Module 2: Introduction to Desire2Learn (D2L)

Demonstrate Competent Use of the Learning Management System Unit Outcome: – Post an announcement in the classroom – In D2L, this is referred to as a News Item.

Evidence of Competency Competency is demonstrated by successful completion of the task

Post an Announcement in the form of News Item in the Classroom Use the News tool to post instructor messages, course information, and other news updates. News items appear in the News widget, but you can also have students receive instant notifications about postings through , SMS, and RSS feeds. See Setting your notifications to learn about creating instant notifications for news items. Setting your notifications The News tool enables you to create news items that help communicate course updates, changes, and new information to your users quickly and effectively. Since My Home or Course Home is the first page that users often see when they log in or access their courses, the News widget is a good area for displaying important information.

Access the News Tool Do one of the following: – Click News on the navbar. – Click News in the header of the News widget. – Click Edit Course on the navbar, then click News from the Communication section on the Course Administration page.

Aggregating news items in the News widget You can aggregate news items and have them appear under one News widget as a way to improve news organization for users enrolled in multiple courses. The following DOME variables must be enabled to aggregate news items at the organization level and within an org unit: – d2l.Tools.News.AggregateNewsAtOrg – d2l.Tools.News.AggregateNewsInOrgUnit

Creating a news item Do one of the following: – Click New News Item button from the News widget menu. – On the News page, click New Item. Enter the news headline in the Headline field. Enter the news content in the Content field. If you want to hide your headline's date and time clear Always show start date. By default, a news item's start date and time appears below its headline when displayed in the News widget. Select the posting availability date in the Start Date and End Date drop-down lists or by clicking their Select Date icons. News items are published immediately unless you specify an alternate start date from the Start Date drop-down list. You can remove a news item on a specific date by selecting the check box Remove news item based on end date. You and administrators can still see the news item after its end date, but it will not appear in the News widget. You can include attachments and audio recordings as part of your news item: – To add an attachment, click Add a File in the Attachments section. – To record audio, click the Record Audio in the Attachments section. Click Flash Settings to make adjustments to your microphone selection and volume. Click Play to listen to your recording. Click Clear to erase your recording. Click Attach Existing or Create and Attach to include additional release conditions. See About Release Conditions to learn about creating and setting up release conditions.About Release Conditions Click Save as Draft to continue editing the news item (students cannot see draft news items), or click Publish to release news item to users.

Creating a news item for a future date If you set a news item's start date for the future, the posting is not visible to users until that date. Example: If you want a news item to appear on Monday morning, specify a start date of Monday at 9:00 am. Note: Post-dated news items are not displayed in the News widget even if users have permission to see future news items. They can be found within the list of news items on the News page.

Edit a news item On the News page, click on the news item you want to edit. Edit your news posting. You can select the Major edit - send a notification and restore it for those who dismissed it, check box to inform users of major changes and updates to postings they might have dismissed, ensuring those headlines reappear with current information. Note: You can also make the edited news posting reappear at the top of the News widget by changing its Start Date to the current date and time. Click Update.

Reorder news items Do one of the following: – On the News page, click Reorder from the More Actions button. – Click Reorder News Items from the News widget menu. Use the drop-down lists in the Sort Order column to select an item's order. Other items automatically reposition themselves according to the new order. Click Save.

Dismiss a news item Do one of the following: – Click the Dismiss icon for the news item you want to hide in the News widget. – On the News page, click Dismiss from the context menu of item you want to dismiss.

Restore a dismissed news item On the News page or Global News page, click Restore from the context menu of the news item you want to restore. Note: You can click Go to News tool from the News widget menu to view all news items on the News page.

Delete a news item Click Delete from the context menu of the news item you want to delete. Delete multiple postings by selecting the check boxes beside the news item you want to delete, and click Delete at the top of the list.

Subscribing to News' RSS feed You can subscribe to a News RSS feed and receive daily updates of all news items in an RSS reader. This allows you to access an aggregate of news items without logging into the Learning Environment.

Subscribe to a News RSS feed Do one of the following: – On the News page, click RSS from the More Actions button. – Click RSS from the News widget menu. Select an RSS reader from the Subscribe to this feed using drop-down list. Click Subscribe Now.

Video: News Items

Post a News Item Now that you know a bit about News Items in D2L, post a News item in the course.

Assessment Competency is demonstrated by successful completion of the task: Posting a News Item.

News Item Rubric (100 pts.) Distinguished/Outstanding - participants have: – Made original News postings early in the week to afford others time to read and respond if there are questions/comments. – Demonstrated application through real-life situations by posting a realistic News Item. (85 pts.) Proficient – participants have: – Made original News postings early in the week to afford others time to read and respond if there are questions/comments. – Provided new ideas and insights that are partially-developed, meet all assignment requirements, and make some connections to the other ideas with a News Item that is realistic. (75 pts.) Competent – participants have: – Made original News postings later in the week, leaving little time for others to read and respond. – Demonstrated generally competent ideas that lack development, meet most of the assignment requirements, and connect only generally to the other ideas and content expressed with a somewhat realistic News Item. (60 pts.) & (F) (0 pts.) Below Expectations – participants have: – Failed to participate and/or post News Item. – Made original postings late in the week leaving little or no time for others to read and respond or made no postings. – Demonstrated superficial ideas that do not meet assignment requirements, failed to provide evidence of insight or analysis, and contributed no new connections or application to real-life situations with no News Item. Adapted from: