Here are some quick updates for D2L:

1. Assignment and Discussion feedback field reduced from 500,000 to 300,000 characters. This will help prevent the loss of feedback due to a variety of reasons.
2. Quiz Start Dates and End Dates now appear as separate events in the Course Calendar. This can be useful for students that connect the course calendar to their Google Calendar (or check out the video tutorial).
3. It’s now easier to restrict Discussions to certain groups or sections! Instead of adding a Release Conditions, faculty can now go to Manage Restrictions. Check out our tutorial on Managing Restrictions.
4. Speaking of Release Conditions, the process for adding a Release Condition to a Discussion is now similar to adding one to a Dropbox or Quiz. Release Conditions are useful if faculty want students to complete a particular activity before going on to another activity. Check out the Discussion Release Condition tutorial where we had students read a PDF before being able to access the discussion. To view other release conditions, check out the D2L Self-Paced Training for Faculty and Staff page. Then use CTRL+F or CMD+F and search for Release Conditions.
5. To make D2L more accessible and easier to read, we will be updating the default font. This update affects responses in Discussions, creating D2L Files, and any other place where faculty and students can type into. If needed, individual faculty and students can change their default font settings following these instructions.

If faculty or staff have any questions about these updates, please contact COLI.

Submitted by: Tyler Kron-Piatek, Instructional Designer, COLI

Generative Artificial Intelligence presents new challenges and possibilities for curriculum.  The AI and Society Initiative and the College of Arts and Sciences offer a series of meetups for faculty to discuss AI and its relationship to their courses and disciplines.  Our next AI and Teaching Meetup is 9:30 a.m., Thursday, February 22, 2024 in the Old Main Faculty Lounge.

Submitted by: Tyler Kron-Piatek, Instructional Designer, COLI

This semester, COLI is offering a variety of virtual workshops where faculty and staff can pick up some technology skills. This may be using D2L for course management, Panopto for course videos, or Hypothes.is for engaging student – student interaction via the internet. Or you may finally get around to learning the fundamentals of Microsoft Excel, that can enhance your productivity and prepare you to learn more specialized uses for Excel. Best of all, these workshops are via Zoom and so you can attend from your home or campus office.