Category Archives: Weekly Bytes

D2L Calender

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Hi everyone!

Today I want to talk about the Calendar tool in D2L. To access your calendar first go to the D2L homepage.

Next click on the ‘Tools‘ tab located on the far right of the navigation bar. A drop down menu will appear, click on the ‘Calendar‘ link. Capture

This will take you to the calendar homepage. Here you can see what you have due in each of your classes within the month.Capture22

Anything that your professor has chosen to give an opening or closing date to will appear on the calendar. Any changes the professor makes will automatically be updated on your personal calendar.

You can switch to different views of your upcoming events by clicking on the different options at the top; Agenda, Day, Week, Month, and List.Capture2

The month view can be the most useful because you can see what weeks will have more assignments due than others so you can plan accordingly.

Your calendar could potentially contain content from every class that you are currently enrolled in as well as other things like ongoing jobs and general Whitewater content.Capture4

You can manage what you see on the calendar by going to ‘All Calendars’. Here it shows all the calendars that you are subscribed to. You can add and remove any calendar that you want. This means you can add on your work times or club activities if you wanted. The display colors can be also be customized to your liking!

The last and maybe most important aspect of the calendar, is the fact that you can add your own tasks and reminders to it. You can do that by typing them in the bar on the right hand side of the page.

task

You can also export a calendar from D2L.

  1. To do this first access the Calendar from the tools drop down menu.
  2. Next click Setting.                               capture 1
  3. In the settings menu, check the Enable Calendar Feeds box. Click Save when you are done.                                           capture 4
  4. A Subscribe option should appear. click Subscribe.Capture.5PNG
  5. Choose which calendar and/or task to subscribe to. Then, copy and paste the appropriate URL into another calendar application in order to subscribe to events for your chosen calendar.                         Untitled.1png
  6. You can also either click Download to receive an iCal file to import another calendar. Or, you can click Reset to receive a new URL. Note: If you reset your link, it will break the old URL. Make sure to replace any old calendar links with the new one.
  7. Click Close when you are done.

For more information or if you have any questions, contact UW-W Desire2Learn Support.

Thanks for your time!

How well do you know D2L Dropbox?

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Hey everyone!

Today we are going to discuss how the Dropbox in D2L works. Many professors use Dropbox as a way to easily collect your assignments so it’s important to understand how the Dropbox works so you don’t forget to turn in your assignments!

To get to the Dropbox page, simply click on your desired class, and click the Dropbox link located in the navigation bar.

Dropbox Icon

The first column that you will notice upon clicking the Dropbox link in the course navigation bar is the Folder column. This holds all of the assignments that need to be turned in. There are different types of symbols that can be found next to the assignment folders.Dropbox Submission

Plagerism Symbol

The symbol to the right means that this assignment is “Originality Check Enabled” so that professors can check and verify that the work you submit is 100% your own.

The second symbol means that the folder contains a group assignment.Group Symbols In a group Dropbox assignment, any one person could submit something to it, but the score and the feedback for that submission will be given to everyone within the group.

The Score column is where the professor enters in your grade in the form of a numeric fraction. If nothing has yet been submitted, or if the professor has yet to enter in your grade, then it will show a dash instead of a number (ex. – / –). In the case displayed below; a perfect score would be 5/5.
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Under the submissions column you can see how many times you have submitted an assignment, as shown above.

Feedback  is what your professors give you in response to what you have submitted. This might be just your grade or a rubric sheet of the professor’s own creation. It could even be a response to your work; explaining in detail why you got the grade that you did.

feeback-due date

Finally, last but certainly not least, is the Due Date column. Professors are able to choose when assignments are due so pay close attention to the due date column so you don’t forget to turn your assignments in on time!

Submitting something to D2L can be tricky from time to time; so I will go through it step by step.

First you click on the Folder column that you would like to make a submission to.

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Click on the “Add a File” button and then click “upload” to choose your assignment from its saved location, or you can drag and drop your assignment into the box. If you would like to add something that you have saved to your locker or ePortfolio; you may do that as well.

Upload a file

When you are finished choosing, click the blue “Add” button.

You are free to write additional details about the submission or the assignment in the white box below. When you click on it, basic writing and editing tools appear. After you are finished with your message, or if you do not want to write one, click the blue “Submit” button below.

For more information or if you have any questions, contact UW-W Desire2Learn Support.

Thanks for your time!

D2L Discussions

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Today we’re going to discuss how to navigate through the discussion tab in D2L. Most teachers utilize discussions in their class so it’s more than likely that you will have to compose your own thread and respond to others in the Discussion tab in D2L.

First to get to the Discussions page click on the link in the course navigation bar.

