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Software Updates Summer 2023

May 25, 2023

Hypothes.is and D2L Logo

Hypothes.is and D2L both have a number of updates scheduled for this summer. Note that some of these updates, specifically the Hypothes.is ones, have not yet been implemented. We will be working on them throughout the summer and have them ready before the Fall Semester. Stay tuned to the Dome and COLI Blog for more updates!

D2L Updates

Discussions

First, creating D2L Discussion Topics will become easier and more streamlined. The new Topics screen will look and behave similarly to the Dropbox and Quizzes screen. Note that the way a Forum is created will remain the same. This new screen will be opt-in to provide a transition period. Take a look at our new D2L: Discussion Topics Introduction video to learn more.

New D2L Discussion Topic Screen showing a two-column layout similar to D2L Quizzes and Dropboxes.

Quiz Messaging

Whenever a student exits a quiz, D2L will give them a warning pop-up. This pop-up will contain a message that varies a bit depending on whether or not the quiz is timed or has an end date and when the student leaves. However, the general idea of the message is to warn students that, if they leave the quiz and come back, the Timer does not stop or they may be “locked” out because of the end date. Note: for these new pop-ups to appear, the student MUST click on the X in the upper-right corner in the quiz page. Exiting out of the tab or browser will circumvent these pop-ups. The following images are courtesy of D2L:

Student using the Close Quiz Button (X) in the upper-right corner to leave a quiz.
Exit Quiz confirmation dialog for quizzes with no end date, time limits, or a time limit that expires before the end date.
Exit Quiz dialog for a quiz with a time limit but no end date.
Exit Quiz dialog for a quiz with an end date that will occur before the end of the timer.
Exit Quiz Dialog for quizzes that are past the end date.

Dropboxes

There will be multiple updates to the dropbox.

  • Similar to dates in Discussions, there will be a few options for Availability Dates in Dropboxes:
    • Visible with Access Restricted: Students can see the title of the dropbox only until/after the specified date. The dropbox will automatically open/close after the specified Start date/End date.
    • Visible with Submission Restricted: Students can see the title of the dropbox and description (if there is one) but will not be able to submit until/after the specified date
    • Hidden: The dropbox is completely hidden from students until/after the specified date
  • Easily see dates of dropboxes on the Dropbox page
    • You will now be able to view Start, End, and Due dates underneath the title of the dropbox in the Dropbox overview page

These updates are mostly “quality of life” improvements and should not affect your overall workflow (except for making it easier to use Dropboxes).

Hypothes.is Updates

Use PDFs Uploaded to D2L

You can skip Google Drive now! Instead of having to make sure the PDF is on your Google Drive, you will be able to use PDFs that you upload directly to D2L. This will streamline the process of making Hypothes.is Assignments, allowing you to work entirely in D2L. This will also make it a bit easier when copying Hypothes.is Assignments from one course to another course.

Hypothes.is Group Assignments

If you have ever wanted to break students into groups or have a certain group of students focus on one set of questions and another set of students focus on another set, now you can! Hypothes.is will be able to access and use D2L Groups to create Group Assignments.