Customize your D2L Notifications!

d2l-email-notifications-phoneHave you ever missed an assignment on D2L? It happens to the best of us, I understand. Sometimes you have work, you have other classes, you have personal issues, and sometimes you just plain old forget to do it.

You have the ability to customize your notifications. This means you can change your class information to fit into your life the way you want it to. You can adjust your email or text notifications to the way you like to receive it.

Jump on over to the Email Notifications page to get the scoop!

Take this information and go be the student you always wanted to! Or at least remember that assignment before you procrastinate on it.  Thanks for your time!

Desire2Learn Login Problems with “Bitdefender”

We have recently discovered that users with “Bitdefender” installed on their personal machines may be receiving error messages when trying to login to Desire2Learn.  The messages that you would receive would look similar to the following:

Use the following steps to correct this issue:

  1. Open the Bitdefender 2015 Window
    bitdefender1
  2. Click on “Protection”
    bitdefender1
  3. Choose “Web Protection”
    bitdefender2
  4. Find the “Scan SSL” option and click on the checkmark to disable it.
    bitdefender3
  5. Close out of Bitdefender and restart your internet browsers.  The problem should now be resolved.

Note: In Bitdefender 2014, the screens are slightly different.  Use the following steps:

  1. Open Bitdefender window
  2. Click Settings
  3. Click Privacy Control
  4. Turn off Scan SSL

If the problem still persists, please reset your browser settings and try again.

If you are still having login problems after going through the above steps, please contact UW-W Desire2Learn Support.

ResponseWare Account Migration

ResponseWare LogoDuring the summer, Turning Technologies updated their ResponseWare service, and because of the change, all ResponseWare accounts need to be migrated over to the new service.

If you’ve previously signed up for a ReponseWare account, you would have received an email from Turning Technologies to the email address you used during the sign up (most likely your UW-W email account). The email will include a link to follow to migrate your ResponseWare account.

If you haven’t received an email from Turning Technologies to migrate your account, you can visit the Account page for ResponseWare and click the Forgot Password link. Do NOT make a new account from this page. Enter in the email address you used to register for a ResponseWare account in the forgot password screen, and you’ll receive a new email with a link to migrate your account.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding the ResponseWare migration, please contact the Learning Technology Center.

D2L v10.3 Discussion Tool Changes

The latest upgrade in D2L to version 10.3 included a complete interface overhaul of the Discussions tool. This new interface includes a change to the structure of Discussions and some new features, which are outlined in the video below.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding the Discussions tool or the changes, please contact UW-W D2L Support.

What’s New in D2L Version 10.3 For Students

Desire2Learn is scheduled for an upgrade to version 10.3. The upgrade outage will start at 9:30 PM on Wednesday, June 4th, 2014 and end at 10:30 AM on Thursday, June 5th, 2014 (all times CT).

During this upgrade, D2L will NOT be available. This outage and upgrade will greatly affect Summer courses, so please plan your course work accordingly.

In addition, Learn@UW has scheduled server maintenance on Saturday, June 14th from 6:00 AM to 10:00 AM. Desire2Learn will not be accessible during this window.

We have a “What’s New” video for students that highlights some of the changes that are coming with the upgrade.

If you have any questions about the D2L upgrade, please Contact UW-W D2L Support.

Final Post

Well Guys,

This is it. This is the end. The end of the semester that is. Do you know what that means? NO MORE BLOGS! 🙁   While I know all of you are probably already cried out from last week’s post, and you can probably no longer see the screen from the tears you are shedding. You must all pull yourselves together and emotionally prepare yourselves for this last post.

This is because it is the spring semester closing post! It has vital information for wrapping up your spring semester.

First of all, you should make note of Andersen Library’s Extended Hours from 7am to 2am  from Sunday May 11th to Thursday May 15th.

Second, if you haven’t already, you should get your summer schedule on lock. Are you taking summer classes? Do you have an internship? A part-time job? What are  you doing with your life?

Third, start packing for your moving day if you have one. I know I do and I also know what a pain it is to pack the day of moving.

Fourth is to prepare for your password switch-over in D2L. Starting thinking up your new password and memorizing it.

desire2learn-logo_0Last, prepare for the D2L upgrade! This is the most important change youll have to deal with.  There are all sorts of new and amazing things happening with our favorite browser!

For example, anyone who uses the Binder tool will be please to know that you can now more easily send things to Binder. You can even send your class’ whole content page if you want. So start making those EduDentity accounts cuz you are going to want them!

Another change is to the Dropbox section. There is a new look that is not only more appealing but twice as user friendly. There is a similar appearance change to Discussions and now there will be a picture displayed of the last person who made a post, making it easier than even to discuss with your classmates.

Remember your ePortfolios? I know I do. Well the last big change I want to point out is going to be to your ePortfolio. The layout will be different as well as how you use it. You can subscribe and ignore people just as easily as our favorite social networking sites! But in a more educational setting, of course.

That is all I have for you guys, both for today and for this year.

I hope you all have an easy finals week as well as an amazing summer!

Thank you for your time!

Elaina

The Cure to Final Fever

Hey Guys,

With just a couple of school weeks left in the semester, that makes this one of my last blogs (Cue tears and wails of disappointment)!

Because of that, I thought that it would be an appropriate time to give you some tips and reminders about D2L so you don’t have to panic and be sick with final fever. So sit back, relax, and grab your pen and paper to jot down these game changing, secrets to success.