Discussions

This will take you to your Discussions List Page.disussion list

Here you have the ability to collapse everything, then you have the ability to look at just one discussion forum at a time and collapse past discussion forms.

capture #1

To view a discussion topic click on the discussion post you would like to view or add content too.

On the right side of the page there are announcements on who last posted to the discussion and when. You can also organize the posts by; ‘Unread’, ‘Flagged’, and ‘Drafts’. Posts can be sorted a number of different ways, such as “Most Recent Activity” and “Least Recent Activity”. If you would like an update about these as soon as they happen, there is a ‘Subscribe’ button with a star next to the post.

subscribe

To compose your own thread click on the ‘Start a New Thread‘ button. Here you can create your post and may subscribe to the thread from here if you so choose. You can also upload files under ‘Add attachments‘. If you aren’t ready to post you can save it as a draft or cancel your post.

new thread

To reply to someone else’s post simply click on their post, click ‘Reply to Thread‘, write your response and click ‘Post‘.

If you want more information about Discussions check out our YouTube videos!

For more information or if you have any questions, contact UW-W Desire2Learn Support.

Thanks for your time!

 

Customize Your D2L Notifications

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Did you know you can get D2L notifications sent to your phone? You can easily edit what notifications you want sent to your phone, e-mail, or no notifications at all! Easily know when classes are cancelled, grades are updated, quizzes are due, and more!

Untitled-1

If you don’t like checking your e-mail, or checking D2L, then D2L mobile notification’s is your new best friend! To edit your D2L notifications, click on your name and picture at the top right corner of D2L, and click on Notifications.

Click on “Register your mobile”. Choose your Country, Mobile Carrier and lastly enter in your mobile number. When you enter in your number do not add a 1 at the beginning (ex. (262-123-4567). Click Save when your are done entering in your information. Next a pop up will appear, sending a confirmation code to your phone. Enter the code, then hit Confirm.

Now that your mobile device is connected you can choose which notifications are sent to your e-mail, mobile device, or not at all under Instant Notifications.

You can also exclude classes and groups you do not to receive notification’s from. First, click on “Manage my course exclusions“. Click on the X to the right of the group or class you do not want to receive notification for, and click Close when you are done.

When you are done changing your settings make sure to click Save at the bottom of the page.

Now you can get real time updates about class cancellation’s, grades, new content and more!

For more information or if you have any questions, contact UW-W Desire2Learn Support.

Thanks for your time!

Quizzes and LockDown Browser

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Hey everyone!

With midterms approaching it’s important to know how online quizzes and LockDown browser work.

First let’s talk about LockDown Browser. Some teachers may require you to use LockDown browser to take a quiz. If you log into D2L and click on the quiz you need to take and no start button appears, this means that you need to take the quiz in LockDown browser. The following message will also appear.lockdown

This is a separate browser that does not allow you to open any tabs or other programs until you close the browser. This browser is downloaded to all the computers in the campus computer labs.

For more information about LockDown browser and how to download it to your own computer please visit our wiki page about it.

To access the quizzes page click on the “Quizzes” in the course navigation bar.

quizzesThis will take you to the quiz page where you can see past, current and future quizzes.

quiz list

Some professors may leave their quizzes open to take whenever, but most have a specific date and time set for when you need to take the quiz. These dates are located underneath the quiz title.

To the far right of the row you can see how many “Attempts” you have to take the quiz. Some professors will allow you to take multiple or unlimited attempts, but most will only give you one attempt.

To begin taking a quiz, click on the blue link of the quiz you need like to take. You will then be taken to a new window that contains all of your questions.

save all1**Always make sure to save your answers after each question. There is a “Save” button after each question. In case their is some sort of computer problem (internet crashes, computer freezes, ect.) all of your questions that you have saved will remain intact!

You can check if you have saved your answers by looking at the left side bar. All completed questions will have a blue floppy disk. If the symbol does not have any color that means your answer is unsaved.

save all1

When you are are finished with your quiz, I would recommend clicking the “Save All Responses” button at the bottom of the page, just in case an answer didn’t get saved along the way. Then click “Go to Submit Quiz“.

save all

Next, a Quiz Submission Confirmation will pop up. Click “Submit Quiz“.

Another confirmation box will appear. If you need to make any last minute changes you have the chance to do so by clicking on the “No, don’t submit quiz“. If you are completely done and satisfied with your answers click “Yes, submit quiz“.

yes submit

If would like more information about quizzes feel free to check out our YouTube videos!

For more information or if you have any questions, contact UW-W Desire2Learn Support.

D2L Content

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Hey everyone!

Hope you’re all staying warm in this chilly February weather! Today I’m going to talk about the Content tab in D2L.

