D2L+Course+Tools

**Instructor and Course Delivery Tools**

Learning Environment combines educational standards with leading-edge eLearning technology that enables your organization to create engaging content, collaborate more effectively, and achieve results using a personalized, tailored platform. Several key Desire2Learn instructor and course delivery tools include:

==Instructor Personal Tools == **My Home** A personalized central location for all of the instructor courses. My Home displays updates that are relevant to the instructor including instructor-only news postings, upcoming events, course links and much more. **My Settings/Preferences** Instructors can customize the learning system to meet their needs. They can easily set their preferences for tool usage, accessibility, event monitoring, and more. **My Bookmarks** Users can easily return to their favorite pages using the Bookmark tool. **My Links** Instructors can add personal links as a widget on the home page. **My Locker** This tool enables instructors to store personal files or documents in a central location. **My Updates** This widget on the homepage provides one location where instructors can determine what has changed or requires attention when they login to the system, such as new discussion posts, emails, assignments, and quizzes to be graded.
 * Convenient Content Management **

The Desire2Learn system is designed to support your approach to teaching and provides robust tools to assist you in content design, creation and delivery. Within the Learning Environment, you can:


 * **Import and Conversion** **
 * ** The Desire2Learn system supports easy content import from other competitor products, IMS-Content Packaging, and is certified for SCORM 2004 and SCORM 1.2 RTE 3. The import process can be very granular – for example, an instructor can select to bring in one quiz (or even one question), a module, and the dropbox files instead of the entire contents of a package. ** **

