D2L Self-Paced Training for Faculty and Staff

Click here to see our D2L tutorials for students.

COLI also maintains D2L Support Notes.  These are tips, observations, and other information that has not yet made it into a video tutorial.  These are worth scanning from time-to-time, to learn something new.

Below are links to short tutorial videos featuring various things you can do, and tools you can use in D2L.  Some videos have text transcripts available. Those that do not typically feature closed captions available within the video player.

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Table of Contents

Quick Start

New Professors: Finding the basics in D2L - Transcript

  • Learn the basics of D2L.

Upload a file (syllabus, or any other) into D2L.

Using the in-built Email Tool in D2LTranscript

Finding and Pinning Your Courses in D2L

  • Pinning a course can make it faster to find courses later on. This can be especially useful if you are co-teaching or want to be able to reference an older course.

Export a student roster, email list, or grades from D2L

  • Within the export tool, check boxes next to the information you wish to export to .csv/.xlsx file.
  • Learn how to export student information. You can export the student roster to make an attendance chart, the email list to create a shared folder in Google Drive, and export grades for safekeeping.

Add Your Pronouns to D2L - Transcript

  • Text tutorial
  • Add your pronouns to D2L so that you and your students can view them.

Troubleshooting D2L

  • If you are having issues with D2L, try these steps first before contacting Helpdesk.

Merge Your Courses in D2L

  • See if merging your D2L course spaces is a good idea for your classes, and how to do it.

Course Management

Copy Course Content between Courses (Shells) - Transcript

  • Text-based tutorial
    • If you are re-teaching a course, you can copy content from a previous course to the current course.
  • Copy Modules already in the course
    • Save time on setting up modules by duplicating the structure of an existing module.
  • Duplicating a Submodule in the D2L Content Area

    • Learn how to duplicate submodules in D2L. This can be useful if you have a project that carries over to a different week or if you like how it was structured and want to use the same structure in a different week. You can also use this same process to copy Modules.

Roles in D2L

  • A quick overview of the roles available to you in D2L.

Using Due Dates - Transcript

  • Use due dates to help remind students when assignments must be submitted or quizzes must be finished.

Course Start and End Dates - Transcript

  • Sometimes you may want students to be able to access your course earlier (maybe to be able to read the syllabus) or later (because the course actually goes on for longer) than the default Start and End dates allow. You can allow students to access the course for longer by editing the Course Start and End Dates.

Using Availability Dates (Start/End/Due) on...

Modules - Transcript

Course Activities/Topics - Transcript

Dropboxes and Quizzes - Transcript

Discussions - Transcript

  • If you want to ensure that students cannot access the next module or activity until they are ready, you can use Start and End dates to prevent students from accessing them.

Accessible Images using Alt-Text - Transcript

  • If you use images for course content in D2L, make them more accessible by using Alternative Text (alt-text). This extra piece of information can be extremely useful for students that make use of screenreaders and on the off chance that your image breaks. 
  • Alternatively, you can provide more context to an image using an Image Caption.

Changing My Courses Tile Images (and Course Banners) - Transcript

  • If you have an image that would better suit your course, you can use that image as your course banner.

Export a student roster, email list, or grades from D2L

  • Within the export tool, check boxes next to the information you wish to export to .csv/.xlsx file.
  • In this video, you will learn how to export student information. You can export the student roster to make an attendance chart, the email list to create a shared folder in Google Drive, and export grades for safekeeping.

Deleting Course Content in Bulk

  • If you decide that you need to start from scratch in a course that you have already built, you can quickly delete everything that is there already.

Record Webcam Videos to Communicate with Students - Transcript

  • If you want to record a quick and simple Webcam video, D2L allows you to do that with Video Note.

Create Groups Within a D2L Course Space (Close Captioned)

  • You may want students to do Group work in an Online course, or maybe you are teaching different levels of the same course that you merged. In either case, you can use Groups to break students up into teams and divide access to content and activities.

Using Groups to Limit Access to Modules in Course Content (Close Captioned)

  • Quickly restrict access to modules based on group membership.

D2L Groups and Restrictions (Closed Captioned) - Transcript

  • Quickly restrict access to various D2L activities using Groups.

Adding Existing Activities and the Manage Files Area - Transcript

  • Quickly add Course Activities to the Content Area for easier access.

Use the Quick Eval to quickly identify and grade items across your courses

  • Quickly grade and assess learners that have not been evaluated yet across all your D2L courses.

Granting Students with Incomplete Status Access to a Closed Course Space

  • Text-Based Instructions
  • If you have a student with Incomplete status that needs to finish your course, you can give that student access to your course without re-opening it to the rest of the class.

Adding a Colleague (Fellow Faculty) to Your Course

  • If you are co-teaching a course or another faculty member is auditing the course, you can quickly give them access to your course.

