response time include subscriptions to:
Activity Feed
new comments from others on a post
new posts created by others
Discussions
new post in a forum, topic, or thread subscribed to in instant notifications
Customize Notifications and Exclude Courses
Options are available to customize your notifications and exclude some courses from the subscription settings.
Restore
Restore
This feature allows you to restore any announcements that were previously deleted. Check the box for which announcement to restore. Click the blue Restore button.
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