  • Save after every question while taking a quiz. You would think I wouldn’t have to put this one at the top of the list…

Save-icon

  • If something happens during a timed quiz in D2L, you can always close out and go back in. Just remember that the timer’s still counting down!
  • When submitting a project with a lot of different files to Dropbox, put them all in a zipped folder.

zipped-folder-image

  • There is a 300 MB file size limit on Dropbox submissions.
  • If something is giving you trouble, trying switching browsers! We recommend using Safari or Firefox.
  • Be cool, stay in school; sometimes when it comes down to grading and the difference between an A- and a B, attendance matters!
  • Don’t procrastinate, and if you do then do it well and don’t call try calling the helpdesk at midnight, the night of your Dropbox due date.

procrastinate

  • Remember to turn in all of your A/V Checkouts equipment, it’s just cheaper for you that way.
  • Remember when your final time slot is; self explanatory.
  • Use Google Drive and you wont have to worry about forgetting your flash drive.

drive1

  • Professors don’t want you to fail, they’re just doing their jobs; but if you have spent more time on Facebook than in that class, then you probably deserve it.

That’s all I have for now! Remember these things and instead of final fever, you’ll be feeling fantastic, finally!

Thanks for your time,

Elaina

Media Lab/General Access Labs

Hey guys,

We’ve only got three weeks left can you believe it? The time has seemed to fly by!  I remember my first post to your guys!

Ah memories.

This is about the time of the year when people really start to get stressed. Classes are starting to wind down and students are basically on a mad sprint to the finish. With all of this panic and confusion, it’s easy to forget the essentials like, what the school offers to help you in this time of need.

Media LabA popular example of forgotten luxuries is the General Access Labs! The general access labs, located in the basement of Andersen, or Andersen 1008. They offer free black and white printing, for all of those pesky end of year assignments. They have a mix of computers with all different types of programs and software to help you with your classroom assignments.

If you need help with this software or if you would like to print something in color or get it things laminated, the General Access Labs also contain the Media Lab.

This is where you can print in color and get things laminated, this also includes poster printing for anyone who wants to make their presentations as professional as can be. The Media Lab also offers A/V Checkouts where you can check out, projectors, screens, tablets, headphones, microphones and all sorts of other different audio and visual recording equipment.

Mic DramaTo check out this equipment go to av-checkouts.uww.edu and fill out the online request form, but make sure you get a faculty member’s permission. You can pick your equipment up in the Media Lab.

The general access labs also have both partner pods and Collab rooms for all of your group work needs.

So you see there is really no excuse to complain when you have all of these things here to help you with anything you need!

Their hours of operation are as follows:

Andersen 1008 Lab/Media Lab(A/V Checkout):

Monday-Thursday: 8am-Midnight

Friday: 8am-6pm

Saturday: 9am-5pm

Sunday: 1pm-Midnight

McGraw 19 Lab

Monday-Wednesday: 8am-Midnight

Thursday & Friday: 8am-6pm

Saturday & Sunday: Closed

That’s all I have for now, I hope this helps you find what you need.

Thanks for your time,

Elaina

Browser Blunders

Hey guys!

Recently we have been getting a lot of messages concerning the inability to upload documents to D2L from Google Chrome.  This is because of compatibility issues between an older version of Google Chrome and the most recent version of D2L. Specifically, the Pop-up windows were having trouble opening properly.

Google_Chrome_icon_(2011)However, I am here to tell you to panic no more!

The issue has finally been fixed and by updating your google chrome to the most recent version, you should be able to upload documents to your heart’s content.

If for whatever reason you are unable to update your browser in this way, you would have to choose a different browser in which to upload your documents. I would recommend Firefox as a second choice as it is billed as the most compatible with D2L.  Safari can be third if you are a Mac user, and Internet Explorer sits in last place. That is very reliable, if not fast, last place.

fire foxIf you use these browsers instead of Google Chrome anyways, then you probably both don’t know what I am talking about and have no concerns about uploading your documents at this time.

Whatever browser you use, I hope that you do not have to hurl yourself into a panic when your document doesn’t upload right away. Just calmly open another browser and upload your document and as soon as you are done; download the newest version of Google Chrome.

If you’re interested, there’s a list of supported browsers available on the D2L Platform Requirements page.

That’s all for now,

Thanks for your time!

Elaina

Take Back the Wheel with Drive

Hey Guys,

With finals coming up and projects looming ahead I’ll bet many of you are suddenly having some frustration with your flash drives.  Not enough space, not enough convenience, not enough reliability; not even worth it.

A resource that students have that they usually don’t realize, is your google account. I’m not talking about your personal gmail, but one provided to you by the school.

google sign inTo get to it, you simply login to google with just your school email and click sign in. After you do this, it will take you to a separate login page through the school, where you type in your UW-W login information.

Once you have done that it will take you to your school controlled google home page. It looks eerily similar to the normal google homepage, but it has your school email in the top right corner.

updtdClick on the tiny collection of squares that’s next to your email. It will give you a couple of different options that you can use. Google Search, Drive, Sites, and Groups.

updated warhawkWe are going to focus on Drive right now, so click on the green, yellow and blue triangle.

This will take you to your drive homepage. Here people can share documents with you, and you can store some of your own.

drive homepageYou have over 30 GB of storage available to you on here, so you can forget that annoying old external hard drive or your weathered and worn flash drive. Move to digital storage through the safety of the school and Google Drive.

That’s all I have for today!

Thanks for your time,

Elaina