D2L course sites (known as shells) can be set up for three different purposes: Semester-based ( live ) shells Development shells On-going shells

Transcription

1 Overview D2L Tutorial In this tutorial: What is Desire2Learn (D2L)? o What is a semester-based live shell? o What is a development shell? o What is an on-going shell? System and Software Requirements Using D2L D2L Basic Features Additional Resources What is Desire2Learn (D2L)? Desire2Learn (D2L) is the web-based course management system that is used by Bemidji State University and all other schools in the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System (MnSCU). D2L provides a password-protected environment where students can interact online with each other and with their instructor. You only need a computer, Internet access, and a browser to use the features provided in D2L. The D2L course site allows "anytime, anywhere" access to course materials (syllabus, schedule, readings, multi-media files, etc.), class discussions, student progress reports, an electronic dropbox for students to submit assignments, online quizzes and surveys, grades, and additional resources. D2L course sites (known as shells) can be set up for three different purposes: Semester-based ( live ) shells Development shells On-going shells What is a semester-based ("live") shell? This is the standard D2L class shell that instructors and students use as their online classroom. The instructor and students are automatically enrolled through an integration process between D2L and the ISRS (the BSU database). How do I get a "live" shell for a BSU class? 1. Online classes: If you are teaching a totally online class, you do NOT need to submit the "D2LCourse Shell Request Form." Your "live" shell will be created for you. 2. On-campus or Self-directed classes: If you want to enhance an on-campus or self-directed class with D2L, you need to: Fill out the "D2L Course Shell Request Form" (This Word document is available in Content under Additional Resources as well as on the elearning Support resources site). elearning Support, BSU Page 1 August 2010

2 Send an to Theresa Perreault and attach the completed version of the Request Form. Overview What is the live shell process? 1. Each semester, designated personnel enter the appropriate information for BSU classes into ISRS (the BSU database). 2. D2L classes are mapped by D2L administrators; the actual D2L shells are created in an overnight integration process initiated by MnSCU personnel. The instructor and students enrolled in each class are automatically enrolled in the D2L shell during this process. NOTE 1: Students will be auto-enrolled 2-3 weeks before the beginning of the semester. NOTE 2: Students will not be able to access the class until the date entered in ISRS as the start date. This is usually the first day of classes. 3. The names of your classes will appear on your list of My Bemidji State University Courses on the My Home page of D2L (the first page that you see after you login). 4. If you have a development shell for a class or a previous semester's D2L shell, you can copy the course components into your new "live" shell. [Contact elearning Support staff for help - ext ] What is a development shell? A development shell is a D2L shell that has no students. It is a template version of the D2L class environment that you can use to use to create your D2L class environment. Consider the development shell to be a work in progress. IMPORTANT NOTE: All elements that you create in the development shell can be copied into the "live" shell. These elements include such things as Content (modules & topics), Discussions (forums & topics), Dropbox folders, Quizzes, the Gradebook, etc. How do I get a development shell for a BSU Class? Send an request to Julie Adams (jadams@bemidjistate.edu) that includes the complete class name. Example: Please create a development shell for my course: BIOL 1234 Introduction to Biology. What is the development shell process? 1. Julie will create the development shell with the name that you provide. REMEMBER: The development shell does not have any students enrolled in it. 2. You will be notified by when the development shell has been created. What is an on-going shell? An on-going shell is similar to a development shell in that, initially, it has no students. An on-going shell is not semester-based; it exists for as long as it is needed. At BSU, faculty and staff have requested ongoing shells for a variety of uses. Examples include: DLiTE program s Virtual Assembly for faculty teaching in the program and students enrolled in the program (used for News updates, discussions, and access to materials & resources) THE BSU GRADUATE COMMUNITY- for graduate students and faculty advisors Criminal Justice Department: Academic Advising for CRJS faculty advisors and advisees BSU STUDENT ORIENTATION to D2L for students to better understand the D2L environment ONLINE 101 a 3-week class for faculty to experience D2L from the student perspective elearning Support, BSU Page 2 August 2010

3 Enrollment in an on-going shell: Because there is no semester-based course ID associated with an on-going shell, there is no mechanism for automatic enrollment of D2L users into the D2L shell. D2L users must be manually enrolled in the shell. Staff Plus role: For on-going shells, the person requesting the shell is enrolled by the D2L administrator with the Staff Plus role. This role has the same privileges as the teacher role but also allows him/her to enroll D2L users at the student level (and unenroll them, when appropriate). How do I get an on-going shell? Send an request to Julie Adams (jadams@bemidjistate.edu) that includes the name you would like the shell to have. Example: Please create an on-going D2L shell called Biology Club. Biology Club What is the on-going shell process? 1. Julie will create the on-going shell with the name that you provide. REMEMBER: Initially, the on-going shell does not have any students enrolled in it. The person(s) with the Staff Plus role are responsible for enrolling the appropriate D2L users in the shell. 2. You will be notified by when the on-going shell has been created. System and Software Requirements To ensure your computer will support your D2L use, you should use the chart below as a guideline. In addition, D2L has a system check program (the link is under the Welcome message) that will search your computer for the correct browser and browser settings. It will give you instructions on any problem that it encounters. The program can be accessed from the D2L login page. To ensure your computer will support your D2L use, use the chart below as a guide. COMPONENT REQUIRED RECOMMENDED Operating System Video Internet speed Windows 2000, 2003, XP, Vista Mac OS X 800x600 minimum resolution 56K modem Windows XP Service Pack 2 Mac OS X x768 resolution High-speed internet (cable, DSL, wireless). Browser Windows: Firefox 2, Internet Explorer 6 and 7 Mac: Firefox 2 Windows: Internet Explorer 7, Firefox 3 Mac: Firefox 2 Sun Java 1.4 and JavaScript enabled Enabled Cookies enabled Enabled elearning Support, BSU Page 3 August 2010

4 Using D2L Overview When you login to D2L and click on a course link, you will be taken to the Course Home page. The Course Home page is made up of a left frame containing several widgets (i.e. HelpLinks, Updates, etc.), and a center frame for News items Course Home Page Basic navigation in D2L is done using links on the navigation bars (1 & 2 above). Other navigation in D2L is done with icons (i.e., =edit, = delete). If at any time you want to know what an icon does, leave your mouse on top of it for a few seconds and a small box will pop up with a brief description. Navigation Bars: 1 2 Top Navigation Bar (dark blue) Bottom Navigation Bar (light green) Used for D2L-wide functions: My Home, , Locker, and Schedule. The My Home link takes you back to the D2L homepage where you can link to your classes. The tool lets you to send an from D2L using your Novell GroupWise account. The Locker allows you to upload and store files. The Schedule links to a personal calendar. Contains tools for the class you are currently in, such as Content, Discussions, and Quizzes. The Course Home link on this bar will take you back to the homepage of the class you are currently in. elearning Support, BSU Page 4 August 2010

5 Left Frame Widgets: The widgets in the left frame appear in all D2L courses. 3 HelpLinks The links in the HelpLinks widget provide you with quick access to Afterhours technical support and commonly used Bemidji State University resources Updates Role Switch Calendar To help you stay current with what is occurring in your class, the Updates widget will tell you how many Discussions posts you have not read, how many new submissions there are in the class Dropbox, and how many Quizzes are not yet graded. The Updates widget will only display a message if there are new submissions for a particular tool. Otherwise no message will be displayed. The Role Switch widget allows you to view a course site in D2L from a different role than your default role (i.e. if you have a Teacher role, you can switch to a Student role to see your course from the student perspective). NOTE 1: In the Student role, you cannot take a quiz or submit a file to the Dropbox. TIP: You may want to request a mock student account from elearning Support. The mock student can be enrolled in your D2L class sites. You can login as your mock student and see and do everything that your students can see and do. NOTE 2: If you create a Discussion post while in the Student role, it will appear as an actual post with your name. Delete the post when you return to your default role with Teacher privileges. The calendar allows you to keep track of your own personal events, appointments, assignments, etc. 7 Pager: The Pager is an instant messenger. It allows you and your students to 'page' each other by sending a short text message. If someone sends you a page, the Pager icon will flash and an alert will sound. To view a page, click on the Pager icon. elearning Support, BSU Page 5 August 2010

6 D2L Basic Features There are many tools available in D2L to support your learning objectives. This document will give you a basic overview of all of the D2L tools along with some recommendations. If you would like further instructions regarding how to use each tool, there are self-directed tutorials available on the elearning Support Resource page (see elearning Support Resources link in Content). TOOL Content DESCRIPTION The Content tool allows you to post and organize learning materials for your students (i.e. syllabus, reading materials, media files, PowerPoint presentations, etc.). Convert files to PDF format: If you wish to post an Office file (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) to your D2L course site, it is recommended that you save it in the PDF file format. This will make the file more accessible to students using a variety of operating systems and web browsers. NOTE: If you intend to use a file as a template or form that students need to fill in and submit, it does not need to be converted to a PDF. If you have Office 2007, there is a FREE download available which allows you to save to the PDF format from eight 2007 Microsoft Office programs. To download the add-in, do a search for Office 2007 PDF and then click on the link titled 2007 Microsoft Office Add-in: Microsoft Save as PDF or XPS. Or, go to the following web address: ( 4AE6-B059-A2E79ED87041&displaylang=en). File size note: Some students do not have access to high-speed internet service. When Content files are very large, this can cause problems for students with dial-up connection. Trying to download large files can take significant amounts of time and can even crash the student's computer. To determine the amount of time to download a file, you can use the Intel Download Calculator at Chat Discussions The Chat tool allows you to communicate with class members synchronously (at the same time) in D2L. You can use the Discussions tool to help develop a community of learners in your course. Instructors and students interact with one another by posting messages to discussion topics, reading messages, and replying to messages posted by others. Discussions are made up of Forums and Topics. Forums are the headings used to organize discussion topics. Topics are the links to where the discussions actually take place Tips for Effective Discussions Create open-ended questions which encourage learners to explore and apply the concepts that they are learning. Model good Socratic-type probing and follow-up questions. Why do you think that? What is your reasoning? Is there an alternative strategy? Ask clarifying questions that encourage students to think about what they know and don't know. elearning Support, BSU Page 6 August 2010

