Engaging Learners Outside of Courses - Leadership Academy

This article describes how to add custom topics in a Community of Practice, which can then be selected when adding a resource to the community.

How to add custom topics

1. Navigate to the community page.

2. Scroll to the Toolkit section and on the right, click on Manage Sub-Topics.

3. On the next page, click the Sub-Topics tab at the top of the page.

4. Enter a new topic name and click Save. 

5. To edit the topic name, click Edit next to the topic name. To delete the topic name, click Edit and then Delete. You can also drag and drop the topic into the trash can icon on the right.

This article provides instructions for adding learners to a Community of Practice.

Adding learners to a community via course cohorts

By default, all learners that are enrolled in courses are added to the Community of Practice the course is located in. Learn more about the hierarchy of cohorts, course versions, and courses within Communities of Practice. Therefore, if a learner has been added to a cohort, they do not need to be added to the community as well; they will be added by default. Only learners that are not enrolled in a course contained within a Community of Practice, but whom you would like to include in the community, need to be added to the community.

Adding learners to a community using the community Members page

For all of the methods outlined below, begin with the following steps:

1. Click on the admin tools icon on the top right of any page.

2. On the next screen, click Communities on the left panel.

3. Locate and click on the community you would like to update. Do not click on the View button, and instead click on the name of the community itself. Tip: for faster navigating, use the status filter and/or sort any columns in the page.

4. On the left panel, click Members to go to the community Members page.

How to add learners with existing accounts to a community

1. On the right, select Members and Non-Members. This will allow you to search for all learners regardless of whether or not they are already in the community.

2. Type in the email address or name of the learner you’d like to add and click OK.

3. The learner’s account will appear in the table. To add the learner to the community, select the checkbox under the column Is a Member.

How to add all learners from another community

1. Click Copy Members on the top right of the page.

2. Select the community you would like to copy all learners from using the Organization and Community dropdowns. You can also copy the admins and Featured Users from the community using the respective checkboxes.

3. Click Copy at the bottom of the page.

How to add learners by creating new accounts

While this method generally isn’t preferred by admins as often as other options, it is possible to create a new learner account in the platform while adding the learner to the community at the same time.

1. Click Invite New Member on the top right of the page.

2. Enter the email address of the learner you would like to create an account for and click Check User. If the learner already has an account, they will simply be added to the community.

3. Next, add the learner’s first name, last name, and title and click Create. If you’d like to create another account, click Create and Add Another. 

4. The learner’s account will be added to the community and the learner will receive a welcome email from the platform with instructions to log in and set up their account and profile.

This article describes how to add banner images to a Community of Practice, which can include branding files such as the organization logo, a slogan, or any other type of banner image an admin would like learners to see when they arrive to the community page.

How to add banner images to a community

1. Click on the admin tools icon on the top right of any page.

2. On the next screen, click Communities on the left panel.

3. Locate and click on the name of the community. Do not click on the View button. Tip: for faster navigating, use the status filter and/or sort any columns in the page.

4. Under Branding, add a Main Banner image and/or a Sidebar Banner image. Learn more about how to upload a file to the platform.

5. Optionally link the image you upload to a URL by entering the URL in the Link URL field.

This article provides instructions for adding resources to a Community of Practice (CoP).

What types of resources are added to a community?

Resources are often comprised of videos, attachments such as PDFs or slides, and/or content embedded within the resource page. A few examples of community resources include but are not limited to:

• Important content from a program or course
• Video message from a Sponsor and/or Executive Sponsor
• Templates and documents from the organization for learners to download
• Program map
• Organization strategy

What order are resources displayed in on the Community of Practice page?

Resources are displayed in chronological order, with the most recent resources located at the top and left of the Toolkit. Additionally, featured resources are displayed prominently at the top of the page, with a larger thumbnail image.

How to add a resource to a community

1. Navigate to the community page.
2. Scroll down to the Toolkit section and click Add New.
   
3. Next, enter the name of the resource and add a description. Learn more about how to use the formatting capabilities in the text editor, which mirror the formatting capabilities when building a course activity.
   
4. Under Settings, Allow Comments is selected by default, which allows community members to comment on the resource, similar to a Discussion activity in a course. If you would like to turn this off, deselect Allow Comments. 
   
5. Add a thumbnail image, which will be displayed on the resource’s tile on the Community of Practice page as well as at the top of the resource page. Learn more about how to upload a file to the platform. Note: The image should be rectangular in shape and properly sized. Learn more about maximum image sizes for community resources.
6. Optionally add alt and title text to your thumbnail image.
7. Under Topics, select whether the resource is an Insight or Tool. This is a required field. Learn more about how to add additional custom topics.
8. If you would like to add a video or attachment, select Document or Video in the File section. Videos are embedded in community resources while documents are attached to the resource. Learn more about how to upload a file and how to upload a video.
9. If you would like to post on behalf of a Featured User, such as an Executive Sponsor or Sponsor, you can designate who to post on behalf of at the bottom of the page. Most often, resources are added on behalf of Sponsors and Executive Sponsors to motivate learners to view the content.

This article describes how to use the Ping feature, including what a Ping is and how to send a Ping.

