Desire2Learn > Common Questions
Common Questions
Overview
How do I find my course?
After you log in to D2L (https://distancelearning.elgin.edu/) using your accessECC credentials, your courses will be listed in the My Courses widget. For more information on viewing your courses, visit our detailed guide on searching for your course in D2L.
Why can’t I find an older course of mine?
Elgin Community College retains online instructor materials for three terms after the end of the course in D2L. Materials may be available after that, but instructors should not depend on such availability.
Instructional Improvement and Distance Learning sends out an email to the faculty to give advance notice before older course sites are purged from D2L. As a best practice, we recommend that you export your older course sites, especially if they are courses you don’t teach frequently. When you export your course site, D2L packages everything in a .zip file, which you can then download and save on your computer. Exporting the course will save all course elements, but not student data or information. When you need it again, you can re-upload the course to D2L (and possibly other learning management systems.) View the Export a Course Site in D2L guide for step-by-step instructions.
If your course has been deleted and you didn’t export a copy of it, Instructional Improvement and Distance Learning will be happy to assist, if we can. Contact d2lhelpdesk@elgin.edu to request assistance.
How do I copy my course?
Instead of having to re-create your course each term, you can copy a previous iteration of your course. Once copied, you’ll need to update the dates in a course, upload your new syllabus, and make any other modifications. View the instructions for copying your course.
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Classlist
How do I verify enrollment?
If you need to verify that a student is enrolled in your course, you can either check the last time they were active in the course by following this guide. Alternatively, you can check a student’s status by using the enrollment statistics page, using this guide.
Where can I find a list of all of my students?
You can find a list of all your students enrolled in D2L by navigating to the “Classlist” tab in D2L. If you do not see “Classlist” in the main navigation bar, it might be located under the “More” menu. This will show you a list of students, instructors, and teaching assistants that have been added to your course.
Why is there a student listed as enrolled in Colleague but not in my D2L course?
If the student has enrolled in your course in Colleague but is not in D2L, it is most likely that the server has not refreshed with the new roster yet. The process that enrolls users into D2L runs every night so it can take up to 24 hours after the student registers for the course if they register early in the morning. If a student still does not appear after 24 hours, verify that they are registered for your course. If they are, contact d2lhelpdesk@elgin.edu for additional help.
How do I add someone to my class?
If, as an instructor, you need to give someone access to your course, whether affiated or not with ECC, please contact d2lhelpdesk@elgin.edu.
Communications
How can I email a single student or my entire class?
You can email a single student or the entire class from the classlist area. For detailed instructions, visit our guide.
How do I post an announcement to my students?
On your homepage, you can post a news item that each of your students will see when they log in to your course. To create a news item, follow the guide.
Will my students receive an email when I post a news item?
Your students do not automatically receive an email when you post a news item. They will need to manually subscribe to receive emails. Your students should follow the instructions below if they would like to receive email or SMS notifications when you post a news item.
- Click on your name in the upper right-hand corner to open the menu.
- Click on the “Notifications” link to manage your course notifications setting.
- In the Instant Notifications heading for News, select the box next to the items for which you would like to receive notifications. (There should be a blue check mark when selected.)
- Click the Save button on the bottom of the screen to save any changes made.
NOTE: If there are boxes already selected with blue check marks, this indicates that you are currently subscribed to that item.
What is an intelligent agent? When do they typically run?
Intelligent Agents are a tool in D2L that can send automated email when instructor-defined criteria are met. For example, instructors can email students who have not logged in recently, whose grades have fallen below a certain level, or who have viewed a specific content topic. For information on how to set up intelligent agents,
check out our guide.
Intelligent agents typically run at 8pm CST.
What is the file size limit for email attachments?
There is a 10MB limit for email attachments. This is extremely small. Therefore, we highly recommend that you upload the files to your content area, then link to the content item in your email.
If a student responds to my email, will it go to D2L?
No, it will not. Email in D2L uses a proxy server based the student.elgin.edu e-mail system. Because of this set up, if a student responds to your email, it will be sent to your student.elgin.edu account.
Your Course Content
How do I create a module or submodule?
Modules and submodules are excellent tools for organizing content in your course. Our office has curated a guide on how to create modules and submodules.
What does it mean if an item is listed as “Draft” vs “Published”?
In your content area, some items may appear with the word “Draft” in italics off to the right of the title. This means that you can see the item, but your students cannot. Published items in content are visible to students. By default, the content area does not show the word “Published” to the right of the title; if the area is blank, it is published.
