Merge pull request #5041 from edx/sylvia/docs/relnotes_9-3

Release notes draft

docs/en_us/release_notes/source/09-04-2014.rst

+###################################
+September 4, 2014
+###################################
+
+The following information reflects what is new in the edX Platform as of September 4,
+2014. See previous pages in this document for a history of changes.
+
+****************************************
+edX Release Announcements Mailing List
+****************************************
+
+These edX Course Staff Release Notes are always available and are updated with
+each release of the edX Platform on `edx.org`_ and `edX Edge`_.
+
+You can also sign up for the `edX Release Announcements mailing list`_ to get
+an email message when we update the edX Course Staff Release Notes.
+
+***************************************
+edX Website
+***************************************
+
+* Users who signed up for a verified course sometimes saw an incorrect 
+  price. This bug has been fixed. (ECOM-113)
+
+* A problem with auto-registration sometimes prevented verified courses from 
+  appearing on a user's dashboard. This bug has been fixed. (ECOM-199) 
+
+*******************************
+edX Learning Management System
+*******************************
+
+* This release includes changes that improve student and staff experiences with
+  course discussions. These new features take effect immediately in all courses.
+
+  * When a discussion participant adds a post, the participant must now identify the post as
+    either asking a question or starting a discussion.
+
+  * Controls for actions that discussion participants can take on posts, responses, 
+    and comments have moved to the top right of each contribution. 
+
+  * Informational labels such as "Staff" and "Following" have been redesigned and relocated.
+
+  For more details, see our `End of August Product Announcement`_.
+
+* Students can now submit their usernames and email addresses to a third party
+  by using an LTI interface. (BLD-1250)
+
+* The bulk email feature is now available for all Studio-backed courses on the `edx.org`_ site. 
+  With this feature, you can send email messages to course participants directly from 
+  the Instructor Dashboard before, during, and after the course run. For more information, 
+  see `Bulk Email`_ and `Example Messages to Students`_.
+
+
+**************************
+Coming Soon
+**************************
+
+We're pleased to announce the following change, which will be released in the next few
+weeks:
+
+* Course teams will soon be able to access data about their courses on a
+  dedicated dashboard for course-specific data. By providing insights into who
+  your students are, and what they do while interacting with your course, the
+  data available on this dashboard can validate choices you’ve made, reveal
+  unexpected patterns, and inform plans for changes to the course.
+
+
+**************************
+edX Documentation
+**************************
+
+All guides now include a section that lists browsers supported for use with the
+edX platform.
+
+The following documentation is available:
+
+* `Building and Running an edX Course`_ 
+
+  Click **Help** in the upper-right corner of any page in the edX Studio
+  user interface to access relevant sections in this guide. You can also
+  download the entire guide as a PDF.
+
+  Recent changes include: 
+
+  * The `Discussions`_ and `Participating in Course
+    Discussions`_ chapters now include the question post type and the new placement and
+    appearance of the actions you can take on posts, responses, and comments.
+
+* `Creating Peer Assessments`_
+
+* `edX Research Guide`_
+
+   Recent changes include: 
+
+   * The `Discussion Forums Data`_ chapter now includes the new ``thread_type``
+     field for CommentThreads and the new ``endorsed`` field for Comments.
+
+* `edX Developer's Guide`_
+
+* `edX XBlock Documentation`_
+
+* `Installing, Configuring, and Running the edX Platform`_  
+
+**************************
+Other edX Resources
+**************************
+
+You can access the `edX Status`_ page to get an up-to-date status for all
+services on edx.org and edX Edge. The page also includes the Twitter feed for
+@edXstatus, which the edX Operations team uses to post updates.
+
+You can access the public `edX roadmap`_ for details about the currently
+planned product direction.
+
+.. include:: links.rst
\ No newline at end of file

docs/en_us/release_notes/source/index.rst

@@ -32,6 +32,7 @@ email message when we have updated the edX Course Staff Release Notes.
    read_me
    preface
    browsers
+   09-04-2014
    08-28-2014
    08-12-2014
    08-07-2014

docs/en_us/release_notes/source/links.rst

@@ -3,6 +3,8 @@
 
 .. _edX Product and Engineering Newsletter: http://us5.campaign-archive2.com/?u=1822a33c054dc20e223ca40e2&id=090cb3ea4c&e=4a41f5542a
 
+.. _End of August Product Announcement: http://us5.campaign-archive1.com/?u=1822a33c054dc20e223ca40e2&id=2f58184233
+
 .. _edX Release Announcements mailing list: http://eepurl.com/U84tj
 
 .. _edX Edge: https://edge.edx.org
@@ -46,6 +48,8 @@
 
 .. _Bulk Email: http://edx.readthedocs.org/projects/edx-partner-course-staff/en/latest/releasing_course/course_launching.html#bulk-email
 
+.. _Example Messages to Students: http://edx.readthedocs.org/projects/edx-partner-course-staff/en/latest/releasing_course/course_launching.html#example-messages-to-students
+
 .. _Enrollment: http://ca.readthedocs.org/en/latest/running_course/course_enrollment.html#enrollment
 
 .. _Shuffle Answers in a Multiple Choice Problem: http://edx.readthedocs.org/projects/edx-partner-course-staff/en/latest/exercises_tools/multiple_choice.html#shuffle-answers-in-a-multiple-choice-problem