Is there a way to have the What's New page list ONLY the posts recently made WITHOUT having the top block available (i.e. "Post a Comment" "Share your thoughts with Classmates")?

My understanding is that if someone posts in that top area, it 1.) Messages all Classmates, and 2.) Sends a notification email to the entire class that there's a new post.

If someone posts that they had a great breakfast at Denny's, why send hundreds of people an email? We're trying our very best to not annoy people with unnecessary posts, which risks irritating and 'crying wolf' and detracts from when we need people to be aware of a change.

Can this be 'turned off' for those that want to have the availability of the stream of posts, but NOT have the ability for anyone to post to the whole class?

It is a built-in part of What's New. I will check to see if it is something we can hide for classes that wish to hide it.

Jessica
Class Creator Support

Thanks Jessica - that'd be great - even a separate copy of the page without the ability to "make an announcement to all" so the choice rests with the site Admins. Our committee has discussed it and feel that with the inadvertent "Send to All" aspect, there is also the fear that, if known that a classmate can reach all with a page on the site, we feel it could be a jumping off point for potential religious/political soapboxing, and we're too old to monitor the site for inappropriate content, along with all of the potential vitriol that comes with Admins 'censoring'... which is a whole other headache. If "Send to All" doesn't exist, then it's not an issue.

That said, it's nice to have the string of posts made in an individuals name.

I noticed from looking at some other sites where the Whats New is public, but posting to the "Share your thoughts with Classmates" doesn't appear, and requires a login (classmates only, I guess) to access the top box. Maybe that would give someone a tip as to the code that must be removed to eliminate the top "Share your thoughts with Classmates" entry point?