Note that you can make modules and submodules invisible to students by changing the status of the module to draft in the upper right-hand corner of the module view. Anything you place in this module will be hidden from student view. For example, you could place resources for yourself (such as lesson plans) that the students will not see, but you will have access to.
For instructions on how to hide modules or items using “Draft” status,
visit our guide on setting dates and availability. Note that the instructions for hiding modules or an item is located near the bottom of the guide.
How do I upload a file, such as my syllabus or course schedule?
For instructions on how to upload a file, visit our guide here.
Why won’t my file upload?
Unfortunately there are a few reasons why your file might not be uploading:
- The title of your file contains special characters or punctuation. To fix this error: remove special characters and punctuation from your title by sticking to alphanumeric text only.
- The title of your file is too long. To fix this error: reduce the length of your title to less than 128 characters total.
- The size of your file is too large. To fix this error: compress or zip your file by following these instructions for Windows Computers and for Mac computers.
- The internet connection isn’t strong enough. To fix this error: find a different wireless internet connection or try using an Ethernet cable.
How do I create a link in my course?
For instructions on how to create a link in your course, visit our guide.
What is the file size limit for uploaded files?
For files you—or your students—are uploading to D2L, there is a 1GB per file limit. Note that large files, even if under 1GB, can have problems uploading if the user has a poor internet connection. Additionally, the file size limit for email attachments is significantly smaller. For more information on email attachments, see our guide HERE.
Dates
How do I set dates in the content area?
You can set dates on modules, submodules and topics that can restrict access to the items. You can restrict when access becomes available, when it ends, and even what due dates show in the calendar. For detailed instructions on how to set dates, visit our guide here.
How do I set availability dates in Assignments, Discussions, or Quizzes?
Assignments. It’s important to note that the use of end dates on Assignment folders will not allow students to submit files after the listed date. We recommend that you use due dates, instead of end dates. The due date will appear in the calendar tool, and late assignments will appear in red—letting you know clearly who did and did not turn in the assignment on time. For instructions on how to set date-based restrictions on Assignment folders, visit our guide.
Quizzes. Quiz dates are similar to Assignment dates in that end dates cut off all access to the quiz. If you want the start, due, and/or end date to appear in the calendar, make sure you check the “Display in Calendar” box when you set the dates. For instructions on how to set date-based restrictions on quizzes,
visit our guide.
Discussions. Discussion use two kinds of dates: visibility and locking. Visibility dates control when a forum or topic become visible to your students. Locking dates control when students can access a forum or topic. It’s important to note that the dates you apply to the forum apply to any of the topics within it. For example, if you hide the forum, you will not be able to see any of its topics. For instructions on how to set date-based restrictions on discussion forums and topics,
visit our guide.
Discussions
How do I set up a discussion board?
Discussion boards are an extremely versatile tool that you can use to facilitate conversations outside of the classroom. To create a discussion board in your course, check out our guide.
Can I create a discussion board that only some students can see?
You can create a discussion board that is restricted to groups of students or even individual students. Once you’ve created a forum and set up groups in your course, you can restrict topics in that forum to the defined groups. This can be extremely useful for facilitating conversations in small groups or creating a place for groups to discuss upcoming projects. For instructions on how to set up groups, visit our guide. For instructions on how to set up discussion boards for groups, visit our guide.
How do I grade a discussion board?
For instructions on grading a discussion board, visit our guide.
How do I hide a discussion forum or topic?
You can hide discussion forums or topics from your students. If you hide a forum, it will also hide any topics in it. In the discussion settings under Availability, select "Hide this forum" or "Hide this topic". Then click Save and Close.
Assignments & Assessments
What happened to Dropbox?
In August 2020, D2L changed the language of the "Dropbox" area to be called "Assignments" as it more accurately represents how instructors use the tool. ECC is scheduled to make the change before FA2020.
What is the easiest way to collect assignments in D2L?
The easiest way to collect assignments or projects in D2L is using the Assignments feature. D2L’s Assignments feature is like a digital folder where students can go to upload and submit one or more files. You can create a single Assignment folder for each project or segment of a project. For instructions on how to set up an Assignment folder visit our guide.
How do I set up an Assignment folder for a group of students?
You can create an Assignment folder that only a group of students can submit to if, for example, they are doing a group project and need to submit a file together. First, you must set up your groups in your course. For instructions on how to set up groups in D2L, visit our guide. Once your groups are created, you can then use them to create group-restricted Assignment folders. For instructions on how to assign those group restrictions to a folder, visit our guide.
How do I hide an Assignment folder from students?
You can hide an Assignment folder from students by changing the restrictions in the folder settings. Under Restrictions, check the box next to "Hidden from users".
