As an author, you will create the Channels, Campaigns, and Messages that other users will see in uAlign. You can also view user response metrics to ensure that your information is being read and understood. Plus, you will perform the basic functions of a User - viewing and responding to Messages, and keeping track of your response metrics.
You can find help for uAlign at the ANCILE Intelligence Hub
Register and Set up Your Profile
When you are invited to join uAlign, you will receive an email containing a link to register with uAlign. You must click on the registration link and complete the registration before you can log-in to uAlign.
After completing the registration, you can edit your user profile in uAlign, including your Last name, First name, Username, Email, Time zone, Language, and email notification preference.
Plan Your Communications
Before creating new Channels, Campaigns, and Messages, it's best to determine how you wish to structure your communications.
- Will you have information that must be communicated in a specific, serialized fashion?
- Will you have dynamic information that must be communicated in an ad hoc fashion?
- Do you anticipate that newcomers will need the same access to certain information in the future?
Messages are uAlign's primary content. Each Message is delivered via a Channel or a Campaign. Channels and Campaigns both contain a sorted list of Messages for users, but they provide different ways for users to consume the Messages.
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What It Is |
How It Works |
When To Use It |
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Channel |
A Channel contains a collection of standalone Messages sorted for the user by due date. |
Although each Message in a Channel has its own due date, a user can consume a Channel's Messages in any order they wish.
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Channels are best suited for situations where the author needs the flexibility to provide standalone Messages at any time. |
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Campaign |
A Campaign contains a collection of related Messages that the user must complete in the order specified by the author. |
A user can see how many Messages are in a Campaign, but they can access only the topmost Message. Once the user has completed the topmost Message, then the Campaign's next Message is displayed, and so on until the user has completed all of the Campaign's Messages.
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Campaigns are best suited for structured delivery of information in a particular sequence of Messages. |
Each Campaign and Message has a due date, which can be either a fixed due date (i.e. complete by Friday, 10/09/2015) or a "rolling" due date (i.e. complete within 10 days of delivery):
- Campaigns and Messages with fixed due dates are best used for information that is "timely" and must be completed by a certain date regardless of when the recipient receives the Message.
- Campaigns and Messages with rolling dates are best used when the information is "timeless" and you want new subscribers to have the full duration to complete the Messages, regardless of when they joined uAlign.
The following table may be useful in selecting how best to deliver different kinds of information with uAlign:
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If you want to... |
Then... |
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Communicate time-sensitive, standalone information that will be delivered ad hoc, such as:
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1. Create or choose a Channel 2. Create a Message with a Fixed due date 3. Deliver the Message in the Channel
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Communicate standalone information that will be delivered ad hoc and will be relevant to current and future uAlign members, such as:
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1. Create or choose a Channel 2. Create a Message with a Rolling due date 3. Deliver the Message in the Channel
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Communicate time-sensitive information that must be delivered in a specific, serialized fashion, such as:
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1. Create or choose a Campaign with a Fixed due date 2. Create a Message and deliver the Message in the Campaign 3. Set the Message's position within the Campaign |
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Communicate information that must be delivered in a specific, serialized fashion and will be relevant to current and future uAlign members, such as:
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1. Create or choose a Campaign with a Rolling due date 2. Create a Message and deliver the Message in the Campaign 3. Set the Message's position within the Campaign |
Create Channels and Campaigns
Once you've determined how you want to deliver your Messages, you can create the Channel(s) and Campaign(s) you need for your Messages. Channels and Campaigns are uAlign's delivery mechanisms for Messages, so you must create a Channel or Campaign before you can begin publishing Messages.
When creating a Channel or Campaign, you can subscribe a user or group of users. Only subscribed members will see the Channel or Campaign Messages displayed on their uAlign home page.
Subscribing groups of users offers a special advantage: each time a new member is added to the user group, that member will automatically be subscribed to the group's Channels and Campaigns.
You can also optionally authorize specific authors to create and edit content for the Channel or Campaign. If you assign specific authors to a Channel or Campaign, then ONLY the assigned authors can create Messages in the Channel or Campaign. Otherwise, if you choose not to assign specific authors to a Channel or Campaign, then ANY author can create Messages in the Channel or Campaign.
Create and Publish Messages
Messages are uAlign's primary content. You can create a draft Message by entering a title, a description, the Message's content, and one or more optional (though highly recommended) questions for the reader. A Message's content can include rich text, imported images, links to web content, and embedded videos. Each question you ask in a Message can be Multiple Choice or Fill in the Blank, and can be either a graded knowledge-check question or an ungraded Survey question.
You can specify one Channel or Campaign for your Message. If you want the same or similar Message to appear in additional Channels or Campaigns, you can duplicate the Message and assign it to the desired Channel or Campaign.
If you are creating a Message that is part of a Campaign, you should save the Message as a draft so that you can change the order the Message within the Campaign before the Message is published.
Your Message is delivered to subscribers starting on the date you specify. If your Message is delivered in a Channel, then you can assign a due date for the Message, which can be either a fixed due date (i.e. complete by Friday, 10/09/2015) or a "rolling" due date (i.e. complete within 10 days of delivery). Messages delivered in a Campaign are due by the overall Campaign's due date.
If a Message has not yet been delivered to subscribers, you can edit the Message. Once your Message is delivered to subscribers, you may change the Message's title, description, and/or content. However, you cannot edit the Message's assessment or its due date.
If you published a Message erroneously, you can recall a Message that you've already published. Messages with a "rolling" due date will continue to be delivered to all new subscribers indefinitely, unless/until you stop delivery of the Message.
Notify Subscribers
In some cases, you may wish to notify subscribers by email of an initial Message in a Campaign, or an important Message in a Channel or Campaign. You may send an immediate email notification for any Message that has been delivered, but not yet completed. Each subscriber who has not responded to the Message will receive a notification for that Message, regardless of their email notification setting.
Monitor Activity
Now that you have created and delivered Messages, subscribers can begin responding to these Messages. You can monitor subscriber response activity using uAlign's available reports.
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