7 Provide clear guidelines and instructions on posting and responding to other students. For example, tell students how many posts and/or replies are required per topic, and encourage substantive posts rather than a simple I agree. You may want to suggest a two-part response: (1) state what you liked or agreed with or what resonated with you, and (2) ask a follow-up question such as what you are wondering about or curious about, etc. Classlist The Classlist provides a list of instructors and students currently enrolled in a class. It can be used to send and to check student progress in the class. View (Student) Progress: The View Progress tool on the Classlist page allows you to view a student's progress in the class. To view a student's progress, click on the View Progress tool to the far right of the student's name. On the View Progress page for the student, use the dropdown arrow to select a D2L tool (for example, Content, Discussions, Dropbox, Grades, etc.). Click the Apply button. Scroll down to see the information for the tool you selected. NOTE: The information under the Login Summary is for logins to the D2L system and not specifically for the selected course. Dropbox The Dropbox provides a convenient way for students to electronically submit assignments. You can then leave feedback and enter scores. File names for student documents: To avoid error messages when trying to open student documents submitted to the Dropbox, you should tell your students not to put periods or other characters in the file name of their documents (e.g., Word documents). These characters include "&, and, (a comma). Suggest to students that they keep the file name short and use letters and numbers only, preferably with no spaces. The hyphen (-) and underline or underscore (_) are acceptable characters. Dropbox folder names: To help avoid the problem discussed above, you should create Dropbox folder names that are simple and that do not include the unacceptable characters mentioned above. Students tend to use the folder name for an assignment when they save their document. Quizzes Surveys Grades The Quizzes tool allows you to create a variety of assessments for your students including quizzes, exams, and/or homework assignments. The Quizzes tool can be used to create many types of questions, such as multiple-choice, true/false, and long answer. Some of these questions can be graded automatically and then automatically entered into the Grades tool. NOTE: Not all test banks are compatible with D2L; however, we are able to import quiz questions from a formatted Word file. For more information, contact elearning Support. The Surveys tool is similar to the Quizzes tool and allows you to create surveys for your students. However, surveys cannot be linked to the gradebook. Get Student Feedback: Surveys can be linked to a particular student, or they can be made anonymous. On a regular basis, use the Surveys tool to get feedback from students on how the class is going and to ask for suggestions for improvement. The Grades tool allows you to set up an online gradebook. There are three main areas in the D2L gradebook. 1. Grades Setup Wizard: The wizard allows you to select the basic settings elearning Support, BSU Page 7 August 2010

8 for the gradebook including the grading system (Points or Weighted). NOTE: The Points system is recommended. 2. Manage Grades: This is where you set up, edit, re-order and delete Grade items. 3. Enter Grades: This is where you enter grades for grade items. Links News Checklist The Links tool allows you to provide students with easy access to online resources. RECOMMENDATION: When you add a resource to the Links area, include the web address (URL) in the description box. This allows students to print out the Links list with all relevant information. This is important because, when the semester has ended, students can no longer enter the D2L class site to access resources. Located on the Course Home page, the News tool allows you to post messages that your students will see when they enter the class. Because all D2L shells are empty when they are created, you should create an initial News item that will be displayed on the homepage for the class. We recommend a Welcome notice with a brief overview of the class and instructions for getting started, e.g., Click on Content in the navigation bar above to get started. Accessibility: Do NOT use light-colored font for text in News items. This can make the text difficult or impossible to read for individuals with visual challenges. For text, you should use a dark color font (e.g., black or dark blue). Color can be used to highlight words or for headings. HOWEVER, color should not be used to indicate an alternative to select. The Checklist tool allows you to provide your students with a list of course requirements. Students can then check off each item as it is completed. Additional Resources Additional faculty resources are accessible from the D2L homepage. After you login to D2L, click on the elearning Support resources link under the for Faculty & Staff heading. elearning Support, BSU Page 8 August 2010

9 If you are ready to begin using D2L and would like more information on how to use a specific D2L tool (i.e. how to set up the Content area, Discussion area, or post a News item), there are step-by-step tutorials available for most tools. To access the tutorials from the D2L homepage, click on the D2L Manuals link under the heading for Faculty & Staff, and then click on the name of the tool under the D2L Tutorials heading that you would like to learn about. The staff in elearning Support are available for one on one or small group training sessions by appointment. Please let us know how we can help you. elearning Support: Contact Information Julie Adams, Ph.D Brian Jambor Beth Jensen Instructional Designer/Technologist; D2L Lead Administrator Educational Technologist; Media Development and Support Instructional Designer/eLearning Trainer elearning Support, BSU Page 9 August 2010