Stop a course email going to a student it no longer fits
Some emails stop making sense for some students. A deadline reminder is an annoyance to the student who handed in their work yesterday. A “keep going with Module 2” nudge is odd for someone who finished it last week. A skip rule stops that email for that student, and nobody has to remember to do it.
The prompt
“In my [course name] emails, skip the [e.g. assignment reminder] for anyone tagged [e.g. assignment in], and stop all the emails for a student once they [e.g. finish the course].”
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Skip rules. Any course email can carry one or more. It is skipped when any of them is true for the student at that moment. A rule can check whether the student:
- has a tag, for example “assignment in”;
- has finished a lesson you name;
- has finished a module you name;
- has passed a quiz you name;
- has passed every required quiz;
- has finished the course.
Each rule can also be turned round. “Skip if Module 2 is not finished” makes an email wait its turn, because the order students do things in is their own (see Email my students when they reach each point in my course).
Checked at the moment of sending. bernard checks the rules when the email is about to go, never earlier. If the tag goes on at 4pm and the email was due at 5pm, it is skipped.
Work handed in outside bernard. Many courses mark written work by hand. Tag the student when their work arrives - on their contact page, or ask Bernard to tag a whole list at once - and a skip rule on that tag stops the reminder. Tagging more than one person is shown to you first and waits for your yes.
A goal ends the rest. One condition can be the goal for the whole set of emails. When it becomes true for a student, the rest of their emails from that set stop. “Finishing the course” is the usual goal, so nobody who has finished gets “keep going” emails.
To change a rule or the goal while the emails are switched on, pause them first (Change or pause my automatic emails). The words of an email can change at any time. Nothing changes for your students until you approve it.
Questions people ask
- What can a skip rule check?
- Whether the student has a tag, has finished a lesson or a module you name, has passed a quiz you name, has passed every required quiz, or has finished the course. Each rule can also be turned round: “skip if Module 2 is NOT finished”.
- When is the rule checked?
- At the moment the email is about to go, not when it was planned. A student who hands in their work the day before a reminder is due does not get the reminder.
- What is a goal?
- One condition for the whole set of emails. When it becomes true for a student, the rest of their emails from that set stop. Finishing the course is the usual one.
- How do I mark work that is handed in outside bernard?
- Put a tag on the student, for example “assignment in”. You can tag one person on their contact page, or ask Bernard to tag a list of people at once; for more than one person Bernard shows you who first and waits for your approval.
- Can I change a skip rule after I switch the emails on?
- Pause them first, then change it and approve the new plan. You can change the words of an email at any time without pausing.