Desire2Learn

Course Files & Considerations

Placing content in Desire2Learn is essential for sharing information with your students. However, the format of your information can influence the ability of students to access your course content. The following are some tips and considerations for you as an instructor to keep in mind as you design and implement your D2L courses.

• Considerations
• File Format
• File Size & Download Times
• Preparing Your Students

Considerations

Understanding your students and their environment can help you determine your options for sharing content. The following are some general considerations for both on-campus and off-campus students.

File Size: On-campus students have access to a high-speed network and larger files will download relatively quickly. Off-campus students may have slower connections such as dial-up so large files may download slowly.

File Format: Students working on campus have access to the software installed in the general access computer labs, such as Microsoft Word. Off-campus students may be using Word, WordPerfect, Microsoft Works, or another word processing program. In addition to the program used to create the document, the version used can make a difference. For example, a Word document created with Word 2007 cannot be viewed with Word 2003. Saving a document in Rich Text Format (*.rtf) will allow it to be opened by most word processing programs. The PDF file is another popular format because Adobe Acrobat Reader is free to all students.

File Format

The most common document formats uploaded to Desire2Learn are Word, PowerPoint, and HTML. The HTML format (web pages) is the format that generally works for all students. Documents created in Word, PowerPoint, and other programs will require the software or viewer in order to access the information. Many products have viewers that can be downloaded free from the web.

A popular format to use is the PDF (Portable Document Format) file format. A PDF file can be created from many programs, including Word and PowerPoint. With a PDF file, users only need the free Adobe Acrobat Reader.

File Size & Download Times

The file size of a document has a significant impact on the download time. Minimizing file size is essential for student access to the materials. If the process takes too long, some network connections will time out before a document is transferred.

The following table includes the download time for a range of document sizes and with three connection speeds. Some off-campus students are connecting with a modem (speeds of 56 k; actual modem connection speed may be less). Students and faculty with cable modems or DSL are connecting at approximately 512k. When working on campus, the connection is a T1 or greater.

Preparing Your Students

To help minimize frustration, it is helpful to prepare your students for the files they will be downloading. Adding a comment about the file format and size can help. For example, if a 17-page Word document is attached, you may add the following: