If you find yourself answering from learners the same questions over and over again, it can save time and make life easier for you and your learners to create a list of Frequently Asked Questions (or FAQ).
This can then be used to reference any questions asked by learners about the course and assignments. Learners who then ask the same or similar question again can be shown the FAQ. If they ask a new question, just add the question (and the answer) to the FAQ.
Hosting the FAQ on the VLE allows learners to access the FAQ before they even get to ask the question to you the tutor. If if has their question and an answer they will then go away satisfied without even needing to ask you the tutor a question. This saves both you and them time. It means they will get an answer quicker (very useful at weekends and in the evenings).
Any tips on how to create an FAQ? I’ve always found the tools provided by Blackboard (our institutional VLE) a bit clunky for this purpose and am on the lookout for an embeddable web service type arrangement.