Submit a ticket My Tickets
Welcome
Login  Sign up
  1. Michigan Virtual Support
  2. Knowledge Base
  3. Collaborative
  4. Collaborative Instructors

Intelligent Agents - Welcome Letter Instructions

Modified on: Wed, Jun 22, 2022 at 1:21 PM
Intended Audience: Collaborative Instructors
This article pertains to courses taught by a local teacher as part of a collaborative partnership.  

Introduction:

Follow the instructions below to set up an intelligent agent in your course that will send a welcome message to students after they access your course for the first time.

Change Default Settings

  1. First, open one of your courses in Brightspace.
  2. Next, go to Course Admin.
  3. Then click Intelligent Agents.
  4. Next, click Settings located at the top right of the "Agent List".  

    *Note: you will need to adjust these settings for each class, only once.

  5. You may choose to use the system defaults or you may choose to personalize your settings by adding your name and email in the “Name that emails come from” box (recommended).

  6. Click Save.

Create an Intelligent Agent

  1. From the Agent List page, click New Agent.
  2. Next, determine the type of agent you want to create and name the agent. Provide a description of the agent you created and then check the box Agent is enabled. If desired, you may also add a category for your agent. You may create categories by tapping Add Category.
    The New Agent page is shown with the Agent Name and Description field shown. Below is the Status of Agent is Enabled with a checkmark next to it.
  3. At this point, set the criteria for the agent based on the image below. (Ignore the Login Activity and Release Conditions sections.)
    The Criteria section is shown with a red box surrounding the Users with Specific roles and Instructor and Student options selected. Another box surrounds Course Activity with Take action when following course activity is satisfied and User has access the course during the last 1 days.
  4. Next, set the actions for this agent based on the image below. Note that the strings used in the To: and Cc: fields will pull the student and mentor data. It must be entered exactly as shown in order for the intelligent agent to work properly. You can click the link below the address fields to copy and paste it.
    • {InitiatingUser} = student
    • {InitiatingUserAuditors} = teacher/mentor
      The Actions section is shown with red boxes around the "take action only the first time the agents criteria are satisfied" option under repitition, the "send email when the criteria are satisfied" option under send email and then the To, CC and Subject fields.
  5. Now, compose a message to welcome students to the course.
    Note: You can use replacement strings in your message as well to personalize. For a list of strings, click the link under the subject field.
    An arrow points from the "What replace strings can I use in the Subject and Message" link to the pop-up dialog box containing a list of replace strings.
  6. Next, upload and attach a PDF of your welcome letter. Alternatively, you may add a link in the message area.
    An enlarged image of the Attachments section shows the Upload, Record and Choose Existing buttons. An example file, Geometry A Student Welcome Letter, PDF is attached.
  7. Then ensure HTML is checked.
    A snapshot of the Email Format section is shown with HTML selected and Plain Text not selected.
  8. Next, in the Scheduling category, choose the checkbox to "Use Schedule". Choose the Update Schedule button to set up the frequency that the agent should run.
    The Scheduling section is shown with a red box surrounding the checked box "Use Schedule". An arrow points to the Update Schedule button.
  9. Now, apply schedule settings as noted in the image below. Schedule dates will be the start and end dates of your course. Click Update.
    The Update Agent Schedule section is shown with red boxes surrounding Repeats and Repeats Every fields. Arrows point to the Has Start Date and Has End Date calendar fields.
  10. Next, tap Save and Close. 

Additional Information: 

If you already have students enrolled in your course, you may do a manual run of the intelligent agent to get it started by clicking the drop-down menu next to the agent name and choose “Run Now”.
The Agent List is shown with the Welcome to Geometry A agent shown in the table. The drop-down next to the agent is selected to show the menu options. An arrow points to the Run Now option.

Now that your intelligent agent is set up, it will check each night to see which new students have accessed the course and send them your welcome message. You can view the history of who the message has been sent to by returning to the agent list and choosing “View History” for the agent.

Did you find it helpful? Yes No

Send feedback
Sorry we couldn't be helpful. Help us improve this article with your feedback.

Related Articles