When teachers post can send an email notification to students and parents when posting a new message to the Class Discussions module. Simply select the "Also email parents" and/or "also email students" checkbox next to the Post button.
The entire post will be viewable on the email, similar to email notifications in the Private Messaging module. Users can then log onto their respective portals to view the entire thread and interact as appropriate. By using the Class Discussions module (instead of the Mass Messaging module), all participants get to keep a record of previous messages and interactions in the class.
Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns!