Tip #5.4 Post Announcement

Any information you put in this function will show up on the Home Page.  That means all classmates that sign in will see it when they come into the system, first item at the top of the page.  Can't miss it.  This is different from the other communication options in that this shows up for everyone that signs in. Using Post Announcement is probably the most effective way to make sure most classmates see what you are announcing.

When you post an Announcement, the Announcement should give just the general message you want to announce; just get people's attention.  Then refer classmates to What's New, Message Forum, or Message Center for further information and details that will probably lead to some back and forth interactive communication.  

You can click on the tab "Post Announcement" and it will take you to the "Announcements" page.  

  1. To create a new Announcement, click on "+Create New Announcement".
  2. Key in short name so you know this announcement is yours.
  3. Start Date - the date you want this to show on "Home Page".
  4. Expiration Date - the date you want this to stop showing on "Home Page".
  5. Go to box under "Styles" and click on the open white space.
  6. You can now key in your announcement, you can also bring in photos, do text editing, change fonts, colors, pretty much an open pallet.
  7. If you are expecting responses back, maybe setting up a picnic, luncheon, etc., be sure to provide your contact information in this announcement. 
    • You want those responding to communicate directly with you, and not to use the "Contact Us" feature.
    • The Administrators are not creating this announcement so you want them to communicate directly with you.
    • Make sure you save your changes often, you can come back to "Post Announcement", look for your short name you put in and then click on edit to continue building your announcement.
    • This is your working draft, you can add, edit, save, return, make more changes and no one will see it until you are ready to make it go live.
    • Critical:  Before you leave this screen, you must click on the "SAVE CHANGES" box, otherwise you leave and everything you have done since your last save is lost and you will have to rekey it.
  8. To preview, hover your mouse over the announcement (the short name you put in) click on the "Preview Only" box, it will bring up what you have entered, shows you what it will look like when it is activated, this is the way you can development your announcement, like a draft that no one can see, until you activate it so that it shows up for everyone to see.
  9. To Edit, change, add, delete, click on the "Edit" box and it will take you to the announcement, and it also is feature rich in editing, then add, change, modify, etc.
  10. You cannot select the classmates, this will be shown to all, so if you want to only include specific names of classmates this is not the feature you should pick.
  11. Classmates can see, but cannot respond to this announcement, that is why it is critical for you to let them know in your announcement how to contact you..
    • Classmates have the option under "Member Functions", tab "Notify Me" to tell the system when a new announcement is posted in the Post Announcement section they can tell the system to notify them immediately, once daily or never, just so you know.
  12. Critical:  Please do not view, click on or edit, or view the other announcements you see, if you click on them, you could very well activate them and cause consternation and confusion.
  13. You can come back into the system, go to your announcement and edit, update as you develop the overall plan or post who will be attending.
  14. IMPORTANT:  When you want your announcement to become active, the "Start Date" controls when it will show and the "Expiration Date" will cause the announcement to no longer show.