Desire2Learn > D2L Essentials > Dates & Deadlines

Dates & Deadlines

Best Practices

1. Due dates vs. end dates

Due Dates only display the due date/time to students; if you set a due date, students can still submit to the folder after the date passes. End Dates close access to the Assignments folder, so faculty typically use Due Dates to restrict access.

2. Allowing Special Access

If an Assignment folder has an End Date and a student missed the deadline, you can re-open the Assignment folder for only that student by using the Special Access settings.

Guides and Tutorials

• Managing student access to Assignment folders in D2L

Using specific deadlines for Discussions helps both you and your students ensure that posts are submitted on time.

Best Practices

1. Availability vs. locking options

Dates set under Availability/Visibility control whether or not the students can see the discussion entirely. Dates set under Locking Options control whether or not students can post to a discussion. If you choose settings to unlock a forum/topic for a specific date range, students will still be able to see the discussion once the locking date passes, but they will no longer be able to post. Most faculty prefer to use Locking Options so that students can still see what they've posted in the discussion after the end date passes.

2. Adding dates to a forum vs. a topic

Discussions are organized into Forums. If you're having all of your students post in once space, you might create a Week 1 Forum and just one Week 1 Topic. But, if you have students post in small groups, you might create a Week 1 Forum with Topics for Group 1, Group 2, etc. Either way, you're always going to have a Forum, so you can consistently add availability/locking options to the forum. In cases where you have several Topics underneath a Forum, the date you set on the Forum will apply to all of the Topics underneath it.

3. Always select "Display in Calendar"

Selecting the Display in Calendar setting pushes the availability/locking option date to the Calendar Widget on the homepage of your course.

Guides and Tutorials

• Setting discussion dates in D2L

Using specific deadlines for Quizzes helps both you and your students ensure that quizzes are submitted on time.

Best Practices

1. Start dates and end dates

Quizzes are a space where faculty might use both Start Dates and End Dates to control the exact timeframe in which students can take a quiz, particularly if the quiz is a midterm or final exam.

2. Allowing special access

If a Quiz has an End Date and a student missed the deadline, you can re-open the Quiz for only that student by using the Special Access settings. You can also use Special Access to give students extended time to take the quiz (e.g., 90 minutes instead of the 60 minutes assigned to the rest of the class).

3. Always select "Display in Calendar"

Selecting the Display in Calendar setting pushes the availability/locking option date to the Calendar Widget on the homepage of your course.

Guides and Tutorials

• Changing Quiz Settings

Using dates in Content alerts students to deadlines for important items.

Best Practices

1. Linking Assignment folders and quizzes to content

If you add End Dates to Assignment folders and Quizzes and link to those items in Content, the End Dates will also show up in the Content view, giving students one more place to see important deadlines.

2. Linking discussions to content

Even though we recommend using the Locking dates on discussions, the one caveat is that when you link to the discussion in Content, the locking date will not appear there. Only the Availability/Visibility dates show up in Content.

3. Using due dates

The Due Date feature is useful in Content because it allows you to communicate when something is due without restricting access to that content. For example, if students need to complete a set of readings by a certain date, you can set a Due Date on that content item. Students will see when the readings are due, but they won't ever lose access to the readings.

Guides and Tutorials

• Setting dates and restricting availability for modules and topics in D2L's content area

Hands-on Practice: Dates and Deadlines (Optional)

After reading through the topics in this unit, it's your turn to practice in your course. Keep in mind that no one will be evaluating the content of what you create in your course, and you can always revise these items later. The goal of the assignments in this course is only to ensure you’re comfortable using each tool.

To satisfy the requirements of this unit, complete the following tasks in your course:

• Go to the Assignment area, edit the folder you created, and add an end date.
• Go to the Discussions area, edit the discussion topic you created, and add a locking date.