The LearningCart Sidebar
Overview
The LearningCart Sidebar was developed to provide you with an environment to build community and nurture relationships. This messaging platform allows administrators, instructors and users to create discussions based on various criteria, targeting information for the end user and creating another touch point for continued learning.
This video shows you an overview of the LearningCart Sidebar for the admin:
Sidebar can be broken down into three main parts: Boards, Discussions, Comments.
Boards
Boards are the outer layer of the LearningCart Sidebar. Boards can be made available to everyone, members within a specified group, or users with access to a specific course. Within a board, you can have multiple discussions. Board settings allow you to dictate if a user is restricted to ‘read only’, has the ability to post, or has the ability to post and attach files.
To create a new board, navigate to website -> Message Boards -> Add Board. Enter the board Title as it will appear to the end user and set permissions. Select the audience for this board:
- Everyone: available to all users on your platform.
- Users with Access to a Course: all users with access to a specified course.
- Members of a Group: all users with membership to a select group within the platform.
Note: The audience of a board cannot be changed once a board has been created.
Finally, you can add information to the board for the end user to see via the Board Description container. This will show once a user has clicked into the board just above the list of discussions within that board.
To delete a board, navigate to website -> Message Boards -> locate the board you need to delete and click ‘delete’.
Discussions
Discussions are the second level of the LearningCart Sidebar. Housed within a board, a discussion can be created by an administrator or a user if permissions allow.
To create a new discussion from the admin, navigate to website -> Message Boards -> locate the board that this discussion will be associated with and select ‘Discussions’ -> Add Discussion. Enter the discussion Title as it will appear to the end user. Select the audience for this discussion:
- Everyone with Access to the Parent Board: available to all users on your platform.
- Users with Access to a Course: all users with access to a specified course.
- Members of a Group: all users with membership to a select group within the platform.
Note: The audience of a board cannot be changed once a board has been created.
Next you will set the customer permissions. These permissions will apply to all users on the front-end including instructors.
- Read Only: Customers will be able to read discussions and engage through ‘likes’.
- Post: Allows Customers to comment and reply on an existing discussion or create new discussion within the board.
- Post and Attach Files: Allows Customers to attach files to comments and new discussions created within the board.
Finally, you can add the discussion content for the end user to see via the Discussion Description container.
To create a new discussion as a customer, customers will click into the board they want to add a discussion to then click the ‘plus’ sign in the upper right-hand corner of the screen.
They will be brought to a screen that allows them to add a title, format a message and then click ‘add discussion’ when complete. This discussion will show in the discussion list for the board and will be available to everyone with access to the board. Note that customer-added discussions inherit the permissions of the board. If a board allows customers to post and attach files, the new customer-added discussion will also allow users to post comments and attach files. If the Board is only available to a specific group, the new customer-added discussion will only be available to that specific group.
To create a session-specific discussion, an admin will want to specify that the discussion (and/or board) is available to users with access to a course. The admin will then select the course and be given the option to use a single discussion for all sessions, or have the system create a discussion for each session. Additional permissions will become available for the admin to set at the customer level as well as at the instructor level. Finally, the admin will add the discussion text.
If the admin selected a single discussion for all sessions, all customers with access to the specified course will take part in the same discussion thread. If the admin selected for the session breakout to create a discussion for each session, the system will replicate the discussion for each session assigned at the Product -> Price/Event level to which this course has been assigned. Users within an individual session will only see interactions from other users in that same session.
To delete a discussion, admins will navigate to website -> Message Boards -> locate the board that the discussion is associated with and select ‘Discussions’ -> locate the discussion and click delete.
Customers can delete any discussion that they added or have been assigned as moderator by navigating to that discussion and clicking on the trash icon.
To delete a comment, admins will navigate to website -> Message Boards -> Board -> Discussions -> View Comments -> if this discussion is session-based, select the session discussion -> click the trash icon next to the comment you want to delete.
Customers can delete any comment that they added or comments within a discussion that they have been assigned to as a moderator.
Note: Comments follow a hierarchy of original comment and then subsequent replies. If the original comment is deleted, all subsequent replies will also be deleted.
Moderators
Each board can be assigned a moderator by an admin. Moderators are able to delete comments and discussions as needed.
Watch List
Customers can add discussions to their watch list. Customers will be alerted via email notification if someone leaves a comment in a discussion on their watch list. Email notification frequency can be set within the customer’s message board preferences.
Direct Messaging
The direct messaging feature in the LearningCart Sidebar allows users to take conversations ‘offline’ or privately communicate with instructors or moderators for further discussion.
To create a new message, a customer will click on the name of the recipient through an existing discussion.
To archive a message, a customer will click the ‘Archive’ in the upper right corner of the message screen.
The quick reply feature is available on the message list screen. This feature allows users to see the most recent message within a message thread and enter a quick reply directly from the message list screen. The user will be alerted to how many new messages are in the thread but only the most recent will show on the message list screen.
Note: Users must enable private messages in their message account settings in order to send and receive private messages.
Message Board Preferences
Users can adjust messaging permissions, set email notification frequency, and add an avatar in their account preferences under Discussion Forum -> Settings (gear icon).
