Desire2Learn

 

Course Tools: An Overviewfor faculty

Use the course tools in Desire2Learn to enhance your courses. These tools are the links shown at the bottom of the Navigation Bar (Content, Discussions, Dropbox, Classlist, Grades and Chat). How you structure the course determines which ones are available.

The following table describes the various Desire2Learn course tools:

Tool
Description
Articles This feature allows you to view news articles that you create. To add this feature, see "Setting up Course Tools " on page 36 of the D2L Instructor Guide.
Chat Chats allow users to converse with more than one other user at a time. They are synchronous (i.e., live, real time) discussions. This area allows you to enter Chat and begin chatting or view previous sessions (archives) of the Chat. For more information, refer to Chat Options.
Checklist This feature is a way to highlight important aspects of the course as a visual guideline to determine the needs for completing the course. To add this feature, see "Setting up Course Tools" on page 36 of the D2L Instructor Guide.
Classlist This feature keeps track of users enrolled in the course. It is also valuable as a way of finding which users are currently online.The Classlist tool also allows users to share information about themselves using the Profile or Homepage tools. For more information, refer to Viewing Online Users within Working with the Pager.
Content This feature allows the instructor to post content related to the course. Students may download files such as PowerPoint presentations to complement the course. For more information, refer to Publishing Course Content.
Discussions This area provides the instructor with the ability to view, add, modify, or remove forums and discussion topics. Students can read and post threads. For more information, refer to Setting Up Discussions.
Dropbox  This feature gives the instructor the option to allow students to submit their work online. Students can upload their work in the Dropbox and the instructor can view it at their discretion. For more information, refer to Working with the Dropbox.
Email The email feature provides an easy method to email course participants. You can automatically address email to course members or instructors directly from the Address Book. Email generated through Desire2Learn is delivered to the email address recorded within Desire2Learn. For more information, refer to Sending Email in Desire2Learn.
FAQ This feature allows an instructor to publish a list of frequently asked questions related to the course content or policies. To add this feature, see "Setting up Course Tools" on page 36 of the D2L Instructor Guide.
Glossary This feature allows instructors to create a course glossary. The glossary can be used to make key terms related to the course available to students. To add this feature, see "Setting up Course Tools" on page 36 of the D2L Instructor Guide.
Grades This feature is an immediate feedback option to let students know their progress in the course. For more information, refer to Working with Grades.
Help Allows the instructor to post help documentation created by Desire2Learn. To add this feature, see "Setting up Course Tools" on page 36 of the D2L Instructor Guide.
Journal This feature allows instructors to keep track of ideas and information they might want to use in class. It is accessible almost anywhere and easily transportable. To add this feature, see "Setting up Course Tools" on page 36 of the D2L Instructor Guide.
Links Adding links allows instructors to use information from outside of Desire2Learn to complement the course content. For more information, refer to Working with External Links.
Locker This tool provides an additional storage area for files. Files in this area can be made public or kept private. This is useful when working at multiple workstations. To add this feature, see "Setting up Course Tools" on page 36 of the D2L Instructor Guide.
News This feature allows the instructor to post items that all students can see. Posting news is an ideal way to inform students about upcoming events, due dates, or corrections. For more information, refer to Working with News.
Pager This button on the right side of the menu bar allows you to send instant messages to other contacts online. For more info, refer to Working with the Pager.
Quizzes This feature allows instructors to evaluate students online. Different question formats can be applied and modified. For more information, refer to Creating a Quiz.
Surveys This feature allows the instructor to collect instant feedback from students. This monitors trends and opinions of the users. The surveys can be collected anonymously. To add this feature, see "Setting up Course Tools" on page 36 of the D2L Instructor Guide.