Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

Option 1: Create an announcements item

• Follow these directions to learn how to create an announcements item

Note:

• You can use a replace strings and add it to the text field or HTML editor area inside D2l of the Announcements tool (like in the Headline or Content). Then later when someone views your Announcement, D2l will replace the strings with the appropriate information about that viewer.
  • Replace string: {FirstName} will display the viewer’s first name
  • Replace string: {LastName} will display the viewer’s last name
  • Replace string: {UserName} will display the viewer’s username in D2l
  • Replace string: {ExternalEmail} will display the viewer’s email address
  • Replace string: {RoleName} will display the viewer’s role in your course

  For example: In the Headline, we add {RoleName} and in the Content, we add {FirstName}
  
  When a student views this announcement, the Headline will show Student and the Content will show the student’s first name
  

• Save as Draft saves the announcement for future editing and not visible for students. Publish will release the announcement on the Course Home and is visible to students

Video Tutorials:

• how to create an announcements item
• how to make a regular announcements

Option 2: Edit an existing announcement

Note: When editing an announcement, you can choose to check the box for Major Edit – send a notification and restore it for those who dismissed it, right below the Content of the announcement (where you write your message). This allows your announcement to be treated as new, will be visible to those who previously dismissed this announcement and also send a notification to your students

1. Click on the Course Home link from the course navbar
2. Find the announcement:
   • If you see the announcement that you want to update available on the page, click on the drop down arrow next to the announcement’s title and select Edit.
   • If you don’t see it listed on the Course Homepage, click on the drop down arrow next to the Announcements and select Go to Announcements Tool. Once you find the announcement you want to update, click on the drop down arrow next to the announcement’s title and choose Edit.
     
3. Make your changes and click on the Update button
   

Option 3: Reorder announcements

1. Click on the Course Home link from the course navbar
2. Click on the drop down arrow next to Announcements and select Reorder Announcements
   
3. Use the Sort Order drop down list to select order you’d like each announcement to appear. Other items will automatically reposition themselves according to the new order
   
4. Click on the Save button

Option 4: Dismiss an announcement & restore dismissed announcement

Dismiss option is a personal setting to remove an announcement from the Announcements list because you do not want to see it anymore. When you dismiss an announcement on your course, it doesn’t mean it will remove it for your students. If you want to not make it visible for the students, you can either delete the announcement or set an end date.

Option 5: Delete an announcement & restore deleted announcement

Video tutorial:

• How to delete and restore Announcements

Option 6: Copy an Announcement Using “Copy to Other Courses” from the Action Menu

After selecting Announcements from the navbar’s Course Menu, find the announcement you want to copy, click on the downward-facing caret to the right of its name, and do the following:

 

1. Select “Copy to Other Courses” from the action menu and search for courses from the Choose Destinations box.
2. Choose the destination course(s). In the Copy to Other Courses dialog box, a list of your available courses will appear. Check the box next to the course(s) where you want to copy the announcement. (And to refine your search by semester, select Search by Semester in the right-hand corner.) Review your selected course(s) to ensure accuracy.
3. Select Next. You can also click on “Publish Announcement on Copy,” if this suits your workflow.
   
4. On the next screen, click Copy Announcement and Done after you see “Copy Complete.”
5. Verify the Announcement in the Target Course(s). Navigate to the course shell(s) where you copied the announcement, go to the “Announcements” tool to confirm the announcement has been successfully copied, and edit the announcement in the new course if necessary (e.g., update start and end dates, links, or course-specific details).

 

1. Log In and Access the Course with the Announcement
   • Log into your D2L Brightspace account.
   • Navigate to the course shell that contains the announcement you want to copy.
2. Navigate to the Announcements Tool
   • Click on “Course Tools” in the navigation bar.
   • Select “Announcements” from the dropdown menu.
3. Locate the Announcement
   • Find the announcement you want to copy.
4. Access the Announcement Options
   • Click the dropdown menu (three dots or down arrow) next to the announcement title.
   • Select “Copy to Other Courses” from the menu.
5. Choose the Destination Course(s)
   • In the Copy to Other Courses dialog box, a list of your available courses will appear.
   • Check the box next to the course(s) where you want to copy the announcement.
   • If you have many courses, use the search bar to find specific courses.
6. Confirm and Copy
   • Review your selected course(s) to ensure accuracy.
   • Click “Copy” to initiate the process.
7. Verify the Announcement in the Target Course(s)
   • Navigate to the course shell(s) where you copied the announcement.
   • Go to the “Announcements” tool to confirm the announcement has been successfully copied.
   • Edit the announcement in the new course if necessary (e.g., update dates, links, or course-specific details).

Option 1: Sign-up to an Announcements notifications

1. Click on the Course Home link from the course navbar
2. Click on the drop down arrow for Announcements and select Notifications
   
3. Under Instant Notifications section, check the boxes for both Announcements – announcement updated and Announcements – new announcement available
   Note: check the boxes for SMS if you register your mobile phone number at the top to receive messages from the phone
   
4. Click on the Save button

Video Tutorial:

• How to manage Notifications

Option 2: Course Update Alerts

1. When there’s new updates for the courses that are active and you have access to, you will see an update alerts shows up on the top right corner next to your name, indicated by an orange dot on the bell icon
   
2. Click on the new update alerts icon to display what new updates are available for your courses
   
3. Click on each update item and it will take you right to it