Announcements provide unique humanizing opportunities

You know most WVC students read announcements on their phones, right? That means you have access to their pockets! What an incredible opportunity! If you don’t already use Canvas Announcements, maybe now is the time to start.

Announcements have a different feel from other content in your course because of their immediacy, and they can include text, video, and/or audio. Regardless of modality, it's important to 1) be clear on your purpose and to 2) be consistent.

Tip 1: Be clear on the purpose

Focused, brief announcements with a clear purpose are easy for readers to digest whereas announcements that pack in a lot of information can feel burdensome. (For more about this, see cognitive load theory.)

Consider the different purposes of announcements, and take the opportunity to add more YOU to the content. Which of these appeals to you?

Purpose of announcements and ideas for adding some YOU
Purpose	Adding YOU
Preview course content.	Include what YOU love about the upcoming unit.
Reinforce course concepts.	Clarify concepts that have challenged students. This shows your presence and shows students YOU want to support them.
Connect course content to real world events.	Share what YOU noticed in the news or your own daily experience that connects to course content.
Encourage your students.	Describe what inspires YOU about what students did well that week.
Remind students of due dates.	Make it YOU by infusing your personality into the way you say it. For example, why not lighten up the message with some humor?

Tip 2: Be consistent

To be most effective, use announcements regularly in a predictable pattern (i.e. “The Week Ahead” every Monday and “What You Learned” every Friday). That way, students begin to recognize the pattern and know what to expect. Your consistency and reliability frees up their cognitive space for learning!

Want to dig a little deeper?

Check out this Faculty Focus article: The Art & Science of Quality Course Announcements: How to Avoid the Trap of the Info Dump. (Don't worry. It's short!)