The first thing that I want to point out is the measurement bar at the top of the screen. You will notice that this has a percentage on it.

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This percentage will fill as you look at the content that has been posted to D2L by your professor. This way you can keep track of how much you have looked at and what you have yet to get through.

Another way to keep track of this would be to look at the side bar.

table of contents
It displays how many unread content items that there are within the sections on the side bar. It allows you to quickly click through and see what you may or may not have missed.

Each section could contain links to outside sources such as PDFs, word documents, or notes that your professor has provided such as homework or project assignments. The ‘Table of Contents’ Section, when clicked (which means that it is highlighted blue); shows every document and link that is contained in all of the sections.

start here
The best part about this sidebar, is the shiny green check-mark that appears when you have clicked through every element contained in the section!

green check sidebarAnother important thing to note on the sidebar is the Upcoming Events Calender.

upcoming events
It keeps you up to date on things that are due Today, Tomorrow, and within the Next 7 Days. If you are like me, you hope that those sections stay pretty empty…

calender
You can select the Course Schedule at the top of this section and see main events within the course and their due dates. This could include Dropbox items and Quizzes.

upcoming events courses
The last thing that I want to talk about today is that Bookmarks section.

bookmarks
This section is customizable for you, the student, because it is literally whatever you find important within your content. Say you have not yet gotten the chance to finish reading for your class.

bookmark
Just click the little bookmark icon in the upper right corner of the content you are viewing and this document is added to your Bookmarks list. This allows you to keep everything that you want to revisit together in one, easy-to-find, location.

For more information or if you have any questions, contact UW-W Desire2Learn Support.

Thanks for you time!

 

Introducing Lynda.com

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Hey guys!

It’s only the third week into the semester and hopefully you are all getting back into the swing of things!

As a treat to help you all hop back into the semester (and ever closer towards the oncoming storm of midterms and finals), today we are going to talk about Lynda.com and your shiny new access to it!

Capture

Many of you have probably at least heard about Lynda.com, if you are not already a frequenter of the site. It is a place to help you with many of your digital needs. It has helpful teaching videos that will guide you step by step through a program. Its knowledge base includes, but is not limited to tutorials in 3D; Audio; Business; CAD or Computer-Aided Design; Design; Developer; Photography; Video; and Web.

I realize this is not necessarily useful for every major on a daily basis; but would it not be amazing to tell your future employer that you have experience with creative editing software? The answer is yes, it would. Plus you can learn how to operate different parts of the creative suite and immortalize all of your college pictures and memories!

You can access the lynda.com library 24/7 from desktops, laptops, smartphones, or tablets. Use the lynda.com app for iPhone, iPad, or Android or log in via the lynda.com mobile site where you can watch entire courses or single tutorial videos as needed.

Here’s how to begin! Just visit: http://go.uww.edu/lynda

There you will be directed to the University login page, where let’s be honest, you already know what to do.

Once you have entered in the proper information, you will have free range of all that Lynda has to offer! So relax! Stay awhile! Enjoy all that that charm that Lynda.com has to offer!

Thanks for your time and attention!

Student Collaboration Using Google Drive

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Hello and welcome back to the new semester!

Did you know you can sign into Google Drive using your Whitewater Net-ID and password? You also get unlimited storage space! Your files in Drive can be reached from any smartphone, tablet, or computer. As a college student many of us have to present projects with a group. Google Drive lets you share a document with your group members so you can work on a project at the same time, and in different locations. Projects are also saved automatically, so don’t worry if you close a page on accident, it will have already been saved!

Google Docs is a great way to collaborate with team members when working on notes, or papers. https://www.google.com/docs/about/

Google Slides lets your ideas shine with a variety of presentation themes, hundred of fonts, embedded video, animations and more. https://www.google.com/slides/about/

Google Sheets lets you choose from a wide variety of budgets, schedules, and other pre-made spreadsheets. https://www.google.com/sheets/about/

Google Forms lets you run a survey or quickly create a team roster with a simple online form. Then check out the results, neatly organized in a spreadsheet. https://www.google.com/forms/about/

Wondering how to share a document in Google Drive ?

  1. Click on the desired  project you want to share.
  2. Click on the Share button in the top right cornerShare Button
  3. Add in the names or emails of the people you would to like share with and hit Done.Share List

Gone are the days of having to get together with a group because you can only work on one device for a project! You can now worry less knowing you can all work on the same project from your own devices, anytime, anywhere!

For more information please visit http://www.uww.edu/icit/services/google or visit go.uww.edu/lynda.com and search for Google Drive.

 

Customize your D2L Notifications!

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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!

Final Post

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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