Note: both Content Editors and Community Managers can send a Ping. Learn more about community admins.

What is a Ping?

Ping is a real-time feedback tool for leaders that allows groups of learners to collectively answer questions, make decisions, and resolve issues by working together in a shared, feedback-rich environment. By allowing leaders to collaboratively explore a decision and converge on preferred solutions in a matter of seconds, Ping boosts their ability to make well-informed choices that increase their odds of successful execution.

Leaders use Ping to prompt their teams to make a prediction, answer a question, or to get immediate feedback on an idea. When you create a Ping, your learners are immediately notified via email to provide a quick response.

As the learners select their answers, they’ll be drawn into the platform and given the opportunity to provide the reasoning behind their choice in an ongoing discussion. Sometimes, these conversations move learners to change their original position – Ping allows them to update their vote during the one to three day window.

Using Ping gives learners more opportunities to buy into the process and offers leaders valuable real-time information and offers learning leaders an opportunity to quickly assess learners’ ongoing attitudes and beliefs.

How to create a Ping

1. Navigate to the community page.

2. Under Ping, click Create New Ping.

3. You are now on the Create Ping page. First, enter the question you would like to ask the members of the community. Tip: Remember, this is a multiple choice question so be sure to word the question accordingly.

4. Next, enter the possible answers for learners to choose from. You can add additional answer options, up to nine total, as well.

5. Next, enter the duration that the Ping will remain open - 1 day, 2 days, or 3 days from the time it is sent. After the Ping ends, learners will be unable to respond to the question.

6. If you would like to post on behalf of a Featured User, such as an Executive Sponsor or Sponsor, you can designate who to post on behalf of at the bottom of the page. Most often, Pings are sent on behalf of Sponsors and Executive Sponsors to motivate learners to reply.

7. Click Preview at the bottom of the page.

8. Next, you will see a preview of the Ping. To go back and edit the Ping, click Edit. To publish and send the Ping, click Publish and Send.

9. Once you click Publish and Send, all members of the community will immediately receive an email prompting them to respond to the Ping.

This article discusses how to add admins to a Community of Practice, including the permissions granted to each admin role.

What is a community Featured User?

Featured Users are users in the platform that are selected to appear in the right sidebar of a community page. By featuring users, learners can see who from a leadership position is leading and/or paying attention to the community. This helps motivate the learner during their course(s) and provides an understanding of who is involved in the learning community.

There is one container of Featured Users by default, titled Leader. You can rename this container and add additional featured user categories as well.

Featured Users in a Community of Practice should not be confused with Featured Users in a course.  

How to add a community Featured User

1. Click on the admin tools icon on the top right of any page.

2. On the next screen, click Communities on the left panel.

3. Locate and click on the community you would like to update. Do not click on the View button, and instead click on the name of the community itself. Tip: for faster navigating, use the status filter and/or sort any columns in the page.

4. On the left panel, click Featured Users to go to the community Featured Users page.

5. Type the desired Featured User’s name or email address into the Add User section under the respective container and click on their name when displayed. Because they already have an account, as you begin typing the desired Featured User should display. Note: It is common to have more than one user included in each container.

How to rename a Featured User group

You may rename a Featured User group by clicking on the pencil icon next to the name you wish to change and then entering a new name. For instance, you could change the label of Instructor to something else representing a person or group of people you’d like displayed on the course page.

How to change the appearance a Featured User group

You may also change the size of a Featured User group’s appearance on the community page. Click on the dropdown in the Style options to change the size. All groups are set to large by default.

How to add a new a Featured User group

To add a new Featured User group, navigate to the Add Featured User Group section at the bottom of the page, add the name of the new group, and click Add.

How to change the order of Featured User groups

You may prefer to have certain groups listed above or below others on the course page. If so, you can change the order in which they appear. 

To change the order of the groups:

1. Click on the colored panel on the left of the group you wish to move

2. Drag the container to its new placement

3. Drop it. You will see an arrow next to the colored panel pointing to the new location before you drop the container into place.

Permissions granted in the Featured Users page

When people are added to a container in the Featured Users tab, they are not granted additional permissions. If you’d like to give any Featured Users admin permissions, it is necessary to give them the desired permissions in the community Admin page. 

This article provides instructions for editing resources in a Community of Practice (CoP).

1. Navigate to the community page.
2. Click on the resource you’d like to edit.
3. At the top of the resource page, click Edit Resource.
4. You will be taken to the resource edit page, where you can update any of the fields configured when adding the resource to the community.

This article discusses how to add admins to a Community of Practice, including the permissions granted to each admin role.

What is a community admin?

In each Community of Practice, there are several people that need permissions above those of the learners. Each type of admin may need a slightly different set of permissions based on their role in the learning experience, so the platform offers several admin role options that can be selected when assigning an admin to a community.

Community admins perform all of the tasks associated with building and managing an impactful Community of Practice, including adding and editing resources for the community, adding and removing members, sending Pings, managing featured users, and others. 

How to add a community admin

1. Click on the admin tools icon on the top right of any page.

2. On the next screen, click Communities on the left panel.

3. Locate and click on the community you would like to update. Do not click on the View button, and instead click on the name of the community itself. Tip: for faster navigating, use the status filter and/or sort any columns in the page.

