D2L QuickStart D2L Tutorial

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1 D2L QuickStart D2L Tutorial The D2L QuickStart tutorial is a checklist of items that can be completed to quickly set up the basic components of an online course. It is intended to be a starting point to building an effective online course, not a conclusive template. For more information about each step, please refer to the complete tutorial for that particular tool. QuickStart Checklist: Complete the Faculty Orientation to D2L Create a NEWS Item Prepare your CONTENT Files (documents) Set up the GRADEBOOK Set up class DISCUSSION area Set up DROPBOX folders Additional Resources Complete the Faculty Orientation to D2L In order to complete the orientation, faculty members need to be enrolled in the D2L site. Once enrolled, faculty can access the D2L Orientation by logging in to D2L and clicking on the Student tab under "My Bemidji State University Courses." If you do not see the D2L Faculty Orientation in your list of courses, please contact Julie Adams at jadams@bemidjistate.edu to get enrolled. Faculty who plan to teach online are asked to complete this online orientation. The orientation will take approximately one to two hours to complete and will help you become familiar with the online learning environment from the student prospective. You may leave and return to the orientation at any time. The interactive orientation will provide you with: an explanation of what D2L is an overview of the tools used to support online, web-enhanced and on-campus classes information on the online skills that will help you work effectively in the online environment an introduction to the virtual student information on working with the virtual student, including tips to ensure academic honesty a chance to try out many of the tools available in D2L additional resources to refer to as you use the online environment in D2L elearning Support, BSU Page 1 January 2011

2 Create a NEWS Item Quickstart The News tool allows you to post messages to your students on the Course Home page. When students login to your class, the first thing they see is the News area. Therefore, it is recommended that your first News item includes a welcome message and instructions on how to proceed in the course. Recommendations: 1. Include a welcome message and instructions on how to proceed in the course 2. [Optional] Include an appropriate image in the Welcome notice (for example, the textbook image). 3. Include a brief bio of instructor (with picture). News Item Examples Instructions: 1. From the Course Home page, click on the New News Item button. You will be taken to the New Item window. 2. Type in an appropriate Headline, for example, Course Introduction. 3. Type in your message Content in the HTML Editor box. If you want more formatting options, click on the Advanced tab. 4. Click Save to save the item. 5. Click Course Home in the navigation bar to view your News item. 6. If you need to edit your News item, click the edit icon (pencil) to the right of the news item headline. elearning Support, BSU Page 2 January 2011

3 Prepare your CONTENT Files (documents) Before posting your Office files (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) to the Content area your D2L course site, it is recommended that you save them in the PDF file format. This will make your files more accessible to students using a variety of operating systems and web browsers. NOTE: If you intend to use a file as a template, it does not need to be converted to a PDF (i.e., if students are going to fill it in and submit it as an assignment). Content in D2L is organized by Modules and Topics. Modules (and Sub-modules) provide headings for each unit of the Content. Topics are, in essence, links to the files in the Manage Files area. The Manage Files area is like a file cabinet in your D2L shell. Recommendations: 1. Convert files to the PDF file format. 2. Create a Getting Started module at the top of Content with the following topics: A complete syllabus A semester schedule separate from the syllabus with dates and information on class activities and due dates for submission of course requirements. Other information considered appropriate, e.g., instructions for a get-acquainted assignment such as posting an autobiographical sketch in the Discussion area; tips for getting started; etc. Instructions: Creating a Module (heading) is the first step in creating course content. A module must be created before you can successfully add topics. 1. In your D2L course, click on the Content link in the navigation bar. You will be brought to the Manage Content page. 2. Click the New Module button. 3. Enter a module Title (i.e. Getting Started ). 4. Click Save, or to continue creating modules, click Save & New. Once you have Modules in place, you are ready to create Topics. Topics are links to files in the Manage Files area of your course. 1. Return to Manage Content, and click the New Topic button at the top of the screen. 2. Select Upload New File. NOTE: You will use this option if you want to upload a file from your computer. (i.e., your syllabus which you have saved as a PDF file.) 3. Use the drop down menu to select the desired Parent Module (heading). 4. Enter a topic Title. 5. Click the Browse button to the right of the File to Upload field to search your computer for the desired file. 6. Click Save to save your newly created topic, or Save and New to continue adding topics. 7. Click on the Content link to see how it looks. elearning Support, BSU Page 3 January 2011

