Message Learners and Lesson Designers from IQ
Skyllful IQ lets you message Learners and Lesson designers from the same screens that show you who needs reaching, and this article covers where each control sits, how to pick who receives a message, and how IQ tracks what you have already sent.
Why message from inside IQ?
You are already looking at the list. The Overview lens has just told you which Learners have gone inactive or fallen off pace, and the Curriculum lens has told you which content is not working. Messaging from those screens means you reach exactly the Learners the data identified, without copying names into email and hoping you transcribed them correctly.
It also means the message is recorded. IQ tracks what you have sent and uses it, which is something an email from your own inbox cannot do.
Where can you message from?
Three places, and which one you want depends on who you are trying to reach.
Screen |
Control |
Who it reaches |
|---|---|---|
| Overview lens, on any of the four Learner counters | Send Selected A Message | The Learners you tick in that counter's table |
| Learners lens | Send Selected A Message | Any Learners you tick, or every Learner in the current view using Select All |
| Curriculum lens, beneath a counter's table | Message Lesson Designers | The Lesson designers responsible for the content, not the Learners |
Note: The Longer-Than-Expected Lessons counter on the Overview lens has no messaging control. It lists Lessons rather than Learners, so there is nobody to message. Take that one to the Curriculum lens instead.
Note: Message Lesson Designers only appears beneath a table that found something. On an Assignment where all four Curriculum counters sit at zero, the button is nowhere on the lens. That is expected rather than missing.
How do you message Learners?
Step |
Action |
|---|---|
| 1 | Open the Overview lens or the Learners lens, whichever has the group you want. |
| 2 | Narrow the list first if you can. Sorting by Readiness, filtering, or working from a counter gives you a shorter and more accurate selection than picking rows out of a long table. |
| 3 | Tick the circle at the start of each Learner's row. On the Learners lens, Select All takes every Learner currently listed and Deselect All clears it. |
| 4 | Click Send Selected A Message. |
| 5 | The Send Message window opens. Compose it, check the recipients, and click Send Message. |
Best practice: Message from a counter rather than from the full list when you can. A message sent to the Off Pace Learners counter reaches the Learners the Assignment's own thresholds identified, and the counter then tracks whether the message made any difference.
What is in the Send Message window?
Four things, top to bottom.
Part |
What it does |
|---|---|
| The message field | Where you write. There is no length limit. |
| Message Variables | Three buttons that insert a placeholder the message fills in per Learner: {learner_name}, {campaign_start_date} and {campaign_end_date} |
| Recipients | One checkbox per Learner you selected, all ticked. Untick anyone you want to drop without closing the window. |
| CC Email Manager | One checkbox per manager, none ticked. Tick as many as you want copied by email. |
Then Cancel and Send Message.
Note: Despite their names, {campaign_start_date} and {campaign_end_date} carry the dates of the Assignment you are in, whatever its type. "Campaign" here is internal wording rather than a reference to the Campaign Assignment Type. On an Assignment with no shared end date, think carefully before using the second one.
Note: Recipients gives you a second pass at the list. If you used Select All and then spotted a Learner who should not receive the message, untick them here rather than closing the window and starting again.
Best practice: Use {learner_name} rather than writing a generic opening. One message to forty Learners still arrives addressed to each of them by name.
How do you message Lesson designers?
Step |
Action |
|---|---|
| 1 | Open the Curriculum lens. |
| 2 | Find the counter that describes the problem: failing Knowledge Checks, incorrect actions in Practice, rushed Walkthroughs, or skipped Videos. |
| 3 | Read the table beneath it. Each row names a Lesson with its Module. |
| 4 | Click Message Lesson Designers below that table. |
| 5 | Compose your message in the Send Message window and send it. |
Best practice: Name the Lesson and the mode in the message. The counter tells you a Knowledge Check is failing, but the Lesson designer who has to fix it needs to know which one, and the table above the button has the Lesson name and Module ready to quote.
How does IQ track what you have sent?
This is the part worth knowing, because messaging from IQ is not just a shortcut. Sent messages become data.
Where it shows |
What it tells you |
|---|---|
| The Message Sent column on each Overview counter table | Whether this Learner has already been contacted about this |
| The Messages Sent series on each counter's chart | How messaging and the size of that counter have moved together over the Assignment |
| The Messages Sent chart on a Learner's own page | How much this individual Learner has been contacted |
| The Unresponsive Learners counter | Learners who received a corrective message and have not responded since |
Note: The Unresponsive Learners counter is the loop closing. It counts days since a message was sent without a response, using a threshold set on the Assignment's IQ Settings tab. That counter cannot work unless messages are sent from inside IQ, so messaging from your own email leaves it permanently empty.
Best practice: Read a counter's chart before sending another round. If the count has kept climbing while Messages Sent rose, the messaging is not landing and something else needs to change.
FAQ
Can I message a group rather than one Learner at a time? Yes. Tick as many rows as you need, or use Select All on the Learners lens to take every Learner in the current view.
Does Select All take every Learner on the Assignment? It takes every Learner the list is currently showing. If you have applied a Custom View or typed in the Filter, it takes that group.
I cannot find Message Lesson Designers anywhere. It only renders beneath a Curriculum counter that has found something. If all four counters are at zero, there is nothing for it to sit under.
Why is there no messaging control on the Longer-Than-Expected Lessons counter? It lists Lessons, not Learners. There is nobody to send to.
Where do Learners see the message? In the Skyllful Simulator, where they do their training. They do not have access to IQ.
Does the manager get a copy? Only if you tick them under CC Email Manager in the Send Message window. Nobody is ticked there by default, and you can copy more than one manager.
Can I personalize a message sent to a group? Yes. The Message Variables buttons insert placeholders that resolve per Learner, so one message can greet each recipient by name.
Will messaging from my own email show up in IQ? No. Only messages sent from inside IQ are recorded, and the Unresponsive Learners counter depends on that record.
Skyllful Knowledge Base | Administrators, Managers