**Copying Components** The Desire2Learn system supports granular copying of content from previous offerings. This allows you to create a new course offering based upon content from another course within seconds. **Exporting Courses** You can export content, quizzes, and all key tools from Desire2Learn. This assists you in sharing content to and from other organizations. **Upload Content** Upload and/or manage existing content directly from your desktop using drag-and-drop functionality or you can use the Desire2Learn file upload utility with optional zip/unzip functionality. **Manage Content** The Learning Environment enables you to organize your content, images, and multimedia in appropriate folders and/or sub-folders. <span style="border-bottom-color: #dfdfdf; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; display: block; margin-bottom: 12px; padding-bottom: 18px;">**Create Topics/Modules** Create topics or modules easily using Desire2Learn content management tools. Create topics using the Desire2Learn HTML editor, existing content, or Desire2Learn Quicklinks to link to quizzes, discussions tools, or Learning Objects. <span style="border-bottom-color: #dfdfdf; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; display: block; margin-bottom: 12px; padding-bottom: 18px;">**Compose a Syllabus** Design a syllabus by uploading an existing file (HTML, Word, PDF, etc.) or creating a new syllabus using the Desire2Learn HTML editor. The HTML editor enables you to quickly copy and paste content from other files. <span style="border-bottom-color: #dfdfdf; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; display: block; margin-bottom: 12px; padding-bottom: 18px;">**Save time** The Learning Environment increases efficiencies by offering one-click editing of topics and content management tools which are easy-to-use and are always available. <span style="border-bottom-color: #dfdfdf; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; display: block; margin-bottom: 12px; padding-bottom: 18px;">**Create Links** Learning Environment enables instructors without HTML/URL knowledge to create links easily, using the Desire2Learn Quicklinks tool, to any resource within the system. <span style="border-bottom-color: #dfdfdf; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; display: block; margin-bottom: 12px; padding-bottom: 18px;">**Set Conditional Releases** Instructors can determine when learners (or other roles) can access specific content, discussions, assessments, dropbox assignments, news postings, checklists, surveys, and other learning tools. Release of resources can be based upon results/usage of: time/date, checklists, discussions, quizzing, self-assessment, content, dropboxes, group membership, content progress, learning style preference, and more. <span style="border-bottom-color: #dfdfdf; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; display: block; margin-bottom: 12px; padding-bottom: 18px;">**Access the Learning Repository** Catalog and share content using Desire2Learn's Learning Repository. <span style="border-bottom-color: #dfdfdf; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; display: block; margin-bottom: 12px; padding-bottom: 18px;">**Create Course Templates** Design course templates containing either layout or content at any level above the specific section level. Instructors can create announcements, calendar entries, discussions, links, syllabus, course descriptions and other course content using templates that include a what-you-see-is-what-you-get (WYSIWYG) content editor, or upload and choose content from the system-wide content library. <span style="border-bottom-color: #dfdfdf; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; display: block; margin-bottom: 12px; padding-bottom: 18px;">**Search and/or Compile and Download** Learning Environment enables users to search, optionally compile, and download course content for printing. You can also search discussion threads and Learning Object Repositories using the basic search features or advanced filters. <span style="border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; display: block; margin-bottom: 12px; padding-bottom: 18px;">**Integrate CD-ROM** Integrate multimedia rich content on CD or DVDs easily within the Desire2Learn Learning Environment. ==<span style="color: #f4911d; font-size: 15px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 21px; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 80px; padding-top: 6px;">Assessments and Assignments == <span style="border-bottom-color: #dfdfdf; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; display: block; margin-bottom: 12px; padding-bottom: 18px;">**Competencies and Student Success** Learners can see their progress on various activities, learning objectives, and competencies in a course, program, and/or their entire experience at your organization. They can gain greater insight into what is required for success, how they are progressing, and any current gaps, which in turn can drive improved student outcomes. <span style="border-bottom-color: #dfdfdf; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; display: block; margin-bottom: 12px; padding-bottom: 18px;">**Rubrics** With access to a rubric, learners can understand the requirements and method for assessment on activities such as a quiz or dropbox assignment. <span style="border-bottom-color: #dfdfdf; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; display: block; margin-bottom: 12px; padding-bottom: 18px;">**Grades** Instructors can manage learner grades and associated comments for all of the participants in a course. Depending upon the instructors' specifications, learners can view statistics, graphs and other information associated with their own gradebook. <span style="border-bottom-color: #dfdfdf; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; display: block; margin-bottom: 12px; padding-bottom: 18px;">**Dropbox** Dropbox provides a convenient way for students to submit individual and group assignments from their computer or directly from their locker. Instructors can manage submissions, give feedback, grade assignments, and assess assignments using rubrics from a single location. Instructors can also set due dates for assignments and provide extensions when needed. Group dropbox folders now make it easy for instructors to evaluate group assignments. <span style="border-bottom-color: #dfdfdf; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; display: block; margin-bottom: 12px; padding-bottom: 18px;">**Self-Assessments** The self assessment tool enables learners to test their comprehension of course material and receive immediate feedback. Self assessments support the full range of questions available in quizzes and can be quickly assembled by reusing questions from the consolidated question library shared with the quizzing tool. <span style="border-bottom-color: #dfdfdf; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; display: block; margin-bottom: 12px; padding-bottom: 18px;">**Quizzing** Instructors can assess learners using the quizzing tool, which includes a complete toolkit of question styles that can be adapted to any pedagogical methodology. Instructors can create questions of varying difficulty and randomize questions within a quiz. The consolidated question library allows instructors to store questions in a common location where they can easily be shared across quizzes or reused in self assessments and surveys. To ensure quality, instructors can preview quizzes before releasing them to students, while powerful reporting options allow for detailed analysis of learner performance. Your can leverage your organizational structure and share quizzes across multiple courses and compare outcomes between classes. <span style="border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; display: block; margin-bottom: 12px; padding-bottom: 18px;">**Survey Tool** Capture valuable course or organization-wide feedback from your user community with the survey tool. Support for anonymous responses ensures accurate, honest feedback. Integration with course content and a comprehensive range of standard question types, combined with the ability to email custom invitations and to specify the number of responses, makes this a versatile tool for gathering data. Use the tool's convenient built-in reports and statistics to analyze results, or export data to an external system for more advanced analysis. ==<span style="color: #f4911d; font-size: 15px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 21px; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 80px; padding-top: 6px;">Communication and Collaboration == Enhance interaction and foster collaboration by enriching the learning environment, and improving learner results with the Desire2Learn Learning Environment. Key Desire2Learn collaboration and communication tools include:

