Today, we're looking again at the powerful tool, Intelligent Agents
We focused on this back in November, but because it has so much usefulness at the beginning of the semester (well, throughout, really) we're looking at it again. Intelligent Agents (IA) can be set up in Brightspace to send certain communications, automatically, to just those students who will benefit from them, according to criteria you've set.
For instance, during the first few weeks you might want to check in with students who haven't accessed the course for a few days. You can set up an IA that will run every couple of days, looking for students who have not logged in for specific timespan you've selected, say 3 days. It will automatically send an email, that you've composed, to those students who meet the criteria.
The example below shows how using Replace Strings personalizes these emails. Replace strings are codes that are replaced by actual data when the emails are sent. For example, the "InitiatingUserFirstName" will be replaced by the student's first name. (If we've lost you, don't be put off! They're easy to use and are conveniently provided on the IA page to copy/paste.)
Example with Replace Strings:
How the email appears to a student:
Another early-semester convenience of IAs is especially useful in a large class. During the add/drop period you can set up an IA to scan the classlist daily and send a welcome message out to newly enrolled students.
Other example uses:
Read Brightspace - Intelligent Agents, in the UVM Knowledge Base, or
Book a consult or stop by our virtual open hours (see below).
Center for Teaching & Learning
www.uvm.edu/ctl
ctl@uvm.edu
Book a consult with the CTL