4 Content Example Set up the GRADEBOOK When you click on the Grades link for the first time in any course, you will be prompted to use the Grades Setup Wizard. It is a seven step process that allows you to set the basic structure of the gradebook even before you add grade items. The Wizard makes selecting the necessary elements of your gradebook easy. Once the structure is in place, you can simply begin adding grade items. Recommendation: When setting up your gradebook, it is helpful to have your course syllabus nearby with information on how the students will be evaluated throughout the semester. Instructions for Grades Setup Wizard 1. Click on the Start button at the bottom of the Grades Setup Wizard window. 2. For Steps 1-4, you don t need to make any changes. Simply click Next to move through the pages. 3. When you get to Step 5, you may want to change the default decimal places to 0. Make the change and then click Next. 4. On Step 6, you may want to place a checkmark in the grade scheme box. This will allow your students to see their percentage correct for each grade item along with the points. Change the decimal places to 0, and then click Next. 5. Click Finish on Step 7. Instructions for setting up Grade Items: 1. Click on the Grades link on the navigation bar. 2. Click Manage Grades in the left column. 3. Click on New Item. 4. Click Numeric. 5. Enter a Name for the grade item (i.e., Assignment 1). 6. Enter a Short name for the grade item (i.e., A1). 7. Enter the point value in the Max. Points field. elearning Support, BSU Page 4 January 2011

5 8. If students can earn more on this assignment than the Max. Points, select Can Exceed. Quickstart 9. If this grade item is not to be used in determining the total points possible for the course, select Bonus Item (i.e. extra credit). PLEASE NOTE: When using Bonus Items, you need to allow the Final Grade to exceed points. 10. Leave the Grade Scheme default selected. 11. Click Show Display Options to choose whether or not to display the item's statistics to everyone. 12. Click Save to save your grade item, or click Save & New to save your grade item and continue creating new grade items. Grades Example Set up class DISCUSSIONS area 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. Recommendations: Include an Introductions (Autobiographical Sketch) topic for students to post information about themselves to help everyone get to know each other. Include your own autobiographical sketch as the first message to serve as an example. Include a Class Questions topic for students to use to post general questions about the class. Include a Class Café or Student Union topic for students to use to interact on non-course related topics Create additional discussion forums & topics to promote discussion of course-related topics. Instructions: Forums are used as headings to organize your discussion topics. Topics are the links to where the discussions actually take place (i.e., where users post and read messages). NOTE: Each topic must belong to a forum. If you create a forum without a topic, it will not be visible to students. 1. Click on Discussions, and then, click New Forum at the top of the page. 2. Enter a Title for the forum. 3. [Optional] Enter a Description. elearning Support, BSU Page 5 January 2011

6 4. Click Save to save the forum. Once you have Forums in place, you are ready to create Topics. 1. Click the Forums & Topics List button at the top of the screen. 2. Click the New Topic icon on the top tool menu. 3. In the Forum drop-down list, select the forum in which you want to create the topic. 4. Enter a Title for the topic. 5. [Optional] Enter a Description. 6. Click Save to save the topic. elearning Support, BSU Page 6 January 2011

7 Set up DROPBOX folders The Dropbox provides a convenient way for students to electronically submit assignments. You can then leave feedback and enter scores. Recommendations: Create a Practice folder as the first folder in the Dropbox to give students the opportunity to try out the Dropbox feature before an actual assignment is due. You should use letters and numbers for Dropbox titles. DO NOT use characters such as the period (.) or pound sign (#). If students use these characters in the file name of the document, it may cause problems when you try to access the document. Instructions: 1. Click the New Folder icon located near the top of the screen. You will be brought to the Properties tab of the New Folder window. 2. Type an appropriate Name for the folder in the Name field, for example, Assignment For Folder Type, use the default setting for Individual submission folder. NOTE: Group submission folder will only be available if you have created Groups. Create Quizzes/Exams 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. Recommendation: Create a Practice quiz to give students the opportunity to try out the Quiz feature before an actual test is given. NOTE: The instructions for creating a quiz can be found in a separate tutorial entitled Quizzes: Basics (see page 8 for directions on how to find additional tutorials). 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 7 January 2011

8 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 Quizzes), 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. elearning Support staff 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 8 January 2011