Offer Access to Quizzes, Content, and Other Things to One Section (or Group) but Not All

  • Quickly Restrict Course Material and Activities based on Section enrollment.

Export a Backup of Your Course Content - Transcript

  • If you need to quickly move from one Learning Management System (i.e., from D2L to Blackboard, Moodle, etc.) or just want to make sure you have a personal backup of your course you can export it.

Completion-based Assignment Restrictions/Academic Integrity Pledge - Transcript

  • You can hide activities until another activity has been viewed or a certain grade has been achieved. In this video, we demo how to use D2L quizzes to make an Academic Integrity Pledge before they can access a course activity.

Use Intelligent Agents to Send Automated Emails (to Missing Students) - Text Instructions

  • It is often difficult to know when (or if) a student is accessing your D2L course content. With Intelligent Agents, D2L will help you with that. You can create a customized message that informs students that do not access the course after a period of time that they really should.

Using Special Access - Transcript

  • D2L: Special Access (Text Tutorial)
  • Special Access can be used in a number of ways. Prominently, special access is used to give extended time on activities to students who either require it or missed the initial window to complete the activity.

Add Your Pronouns to D2L - Transcript

  • Text tutorial
  • Add your pronouns to D2L so that you and your students can view them.

Progress Tool for Course and Content Access Data - Text Instructions

  • Quickly check on a student's progress in your course and see what course materials they have or have not accessed.

Accommodations Tool- Transcript

  • Accommodation Text Instructions
  • The Accommodations tool is similar to Special Access but you can do it for an individual student instead of each individual quiz. This may be useful if you are required to give a student extra time on your quizzes by the Office of Student Accessibility Services.

Sync D2L Calendar to Personal Calendar - Transcript

  • Quickly sync your D2L calendar to a personal calendar. Note: your personal calendar may take 24+ hours to update from the D2L calendar.

Quickly Update Course Files

  • Learn how to quickly update out-of-date course files.

Merge Your Courses in D2L

  • See if merging your D2L course spaces is a good idea for your classes, and how to do it.

Release Conditions

  • Release Conditions on Modules - Transcript
    • You can allow course content to be released when certain criteria has been achieved. This can include an extra module for struggling students, opening up the next assignment when students have completed another assignment, and more.
  • Release Conditions on Course Activities/Topics - Transcript
    • Add a Release Condition on D2L Course Activities/Topics.
  • Release Conditions on Discussions - Transcript
    • In D2L, you can quickly add a Release Condition to individual Discussions. This can be useful if you want students to complete a reading, submit to a dropbox, complete a quiz, etc. before going on to the Discussion.
    • Series of Release Conditions tutorial: Students must read a PDF, then complete a quiz, then they can access the Discussion
  • Release Conditions on Dropboxes and Quizzes - Transcript
    • In this video, we show you how to add Release Conditions to both Dropboxes and Quizzes.
      • Questions for Academic Integrity Pledge:

        1. Having someone else do my work for me is considered plagiarism. (True or False) T
        2. The definition of Plagiarism is intentionally or unintentionally presenting someone else's work, ideas, or words as one's own. (True or False) T
        3. The following are forms/scenarios of plagiarism (select all that apply): (multiselect, options below-- all of them must be selected to get full points)
           [] Using a quote from a source without citing it.
           [] Paying someone (whether a fellow student, independent person, or company) or coercing someone into completing a project or paper for me.
           [] Working on an exam with another student unless it was otherwise stated by the instructor that it was ok.
        4. I will follow the Canisius College Code of Academic Integrity, which can be found in the Student Handbook, and understand that failure to do so may result in several consequences including but not limited to failing the course and/or expulsion from Canisius College. (True or False) T
        5. By typing my name into the blank below, I understand that I must take this course seriously and I acknowledge that I will follow the Canisius College Code of Academic Integrity and will not plagiarize another person's work nor cheat in this course.  Please write your FULL first and last name.


Course Materials & Links in the Content Area

Upload a file (syllabus, or any other) into D2L.

  • Quick intro video that shows how to get your syllabus (and other files) into D2L for the first day of classes.

Adding, Rearranging, and Deleting Modules

  • Short introduction to creating and managing modules, which are required in the D2L Content Area.  They are also helpful for good course design.

Adding and Working With Files

  • Uploading and moving files.  Understanding how D2L displays them to students, and monitoring student engagement.

Creating Links in D2L - Transcript

  • Learn how to create links in D2L and some tips to make using those links easier.

Building and Editing Web Pages in D2L's Content Area

  • Create a simple web page, which D2L calls Files. You can use this to embed links and videos right on the webpage.

Topic and Module Descriptions - Transcript

  • Use Topic (Content Items/Course Activities) and Module descriptions to make it easier for students to find the specific item they are looking for and provide instructions.

Adding Existing Activities and the Manage Files Area - Transcript

  • If you have created a D2L Activity (Dropbox, Quiz, Discussion, etc.), you can add it to the Content area for easier access. You can also manage the files that you uploaded to D2L and add them to the Content area if they are not already.

Basic Visibility in Content (Hidden vs. Visible.)

  • You can hide content from your students in D2L. This might be useful if you are still preparing the content or maybe you are not sure you want to use. If you do happen to hide content, make sure that you make it visible so your students can see it.

Record Webcam Videos to Communicate with Students - Transcript

  • Learn how to record quick webcam videos with D2L's Video Note.

Duplicating a Submodule in the D2L Content Area

  • Learn how to duplicate submodules in D2L. This can be useful if you have a project that carries over to a different week or if you like how it was structured and want to use the same structure in a different week. You can also use this same process to copy Modules.

Using Google Drive-based materials in D2L

If you just need simple sharing for videos, audio, or other content, that keeps your content out of Google search:

If you wish to share content with your students more securely, consider this method:

    1. Securely Share With Your Students via Google Drive
    2. Install this YouTube video in your D2L Course Space, that instructs students to log into their Google Drive: https://youtu.be/SsXjLwnkaKo.  

For more features, see D2L's Content Tool for Instructors YouTube Playlist


Collecting Assignments in Dropboxes

Dropbox Editor Screen (from the Dropbox tab) - Transcript

  • Create and customize a D2L Dropbox folder so that students can submit digital work online.

Provide Grades and Feedback for Student Submissions to Dropboxes

Grading Assignments in Dropboxes - Transcript

  • Learn how to navigate the D2L Dropbox Grading Screen

Attaching Dropboxes to the Gradebook - Transcript

  • Send dropbox grades to the Gradebook so students can see their grades in a central location.

Activating Turnitin within a D2L Dropbox - Transcript

  • Activate Turnitin in your Dropbox folders.

Record Webcam Videos to Communicate with Students - Transcript

  • Quickly record feedback to students with D2L's built-in webcam recorder, Video Notes.

Restrict File Types For Dropbox Submissions (Text Tutorial)

  • Choose what files that students can submit to a D2L Dropbox

Add a Rubric to the Dropbox (Text Tutorial)

  • Add a rubric to a D2L Dropbox for faster grading

Delete Rubrics attached to a Dropbox (Text Tutorial)

  • Delete a rubric you added to a D2L Drobpox

Quickly Copy a Dropbox - Transcript

  • Quickly copy a dropbox from one course to another course. 

Copy a Dropbox within a Course

  • Make a copy of a dropbox in a course.

Download All Student Submissions in a Dropbox

  • Quickly download all student submissions in a D2L Dropbox for faster recovery for evaluations.

Create a Group Dropbox - Transcript

  • Using D2L Groups, you can make a Group Dropbox so only one member of the group need upload the assignment. Then, when you grade it and if you use the D2L grade book, all members of the group will get the same grade and feedback.


Asynchronous Discussions (Message Boards)

Discussion Creation Screen - Transcript

  • A quick overview on creating Discussion Boards in D2L

Organization and Management of Discussions in the Discussions Area - Transcript

  • Overview of how Discussion Boards are organized and quickly manage them

Building Discussion Forums and Topics in the Discussions Area - Transcript

  • An in-depth look at building Discussion Boards in D2L

Create a Thread in a Discussion Topic - Transcript

  • Respond to a Discussion Topic with a Thread.

Reply to a Thread - Transcript

  • Respond to a Thread with a Reply.

Insert Images into Discussions - Transcript

  • Add Images or diagrams to a Discussion Thread or Reply.

View and Print Discussion Topics Using Grid View - Transcript

  • You may be required to keep discussion posts for your/department records

Grade and Provide Feedback for Student Contributions in Discussions

Attaching a Rubric to a Discussion Topic - Transcript

Grading a Discussion Topic Using a Rubric - Transcript

  • Grade and provide quick feedback on a Discussion Board using a Rubric 

Record Webcam Videos to Communicate with Students - Transcript

Installing Links, Files, or YouTube Videos into a Discussion Topic - Transcript

  • Add other types of content to a discussion board

Create a Single-Topic Small Group Discussion - Transcript

  • Allow students to view and reply to threads from others in their group only

Subscribe to Receive Email Notifications When a Class Member Contributes to a Discussion

Restore a deleted discussion board (Text Tutorial)


For more features, see D2L's Discussion Tool for Instructors YouTube Playlist

Grades

Online Quizzes and Exams in the Quizzes Tool

Quiz Editor Screen - Transcript

Add Questions to Quizzes - Transcript

  • Quickly add questions to your quizzes.

Simple Question Randomization (Text Based)

  • Have D2L randomize question delivery for each student. Each student will receive the same questions but in random order.

