Wisetail offers a few media types that facilitate blended learning. Blended learning is a combination of eLearning and in-person training. Events are one of these blended learning tools. Events can be used to track a roster for an in-person event, inform users of venue details, limit the headcount to an event, and more.
The Basics
To access Events, navigate to the Admin Tool → Content tab → Events pill. This view displays all Events and provides quick access to edit an existing event or create a new one.
To create a new Event, use the Create Event button:
Sessions
An Event can have numerous Sessions, for tracking multiple venues/locations, times, etc. allowing learners to choose the one that best fits their schedule and location.
Click the 'plus' button to the left of the event session. This will display an overlay to enter the information for a specific session:
- Session Title: The Title will automatically be linked to the Calendar where the user can click on the event and will be redirected to the module if a Calendar is available on your site. If a Calendar is not available on your site the link should redirect users to the Module.
- Session Description: Specify the description for this session.
- URL: This could be any URL, perhaps a link to a related module. The link will appear under the Session Description in the email. We validate URLs in event sessions. We default the prefix to https://, but also support the non-secure http:// if needed.
- Dates and Times: These are required fields for the event and show the user when the event begins and ends. The user will be presented with a link to add the event to a Google Calendar.
- Time Zone: The Time Zone selected is for wherever the actual event will take place physically, if there is a physical location for the session. This eliminates the need for you or your users to do time zone conversions. When a user views the Event Session, the time will automatically adjust to display the correct time based on their computer's time zone settings.
- Location: Add the venue information. This also allows the learner to click a link to Google Maps for that location.
- Capacity: Only have a limited number of seats open for registration? Cap the capacity here by entering that number.
To edit further info for a session, click anywhere on the event session (or the blue 'View more info' text) to bring up more settings to the right:
The Manage Roster button allows you to edit who is enrolled for any given session. This screen also shows the learners on the waitlist (if applicable) and allows the admin (or instructor) to move learners from the waitlist to the confirmed attendee list.
What if you have to add a large number of attendees to a single session? Within the roster, you can click the blue drop-down arrow to the right of the 'Add Attendees' button to bulk upload users with a CSV (template also provided via this drop-down) or by defining a large group of users with the rules engine.
Tip: Sessions for Events will show up on the Learn page calendar but only if the event has been added to a module.
Event Instructors
Event instructors have the ability to manage the event roster. This means they can add/remove users on the confirmed attendee list, and message all of the confirmed attendees for an event session (this message would be sent as an email from the LMS to the email address that learners have listed on their profiles). You can select any learner to be an event instructor for any event session you build, via the rules engine.
Message Instructors
Once at least one instructor is assigned to an event session, a Send Message to Instructors option appears in the drop down menu. Instructors receive the message via email (if applicable) and the in-app inbox.