How do I grade an Assignment?
There are two ways to grade a student’s Assignment.
- If you would like to download all of your students’ files in order to mark or grade them with track changes in Microsoft word, you can batch download and batch upload these files in D2L. For instructions on how to do this, visit this guide.
- If you just need to be able to read and respond to your students’ files in a single comment or give credit for participation, you can give grades and feedback directly in the Assignments tool. For instructions on how to grade in Assignments, visit this guide.
How do I create a quiz in D2L?
For instructions on how to create a quiz,
visit this guide.
How do hide a quiz from students?
You can hide a quiz from students by changing the restrictions in the quiz settings. Under
Restrictions, change the status from "Active" to "Inactive".
Grading
How do I grade a discussion?
For instructions on grading a discussion board, visit our guide here.
How do I grade a Assignment?
There are two ways to grade a student’s Assignment.
- If you would like to download all of your students’ files in order to mark or grade them with track changes in Microsoft word, you can batch download and batch upload these files in D2L. For instructions on how to do this, visit this guide.
- If you just need to be able to read and respond to your students’ files in a single comment or give credit for participation, you can give grades and feedback directly in the Assignments tool. For instructions on how to grade in Assignments, visit this guide.
How do I set up my gradebook?
To set up your gradebook in D2L, check out our guide here. Once your gradebook is set up, the next step is to create grade items and/or grade categories.
Should I use a points, weighted, or formula gradebook?
When setting up your gradebook, the system will ask you what type of gradebook you wish to create.
Points. Grade items can be worth a certain amount of points that are totaled for a final grade. For example, participation is worth 50 points, the midterm is worth 100 points, etc.
Weighted. Grade items can count as a percentage of a final grade worth 100%. For example, participation is worth 10%, the midterm is worth 20%, etc.
Formula. Grade items are calculated as part of the final grade based on a custom formula that you define (only used in special cases; Contact
d2lhelpdesk@elgin.edu with questions).
Your Course Homepage
How do I add a calendar event?
Some tools—such as Assignments or module dates—automatically push dates to your calendar. However, sometimes you may want to add in an event for something else, like a guest lecturer or field trip. For instructions on how to set up your own calendar event, visit our guide here.
Which events show up on my course calendar?
When you add due dates to the Content or Assignments area, those dates are automatically added to your Calendar.
Other tools, such as Discussions and Quizzes, are set up such that you must select a setting in the start and end dates that will add the dates to the Calendar automatically. For information on setting dates in Discussions,
visit our guide. For information on setting dates in Quizzes,
visit our guide.
Customization
How do I customize my homepage?
To customize your homepage, visit our guide.
How do I customize my navigation bar?
To customize your navigation bar,
visit our guide here.
Can I create a custom widget?
You can create a custom widget to display on your course homepage with information about yourself, the course, special resources, or anything else you want shared on the front page. For information on creating a custom widget, visit our guide here. Note that once you create the widget, you will need to add the widget to your course home by following the instructions on this guide.
Audio & Video in D2L
What kind of multimedia can I put in my course?
The content area can house the following files types through D2L:
- Web documents
- HTM, HTML, MHT, MHTML
- Text documents
- RTF, PPT, PPTX, PPS, PDF, DOC, DOCX, XML, XLS, XLSX, TXT, WPD
- Image
- JPG, JPEG, PNG, GIF, BMP, TIF, TIFF
- Multimedia
- SWF, MPG, MPEG, RM, MP3, MP4*, M4V*, M4A*, AVI, WAV, RAM, ASF, MOV, RA
How do I insert a video into my course?
To insert a video into your course, check out the Embed YouTube Videos and Other Content section on our HTML Editor page.
Can my students upload videos to the course as part of an assignment?
Yes, your students can upload videos to D2L. For instructions on how to do this, please contact our office.
Attendance
How do I track attendance in D2L?
You can create an attendance register in your D2L course that lets you track attendance in one of two ways:
- You can track by just present or absent.
- You can track by present, absent, late, or excused.
For instructions on how to set up a register, visit our guide here.
How do I see the last time a student accessed my D2L course?
To see what date the student last accessed your D2L course, navigate to your course site.
- Go to Course Admin > View User Progress
- Click on the student’s name
- In the sidebar on the left-hand side, click the last option, “Login History”
- At the top of this page, you will have information for:
- The number of times the student has logged into D2L in the last 30 days
- The last date they accessed your course
- The last date they accessed D2L in general
Note that the specific times listed below each date as a session represent the times they accessed the system in general, but not necessarily your course.