Update notifications documentation for learners

source/learners/sfd_notifications/index.rst

@@ -2,121 +2,152 @@
 Notifications & Preferences
 ###########################
 
-Notifications help you stay updated on important activity in your courses. 
-You can receive notifications via the notification tray in real time, or through 
-email summaries delivered periodically.
+Notifications keep you informed about activity in your courses.
 
-.. _Notification Tray:
+.. _notification-types:
 
-Notification Tray
-#################
+Notification Types
+==================
 
-You can access the notification tray by clicking the bell icon at the top right of your 
-screen. Notifications are sorted into tabs by course activities, such as “Discussions”,
-“Grading”, “Updates” etc. Clicking a notification will open the relevant content in a 
-new tab. Notifications older than three months will be automatically removed to minimize
-clutter in your tray.
+Discussion Notifications
+------------------------
 
+#. Activity notifications: New responses or comments on your posts and on posts you follow, and endorsements **of** your responses and of responses on your posts.
+#. New discussion posts: When a new discussion post is created.
+#. New question posts: When a new question post is created.
+#. New posts from instructors: When the instructor creates a post and chooses to notify learners.
 
-.. image:: /_images/learners/bell_and_tray.png
-  :width: 700
-  :height: 300
-  :align: center
-  :alt: Bell icon at the top right corner opens the notification tray.
+.. image:: /_images/learners/Notification_tray_forum_notifications_learner.png
+   :width: 400
+   :align: center
+   :alt: Clicking the bell on the top right opens the notifications tray.
 
-.. _Email Summaries:
+Updates
+-------
 
-Email Summaries
-###############
+#. Course updates: When the instructor creates a new course update.
 
-By default, you will receive a daily email summarizing notifications from 
-the past 24 hours. You can adjust the email frequency to daily or weekly 
-for each activity type in your notification preferences.
+.. image:: /_images/learners/Notifications_tray_updates_screenshot.png
+   :width: 400
+   :align: center
+   :alt: Screenshot of a course update notification in the tray.
 
-You will receive a daily email summary at 10 PM UTC and a weekly email 
-summary every Saturday at 10 PM UTC (if selected in preferences). 
+Grading
+-------
 
-.. _Customizing Notification Preferences:
+#. ORA grade received: When your submission for an open response assessment (ORA) receives a grade.
 
-Customizing Notification Preferences
-####################################
+.. image:: /_images/learners/Notifications_tray_grading_screenshot_learner.png
+   :width: 400
+   :align: center
+   :alt: Screenshot of grading notifications in the tray.
 
-You can manage your notification preferences for each course and activity type. 
-To access these settings:
+.. _delivery-channels:
 
-#. Click the gear icon in the notification tray.
+Delivery Channels
+=================
 
-#. Alternatively, go to “Account Settings” and select “Notification Preferences.”
+Tray
+----
 
-.. image:: /_images/learners/gear_icon.png
-  :width: 550
-  :height: 250
-  :align: center
-  :alt: Click on gear icon on top of notification tray to navigate to preferences center.
+- The notification tray is intended to keep users informed while they are on the web platform.
+- A bell icon in the top-right corner displays the count of unread notifications.
+- When clicked, it opens a tray that organizes notifications into tabs based on platform area (Discussions, Grading, Updates).
+- Each notification includes the relevant course name, an indicator showing it is unread, and a timestamp of when it was generated.
+- A gear icon in the tray’s top-right corner links to the preferences center, where users can adjust notification settings.
 
-Notification Types
-##################
+.. image:: /_images/learners/Notifications_tray_screenshot.png
+   :width: 700
+   :align: center
+   :alt: Clicking the bell on the top right opens the notifications tray.
 
-Discussions Notifications
-*************************
+Email Notifications
+-------------------
 
-For discussion-related notifications, you can manage the following settings:
+- Notification emails keep users informed even when they are away from the platform.
+- Users can choose to get notified immediately or receive a daily or weekly summary of notifications.
 
-#. **Activity Notifications:** Notifications for new responses or comments on your posts, posts you're 
-   following, and when a moderator endorses your response or a response on your post.
+  - **Immediately:** Receive the email notification as soon as the activity happens.
+  - **Daily:** Receive a summary of notifications from the past 24 hours, every day at 22:00 UTC.
+  - **Weekly:** Receive a summary of notifications from the past 7 days, every Saturday at 22:00 UTC.
 
-#. **New Discussion Posts:** Notification for when a new discussion post is created.
+- Emails include a one-click unsubscribe option to turn off email notifications for all activity types.
 
-#. **New Question Posts:** Notification for when a new question post is created.
+.. image:: /_images/learners/Notification_daily_email_screenshot_learner.png
+   :width: 400
+   :align: center
+   :alt: Screenshot of an email with the daily summary of notifications.
 
-#. **Reported Content:** Notification for when content is reported. This is only visible to users with 
-   a moderator role.
+.. _managing-preferences:
 
-Course Updates
-**************
+Managing Preferences
+====================
 
-#. **Course Updates:** Notification for when the instructor creates a new course update.
+The preferences center allows users to control which notifications they receive, how often, and through which channel. Users can get to the preferences page via:
 
-Grading
-*******
+- The **Notifications** tab on the **Account Settings** page.
+- The gear icon in the top-right corner of the notification tray.
+- The **Notification Settings** link in email.
+
+For each preference:
+
+- Users can toggle tray and email preferences ON or OFF.
+- Users can set the cadence for email notifications: Immediately, Daily, or Weekly.
+
+.. image:: /_images/learners/Preference_center_learner.png
+   :width: 700
+   :align: center
+   :alt: Screenshot of the preferences center on Account Settings.
 
-#. **ORA Grade Received:** Notification for when your Open Response Assessment (ORA) 
-   submission receives the final grade.
+Default Settings
+----------------
 
-#. **ORA New Submissions:** Notification for when a new Open Response Assessment submission
-   has been made that requires instructor grading. This is only visible to users with admin 
-   and staff roles. 
+- High-value notifications have tray and email ON by default.
 
-Default Preferences
-###################
+  - “New posts from instructors” and “Course updates” are exceptions where email is OFF by default to prevent high email volume/cost for courses with large enrollments.
 
-The table below summarizes the default settings for both tray and email notifications:
+- High-volume notifications (e.g., new discussion posts) are OFF by default to prevent clutter.
+- The default email cadence is set to **Daily** for all preferences where email is ON by default.
+
+The table below shows defaults for each notification type.
 
 .. list-table::
-   :widths: 25 25 25
+   :widths: 25 25 25 25
+   :align: center
    :header-rows: 1
 
    * - Preference
      - Default Tray Preference
      - Default Email Preference
-   * - Activity Notifications
+     - Visibility
+   * - Activity notifications
      - ON
      - ON / Daily
-   * - New Discussion Posts
+     - All
+   * - New discussion posts
      - OFF
      - OFF
-   * - New Question Posts
+     - All
+   * - New question qosts
      - OFF
      - OFF
-   * - Reported Content
+     - All
+   * - New posts from instructors
      - ON
-     - ON / Daily
+     - ON
+     - All
    * - Course updates
      - ON
      - OFF
-   * - ORA grade received
+     - All
+   * - Essay assignment grade received
      - ON
      - ON / Daily
-   * - ORA new submissions
-     - OFF
-     - OFF
+     - All
+
+.. _notifications-expiry:
+
+Notifications Expiry
+====================
+
+Every day, notifications older than 60 days are deleted from the database.