Fall Announcements from the FacTS Center
D2L Checklist for the Semester Start and Other Documentation
All D2L documentation can be found at Desire2Learn, where you will find the D2L Users Groups for both Faculty and Students. You also can reach the Users Group for Faculty at the link on your Homepage in D2L; Students will see the Users Group for Students on their own Homepage. At both, you will find many short videos of how to use the features of D2L. Many instructors will wish to copy course material from one D2L course to another. The short video “Copy Course Material from One Course to Another” is linked on the D2L Users Group for Faculty page, under “Managing a Course.” Note, also, that there is link to a Start/End Course Checklist, with reminders of things to do in D2L to start off the semester.
Photos in D2L
As of this fall, pictures for all faculty, staff and students are now uploaded to D2L, and can be viewed in your Classlist. This is a feature that we had in ANGEL but was very much missed during our pilot year of D2L. Many thanks go to ITS Network Services who worked to make this available now in D2L. Most images are ID card images. However, all users with a D2L account are able to change the picture in their D2L Profile. You can see the pictures by clicking on “Classlist” on the gray NavBar in your course.
D2L Course Merges
As with ANGEL, we are able to merge multiple sections or cross-listed courses into one section in D2L, eliminating the need to post the same material multiple times. To request a course merge, send a message to helpdesk@canisius.edu . In your request, include course titles, course IDs including section letters, and, most important, CRNs. Because the process is a bit more complex than with ANGEL, please allow 3 business days for the merge to be completed.
Email Distribution Lists for Course Rosters
Again this semester, email lists for courses have been created. Instructors can use these listproc list to email all the students on their roster. Click this link for instructions.
FacTS Center Workshops
D2L Workshops will continue during the fall. You can see the list, and register for a workshop at: https://surveys.canisius.edu/workshops.aspx (If the link doesn’t work by clicking on it, please copy and paste it into the address bar of your browser. It can also be reached from the My.Canisius portal under “Campus Services.”)
As always, if you have problems or questions you can contact the FacTS Center staff or the ITS Help Desk.
Submitted by: Estelle Siener, director of academic computing, ITS
