Alerts Center allows you to send text messages, text to speech or recorded audio voice calls, and emails to your community using data being synced from your district's student information system.
Typed messages can be automatically translated from English to any Google Translate supported language.
Sending an SMS from Alerts Center
To start building your text message alert, select the SMS Channel. If needed, all channels can be used together. After SMS is selected, click Continue.
Composing your Message
Compose the message that you'd like to appear in your text message.
Text messages have a character count of 138. Anything that is entered that exceeds this length will be sent as a link that can be clicked on to view the entire message on a web or mobile browser.
Selecting your Call Lists/Recipient Lists
To add recipients/call lists, click the drop down menu under Alerts Recipients, and select one or more Call List. Once you've selected your recipients, click Add Selected Recipients.
Sending a TTS or Recorded Call from Alerts Center
To start, select the Audio Channel and click Continue.
After hitting continue, two options are available for Audio messages:
Text to speech
Record/upload audio
Composing your Message
Text to speech: the text typed in the box below will be read out loud in a phone call to your audience.
Record/upload audio: clicking the record button beneath the text box will allow for recording using your computers microphone. We recommend messages no longer than 2 - 2:30 minutes as this is the length of most voicemails. Audio files uploaded need to be in .wav format
Tip: You may be required to enable the microphone on your computer.
Selecting your Call Lists/Recipient Lists
To add recipients/call lists, click the drop down menu under Alerts Recipients, and select one or more Call List. Once you've selected your recipients, click Add Selected Recipients.
Sending an Email from Alerts Center
To start building your email alert, select the Email Channel. If needed, all channels can be used together. After Email is selected, click Continue.
Composing your Message
Start by adding the text you'd like to have appear in the Subject Line, then move on to the content of the body of the Email.
Within the Email editor the option furthest to the right allows you to preview the format of the email for Desktop, Tablet, and Mobile to best estimate what it will look like when its delivered.
Formating Options
Formating Options
Choose from several formatting options for your Email content:
Bold, Italic, and Strike
Various alignment options
Bulleted or numbered lists
Separator lines
Indent (or outdent)
Adding Links
Adding Links
A hyperlink can be created either before or after the text is added that you'd like to link.
To create a hyperlink, click the space that you'd like to add a link (or highlight the text that you'd like to link, if you've already added it), then click the Chain Link Icon.
Add the URL you'd like to link to, and choose whether or not you'd like the Link to Open in a New Tab, before clicking Create link.
Note: items uploaded to the Documents section can be linked to here, as well, using the Short URL created for them!
Adding HTML
Adding HTML
In the process of creating an email in Alert Center, it may become necessary to add HTML code. While writing an email, the </> button can be selected to allow code to be added to your email, or to modify the code of the email already written to achieve specific formatting.
Warning: iFrame HTML code is widely NOT accepted by email providers and will cause the formatting of your email sent to be broken.
Adding Images
Adding Images
Adding an Image to an Email in Alerts Center is easy! Click the space that you'd like to add the Image, then select the Image icon to drag-and-drop or select a file to upload.
Ensure appropriate Alt Text is adding to describe any Image, to ensure ADA Compliance.
Images files must be under 10 MB and be one of the accepted file types: .png, .jpg, .jpeg, or .gif
Adding Attachments
Adding Attachments
Click the space that you'd like to add the Attachment, then select the Paperclip icon (or highlight the text you'd like to link, if you've already added it) to drag-and-drop or select a file to upload.
Note that multiple Attachments can be added to an Email, but only one Attachment can be added at a time.
Selecting your Call Lists/Recipient Lists
To add recipients/call lists, click the drop down menu under Alerts Recipient and select one or more Call Lists.
Translating in Alerts Center
When Call Lists are used to send texts, text-to-speech calls, and emails, alerts can be set to be translated from English to any Google Translate supported language.
How to enable
Click the toggle at the bottom of page called Turn on language translation to enable translation. The translation toggle only appears if you've selected at least one Call List to be a recipient and that list has languages mapped.
Composing Messages with Translations
If you've already written a message in the text box beneath Add message, when message translations is enabled the message will translate automatically.
If you've written a message or adjusted a message after enabling language translations, select Refresh all translations to clear any warnings, and see the updated translations by clicking between the language slider above the text box.
Publish Now or Schedule your Alert
When you're ready, select Publish Now or Schedule, to pick a later date and time for your Alert.
Picking a date and time
If you've chosen to Schedule your Alert, an option will appear to allow you to choose the day and time.
Type your date or select it from the calendar, then click on the time and use the drop down to the to select it. Once you're ready, select Schedule again.
Editing or Deleting a Scheduled Alert
Alerts that are scheduled for a later time and/or day can be edited. To start, select View Scheduled from Alerts Center.
When you've found the scheduled alert you would like to edit or delete, hover over the message and a pencil and trash icon will on to the right side of the card.
Select the Pencil Icon to edit your Scheduled Alert. When editing a Scheduled Alert, Publish Now will not be an option. Select the Trash Icon to delete your Scheduled Alert.