<span style="border-bottom-color: #dfdfdf; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; display: block; margin-bottom: 12px; padding-bottom: 18px;">**My Blog** Learning Environment provides a safe atmosphere for learners to communicate with peers and reflect on learning and life experiences by maintaining a blog. Learners can read their peer's blogs, leave comments, and keep a list of favorites. Blogs can be published as RSS feeds, and flexible configuration options allow you to choose whether your users' blogs are available outside your institution. <span style="border-bottom-color: #dfdfdf; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; display: block; margin-bottom: 12px; padding-bottom: 18px;">**My Email** Learning Environment includes a fully featured email system that you can configure for internal-only or internal and external messaging, or integrate with any existing IMAP system including Microsoft Exchange, Groupwise, and Sun iPlanet. The email tool automatically associates messages and contacts with course offerings, making email communication continuous with the rest of a learner's experience. <span style="border-bottom-color: #dfdfdf; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; display: block; margin-bottom: 12px; padding-bottom: 18px;">**My Calendar** This tool provides users easy access to all their organization, course and personal events. Events that are posted to a course, department, or organizations calendars are automatically displayed as events for someone enrolled in that course/organization. The calendar supports bulk-import from a comma separated value (.csv) file format.<span style="border-bottom-color: #dfdfdf; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; color: #f4911d; display: block; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 10px; text-align: center;"> <span style="border-bottom-color: #dfdfdf; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; display: block; margin-bottom: 12px; padding-bottom: 18px;">**News** Instructors and administrators can post general announcements and news items that are viewable from "My Home", individual courses, or from a departmental homepage. This process is an efficient way to communicate news items and can help your organization avoid sending mass emails. <span style="border-bottom-color: #dfdfdf; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; display: block; margin-bottom: 12px; padding-bottom: 18px;">**Document Sharing** Learners can share documents with a class or specific group, facilitating collaboration. This sharing provides a valuable tool for group projects and collaboration within your organization. <span style="border-bottom-color: #dfdfdf; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; display: block; margin-bottom: 12px; padding-bottom: 18px;">**Threaded Discussions** Course discussion areas provide a valuable forum for learner and instructor interaction. The discussion tool enables learners to rate one another's messages, providing a participation incentive and empowering learners to call out key contributions. <span style="border-bottom-color: #dfdfdf; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; display: block; margin-bottom: 12px; padding-bottom: 18px;">**LiveRoom** LiveRoom enables participants and instructors to communicate in real-time in an open chat room or private study room. Archives are automatically created. Learners can send instant private messages with a click of the mouse. The chat tool also comes with a fully integrated canvas or whiteboard, allowing instructors to illustrate concepts and course material to learners in the chat room.

Participants can see who is currently online from several locations: an optional "who's online" widget on the homepage, class list and an instant messaging device, plus the chat also indicates current participants <span style="border-bottom-color: #dfdfdf; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; display: block; margin-bottom: 12px; padding-bottom: 18px;">**Instant Messaging/Pager** Online participants can quickly find other users who are currently online and send private messages. This feature allows instructors to minimize the amount of email they receive, and enables learners to communicate quickly with their peers. You can turn off the Pager tool when learners are taking an online quiz. <span style="border-bottom-color: #dfdfdf; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; display: block; margin-bottom: 12px; padding-bottom: 18px;">**Learner Collaboration** Learners from different courses can interact in system-wide chat rooms or discussion forums. Groups can create online clubs or interest and study groups at the community level that use all the tools and features of the Desire2Learn system. Group/community homepages can also be linked to from the "My Home" page. <span style="border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; display: block; margin-bottom: 12px; padding-bottom: 18px;">**Class List** This tool enables learners and instructors to immediately identify who is online, send instant messages or emails, distinguish group members, and edit/view personal profiles, see shared files, and much more. ==<span style="color: #f4911d; font-size: 15px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 21px; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 80px; padding-top: 6px;">Other Desire2Learn Instructional and Course Delivery Tools == <span style="border-bottom-color: #dfdfdf; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; display: block; margin-bottom: 12px; padding-bottom: 18px;">**Learner Progress** Instructors can view learner progress through the course(s) from a single summary page that contains information on topics visited, assignments completed/submitted, grades received, quiz results, discussion participation, and more. <span style="border-bottom-color: #dfdfdf; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; display: block; margin-bottom: 12px; padding-bottom: 18px;">**Large Class-size, Section and Group Support** Desire2Learn supports sections and groups within a course allowing you to sort items such as the Gradebook by a particular group/section, or by filtering based upon a specific group or search criteria. The filtering can also apply to custom reports for particular sections or enabling teaching assistants (TAs) to review/grade work only for a particular section. Desire2Learn's proven scalability empowers you to run tens of thousands of concurrent quizzes or other server-intensive programs. With thousands of students within a course, Desire2Learn clients rely on course templates and/or the Desire2Learn Learning Repository as another option to support large classes by sharing resources and reducing the workload for assistants and instructors. <span style="border-bottom-color: #dfdfdf; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; display: block; margin-bottom: 12px; padding-bottom: 18px;">**Learner Portfolios** Learning Environment enables instructors, learners, and others to build an electronic portfolio of digital artifacts such as presentations, resources, and accomplishments. ePortfolios can encourage personal reflection and provide a valuable resource to share with others. <span style="border-bottom-color: #dfdfdf; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; display: block; margin-bottom: 12px; padding-bottom: 18px;">**Broken Links Viewer** The Learning Environment reports any broken links immediately to the instructor and suggestions on how to fix the issue. <span style="border-bottom-color: #dfdfdf; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; display: block; margin-bottom: 12px; padding-bottom: 18px;">**Orientation and Help** Learning Environment includes online learner guides and context sensitive help for tools and interfaces. You can customize help items specifically to your organization. In addition, several quick guides, Learning Objects, and other help resources are available through the Desire2Learn Learning Community. Plus many more tools and features exist, including Feedback Systems, Journals, Home Pages, Glossary, etc.