3 Ways to Improve Your Student Engagement with “Discussions”

Starting this week, we’re launching “Discussions” – a tool that simplifies teacher-to-student communication. With Discussions, teachers have an easier and more direct way to share updates and resources, with all of their students. No more copying and pasting the same post in multiple classes and running the risk of sending students duplicate emails. With Discussions, you’ll be able to reach all your student followers with just one post from your profile!

Developing an engaged student following on Skillshare is one of the most important elements of becoming a successful teacher, and Discussions makes it easier than ever to keep your followers in the know. You can turn to Discussions to announce a new class, share a relevant resource or website, or just to let your followers know what you’re up to. Remember, the more your followers feel connected to you and your brand, the more likely they'll be to enroll in your future classes.

We’ve rounded up a few great ways to use the feature:  

Post a New Class Announcement

Posting a new class announcement was once restricted to your class Community Board. Now, Discussions let you create one class announcement that will reach all of your student followers. Write up a Discussion that explains why your newest class is a must-watch! Before you click send, you can even customize the email Subject Line so that students are more likely to check it out. Check out Christine Fleming’s example below.

Share Resources

You can also leverage Discussions to share relevant resources that you think your students will find helpful or engaging. Consider sharing articles, photos, blog posts, supplies on Etsy, or anything else that you think your students might enjoy. This is a great tactic to further enhance your students’ learning experience and re-activate them before publishing your next class. See Teela Cunningham’s resource-focused post below.

Offer Personal + Professional Updates

As you continue building your Skillshare channel, it’s important for students to stay invested in you. Learning more about you as a person helps students feel more connected to your classes. Whether you’re hosting an in-person workshop or you have some fun personal news to share, use Discussions to keep your student followers updated about you, even if it’s not directly tied to Skillshare. Check out Jake Bartlett’s family announcement here and take a peek at Ana Victoria Calderon’s in-person workshop announcement here.

These are just a few ways teachers can use Discussion posts. We encourage you to get creative and discover new ways to connect with your students and continue to build your presence with this new tool. Feel free to comment below what else you’d like to use Discussions for!