Overview

We propose an MVP notifications admin that enables Open edX platform representatives to create announcements in the openedx.org WordPress admin and share them with Admins across all Open edX instances.

These announcements will be displayed to Admins (users with the admin role on an instance) in Studio. Admins can then choose whether to pass these announcements on to Instructors (users with the staff role on a course), with the option to edit the content or adapt it to their local context and brand voice. In a future phase, these announcements could be extended to learners as well.

We will leverage the work done on Release Notes, using the same admin interface with a few tweaks. The admin interface (for Admins), as well as the list of announcements (for Instructors), will be accessible via a link in the Studio footer.

Problem

The Ulmo release introduced notification functionality to the Open edX platform, marking an important step in improving communication. Building on this foundation, we’ve identified a couple of opportunities to extend its impact:

1. Expand scope:
   Notifications are currently focused on LMS forum discussions, course updates, and grading activities. Expanding this to include platform-to-instance and instance-to-instructor communication would allow the feature to support broader announcements, such as platform updates or upcoming events.

2. Empower non-technical users:
   Notifications are currently created through code, preventing non-technical platform representatives from creating messages. By providing users with a user-friendly admin interface for creating and managing announcements, we can enable wider participation. 

Release Notes is another project which improves communication, but it does not provide all the requirements of a global admin area, namely:

• Its scope is limited to instance-specific release notes, not broader platform announcements.

• It supports instance-to-course-team communication, not platform-to-instance communication.

By building on the existing Notifications and Release Notes work, and making targeted improvements, we can create the foundation for a flexible, scalable notifications admin that better supports communication across the Open edX ecosystem.

Use Cases

• As an Open edX Platform Representative…

  • I want to send announcements to Admins, so they stay informed about platform updates and changes.

  • I want to share community news and event announcements, so Admins feel connected to the wider Open edX community.

  • I want to direct Admins to specific forum discussions, so I can get feedback and strengthen communication within the community.

  • I want to encourage Admins to participate in surveys and user testing, so their perspectives are better represented in the Roadmap.

• As an Admin User…

  • I want the ability to enable or disable this feature for my instance, so I can decide whether it is available to my users.

  • I want to see new announcements in the notifications tray, so I don’t miss important updates.

  • I want to receive announcements about the Open edX platform, so I can stay up to date and be more actively involved.

  • I want to provide feedback on new features and integrations, so I can have a say in the direction of the platform.

  • I want the option to share announcements with the Instructor(s), so they are also informed.

  • I want to edit announcements before sharing them, so they are relevant and aligned with our brand voice.

  • I want to manage my announcement preferences, including opting out, so I can control which notifications I receive.

• As an Instructor (user with the staff role)…

  • I want to receive announcements from Admins in the notifications tray, so I don’t miss important information.

  • I want to be notified about new and upcoming features, integrations, and platform improvements, so I can improve how I create and manage courses.

  • I want to manage my announcement preferences, including opting out, so I can control which notifications I receive.

Proposed Solution

We propose reusing and combining existing Open edX features to create a notifications admin that improves communication between platform representatives, Admins, and Instructors.

• Allow Open edX platform representatives to create, manage, and schedule announcements in a dedicated section of the openedx.org WordPress admin, with fields tailored to each delivery method (email, notifications tray, and Announcements page).

• Deliver these announcements to Admins in Studio via WordPress’s built-in RSS feed.

• Display announcements in the notifications tray and on a dedicated Announcements page accessible from the Studio footer. This page will leverage the viewer from the Release Notes project, extended to support multiple announcement types (including release notes)  and display post status (e.g. draft, scheduled, published to Instructors). If users have opted in to email notifications, announcements will also be sent to their inboxes.

• Give Admins the option to edit, schedule, and share announcements with Instructors using the creator from the Release Notes project. They may also create completely new announcements.

• Notify Instructors of new announcements via email and/or the notifications tray, and direct them to the Announcements page. The page will be the same as the one displayed to Admins, but without the ability to create, edit, share, or delete announcements.

Announcements Page for Admins:

Open

Includes options to share, edit, delete, schedule, and create new posts.

Announcements Page for Instructors:

Open

Includes view-only access to posts.

The functionality outlined above may be refined following technical discovery. The MVP will focus on simplicity, with the option to evolve into a more scalable, integrated solution if it proves valuable. Admins will retain full control and may opt out of the feature for their instance entirely.

Future Considerations

• Audience: Consider sharing announcements with learners as well.

• Targeting: Explore integrating with the user grouping feature to allow more targeted notifications.

• Analytics: Introduce analytics to track open rates, click-throughs, and unsubscribe rates.

• Translation: Provide a way to automatically translate messages, and edit the translations if needed. Notifications should support multiple languages.

• Version history: Consider keeping a history of posts in Studio so Admins can compare an edited post to the original.

Other Approaches Considered

• Use the Django Admin interface

  • We decided against this approach as it would create a poor user experience and introduce unnecessary risks. Django Admin is designed for developers and site operators, not for marketing teams or community managers.

• Pull RSS feeds from the Open edX blog and/or the Open edX forum

  • We explored the idea of surfacing existing content from openedx.org or the Open edX forum via RSS feeds, curated by tags or categories. However, we rejected this option because blog and forum posts are not written for short-form notifications, making them less readable and less effective for this purpose.

• Integrate with a third-party service

  • We considered using an external notifications service but did not identify any open-source options with APIs that met all requirements.

Implementation Plan

Before work begins, we will conduct a technical discovery to verify that the approach outlined in this document.

Long-term Ownership/Maintainership

TBD. Once the proposal is approved and resourced, we’ll determine who will be responsible for the ownership and long-term maintainership of the features outlined in this proposal.

Open Questions

1. Who should be responsible for drafting and managing notifications in the Wordpress admin? Ideally, this group will extend beyond the current blog editors to ensure broader community representation, though this remains open for discussion.

2. Is anyone willing to collaborate on, or perhaps fund part of this work?