Set Quiz Attempts - Transcript

  • Allow students extra attempts on Quizzes. You can also set new attempts to only include questions the student got wrong on their last attempt.

Synchronous Quizzing - Transcript

  • If you are doing a timed quiz, you can have the timer start at the specified Start Date rather than when a student access the quiz.

Basic Quiz Restrictions Transcript

  • Set a Start and End Date on Quizzes and set a Time Limit so students only have a certain amount of time to work on their quiz.

Customize the Quiz Result Display - Transcript

  • Formerly the Submission View, you can customize the Quiz Result Display to show students their scores, questions, and answers to those questions.

Make Quiz Questions Bonus

Connect the Quiz to the Grade Book for easier grading. - Transcript

Using the Question Pool for Advanced Randomization in Quizzes

Add Questions to the Question Library

Preview a Quiz (See what your Students see)

Accommodations Tool- Transcript

  • Accommodation Text Instructions
  • The Accommodations tool is similar to Special Access but you can do it for an individual student instead of each individual quiz. This may be useful if you are required to give a student extra time on your quizzes by the Office of Student Accessibility Services.

Make Quiz Scores and/or Feedback Available to Students (Publish)

I published my quiz scores, so Why Aren't the Quiz Grades Available to Students?

Offer Extended Time on D2L Quizzes to One or a Few Students

See and Manually Grade Student Quiz Submissions - Transcript

Changing Quiz Question Scores after Quiz Completed (Close Captioned.)

Import Questions from Quizzes into the Question Library

Locate a Missing Student Quiz Submission

  • Have you checked and graded Quiz Submissions and seem to be missing a student (or get an email from a student wondering about their quiz)? Follow the steps in this video to find the missing attempt.

Delete a Quiz Attempt - Transcript

  • Learn how to delete a Quiz Attempt.

Access the Quiz Attempt Log - Transcript

  • If you need extra information on students' attempts on a quiz, you can use the Attempt Log.

Restore a Deleted Quiz Attempt - Transcript

  • If you have deleted a Quiz Attempt you can quickly restore it. 

Add Questions Within a Quiz Into the Question Library

D2L: Import Questions from one Quiz into Another Quiz 

Copying Quizzes - Transcript

Retake Wrong Questions on Quizzes - Transcript

Using Special Access - Transcript

Completion-based Assignment Restrictions/Academic Integrity Pledge - Transcript

Reset Quiz Attempts

For more features, see D2L's Quiz Tool for Instructors and Question Library for Instructors Youtube Playlists.

Using Rubrics

Create an Analytic Rubric - Transcript

  • The video doesn't mention it, but within the Rubric editor, check the box next to competencies. See the following video for details.

Where's My Missing Rubric?

Attach a Rubric to a Discussion Topic - Transcript

Grade a Discussion Topic Using a Rubric - Transcript

Add a Rubric to the Dropbox (Text Tutorial)

  • Add a rubric to a D2L Dropbox for faster grading

Delete Rubrics attached to a Dropbox (Text Tutorial)

  • Delete a rubric you added to a D2L Drobpox

Download a Graded Rubric - Transcript

  • Learn how to download a graded rubric for your records
  • Text-based tutorial (includes how to download rubrics attached to Grades, Discussion Boards, and Dropboxes): D2L: Download a Graded Rubric

Intelligent Agents

Introduction to Intelligent Agents - Transcript

  • Text Instructions for Intelligent Agents Introduction
  • In this video, we explore how to get started with Intelligent Agents using one of the most common scenarios: A student (or students) have not accessed the course in a period of time and we want to make sure that they open the course to check for any updates or upcoming assignments.
  • Special Email Message:

    Hi {InitiatingUserFirstName},

    Just checking in. According to D2L, you have not logged in to the {OrgUnitName} since {LastCourseAccessDate}. To be successful in {OrgUnitName}, you should be checking out the D2L course space frequently. Please let me know if there are any questions or issues. 

    Thanks! 

    Best, 

    Your Name Here

Intelligent Agents for Assignment Reminders - Transcript

  • Similar to the Introduction to Intelligent Agents tutorial. However, we use a Release Condition this time.
  • Special Email Message:

    Hi {InitiatingUserFirstName},

    This is just a quick reminder that an assignment is coming due soon in {OrgUnitName}!

    Please make sure to complete the assignment before the due date.

    Let me know if there are any questions or issues I can help with!

    Best,

    Your Name Here

View an Agent's History - Transcript

Export All Agents' Histories - Transcript

Copy an Agent Transcript

Other Useful Tutorials

BrightSpace/D2L training content

The videos and documentation below are provided by BrightSpace, Desire2Learn's parent company.  Unlike our videos, they show a generic or example version of D2L that looks somewhat different than our D2L.  But you'll still see a lot there that's helpful

Desire2learn Learning Environment at YouTube

Desire2Learn Text Documentation




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