Broadcast Messages

Broadcast Messages provide a powerful way to communicate with all learners in your course without needing to republish or re-upload your content to your Learning Management System (LMS).

What are Broadcast Messages?

Broadcast Messages are announcements that appear to all learners when they access your course. They're ideal for:

• Communicating important updates or changes
• Announcing upcoming events or deadlines
• Providing clarification about course content
• Addressing frequently asked questions

Benefits of Broadcast Messages

• No Republishing Required: Update your message anytime without having to edit and republish your course content
• Immediate Delivery: Changes appear instantly to all learners upon their next session
• Course-Specific: Each course can have its own unique broadcast message
• Temporary Notices: Easily remove messages when they're no longer relevant

Setting Up a Broadcast Message

1. Navigate to the Courses section in your dashboard
2. Locate the course you want to add a message to
3. Click the megaphone icon in the "Broadcast Message" column
   • Gray icon: No message currently set
   • Green icon: Message already active
4. In the modal that appears, enter your message
5. Click Save

Your message will be immediately available to all learners who access the course.

Editing or Removing Messages

To edit or remove an existing message:

1. Click the megaphone icon for the course
2. Edit the text as needed (or delete it completely to remove the message)
3. Click Save

Best Practices

• Keep it Brief: Aim for 1-2 sentences that clearly communicate your message
• Be Specific: Make sure your message applies to all learners in the course
• Update Regularly: Remove outdated messages to avoid confusion
• Use Sparingly: Too many messages can lead to "alert fatigue" where learners ignore them

Example Messages

Here are some examples of effective broadcast messages:

• "The regulations for code of conduct mentioned in this course have been updated."
• "Please plan on attending our virtual Q&A session on Friday at 2 PM."
• "Module 3 will be available starting next Monday, September 15th."
• "Important correction: The formula on slide 24 should read X = Y + Z."
• "Reminder: Final assignments are due by the end of this week."

Technical Implementation

For developers and technical administrators:

• Broadcast messages are stored in the broadcast_message field in the courses table
• Messages are delivered to learners through the course tracking system
• The message is returned to the client as a variable named "course.broadcastMessage"
• Both Storyline and Captivate trackers receive this message in their API responses