4. On the left panel, click Admins to go to the community Admins page.

5. Type in the email address or name of the admin you’d like to add and select them when they appear.

6.Next, from the dropdown, select the admin role for the admin. Note: As you hover over each admin role, a popup will appear showing the permissions granted for that admin role.

The admin roles and their respective permissions include the following:

7. Click Add to add the admin. To remove an admin, click Remove.

If you would like any of your admins to appear on the community page and be visible to the learners in the community, you can add them as Featured Users.

This article describes how discussions within a community of practice offer opportunities to engage learners within the community to continue company-specific application, context or progress assessment on a topic. 

How discussions work in a community

Discussions in a community of practice function similarly to discussions in courses. Members of the community can post a comment and reply to each other to create a dialogue. 

In a community of practice, discussions can be added by an admin when adding a resource or creating a PING. Depending on the resource or PING a discussion is added to, admins can add a prompt asking learners to comment in a specific way (e.g. their reaction to a video resource).

The benefits of discussion in a community

Discussions offer an opportunity for learners to continue the conversation before, during, and after a course or program. When added to a resource, learners can discuss their reactions, how the resource applies to what they learned in their course or program, how they can apply the information to their day to day role, etc. When added to a PING, learners can discuss why they selected the answer they did and have a meaningful conversation. Additionally, discussions can also be a great tool for admins to receive feedback from members of the community.

This article describes how to feature a resource in a Community of Practice.

What happens when you feature a resource?

When a resource is featured, it is displayed more prominently on the community page. While other resources are listed under the Toolkit section, the resources that have been featured are listed in the Featured section, which is displayed at the top of the page. The thumbnail used for featured resources is much larger and featured resources are clicked more frequently as a result.

Admins often feature the most important resources for their learners and periodically update which resources are featured as topics become more and less important.

Can you feature more than one resource at the same time?

Yes, you can feature multiple resources, though there is a max of 4 featured resources displayed in the Featured section at once. Keep in mind that the more resources you feature, the smaller each thumbnail image will be.

How to feature a resource

1. Navigate to the community page.

2. Click on the resource you’d like to feature.

3. Under the resource title, locate the Feature link. Note: The star icon should not be filled in.

4. Click Feature. The page will automatically reload and the star icon will be filled in. This means that the resource is now featured.

5. To remove the featured tag, simply click Featured and the resource will no longer be featured.

This article describes how an admin can navigate to a Community of Practice (CoP) several ways.

How to navigate to a Community of Practice via admin tools

1. Click on the admin tools icon on the top right of any page.

2. On the next screen, click Communities on the left panel.

3. Locate and click on the View button in the row of the community you would like to view. Do not click on the name of the community, but instead click on the View button. Tip: for faster navigating, use the status filter and/or sort any columns in the page.

How to navigate to a Community of Practice via site header

1. From the home page, hover over Communities in the site header.

2. Click the name of the community you would like to view.

This article outlines the process for site owners and site administrators to update the notification frequency for a Community of Practice (CoP).

How often are notification emails sent for a Community of Practice?

By default, notification emails are sent to all members of a community one day after a resource is added to the community - i.e. the Daily setting. Admins can update the notification frequency to Weekly, meaning that an email notification is sent the week after a resource has been added, or to No Digest, meaning that no email notifications are sent when resources are added.

Tip: When you are first setting up your community, update the email frequency to No Digest to avoid your community members receiving many notifications as you build out the resources in the community. After you are done, update the setting back to Daily or Weekly based on your preference.

How to update notification frequency for a Community of Practice

1. Click on the admin tools icon on the top right of any page.

2. On the next screen, click Communities on the left panel.

3. Locate and click on the community you would like to update. Do not click on the View button, and instead click on the name of the community itself. Tip: for faster navigating, use the status filter and/or sort any columns in the page.

4. Next, on the Configure page under Name & Description, update the Default Digest Email Frequency to the desired frequency.

5. Click Save at the bottom of the page.

This article describes what a Community of Practice (CoP) is, its features, and how admins can leverage a Community of Practice to engage learners during and between courses.

What is a Community of Practice?

The Community of Practice is a team learning environment designed to provide a space where people can collaborate and share knowledge around a designated purpose. Communities of Practice are formed around a shared purpose, such as pursuit of mastery in a topic area. They are designed to provide curated resources and information to help learners as they pursue mastery and include informal spaces to help connect and encourage grass-roots connections and the co-construction of knowledge. 

Why use a Community of Practice?

Communities of Practice provide opportunities during and between courses or programs for continued collaboration and information sharing among learners and leaders. While courses provide a formal setting to learn about a topic amongst peers, the learning and collaboration should not stop when the course ends.

Additionally, Communities of Practice provide the informal space for learners to continue sharing best practices and learning from each other, as well as for leaders to disseminate key information and engage with learners. Building a strong community signals to all employees that creating a learning culture is important to the organization. 

Community of Practice features

• Resources
• Featured resources
• Pings
• Discussions
• Featured users
• Admins

• Branding