30 Communication Plans

Successful communication in digital learning environments requires an intentional and balanced strategy. A comprehensive plan is a list or table that will allow you to visualize how you are communicating essential information and ensuring that students have diverse and ample opportunities to reach you when necessary.

Although communication needs vary across courses, some message types – like welcome messages, module overviews, task or deadline reminders, assignment feedback, and opportunities for Q&A – are almost always appropriate.

When making a communication plan, consider the following factors:

• Consistency. Just as consistent deadlines improve timely assignment completion, consistently named and scheduled introductions, conclusions, and reminders help students get into the groove of the course.
• Scheduling. Sometimes announcements can be written and scheduled in advance, easing your workload once the course begins and reducing the risk of important messages (such as deadline reminders) falling through the cracks.
• Synchronicity. Although digital learning environments tend to prioritize asynchronous communication, consider how and when opportunities for synchronous, “back-and-forth” communication (such as a formative feedback or review session) might be helpful.

Impact of audience

As you create your communication plan, consider when it most effective to interact with individual students, student groups, or the whole class. Since students will benefit from each in different ways, you will need to balance opportunities for all three.

The following list identifies common communication types by audience type. Communication types that may be scripted and scheduled in advance have an asterisk.