DARTMOUTH COLLEGE - DISCOVER DESIRE2LEARN | DARTMOUTH COLLEGE FEBRUARY 4, 2013
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Discover Desire2Learn | Dartmouth College
February 4, 2013
Dartmouth College
Table of Contents DISCOVER DESIRE2LEARN........................................................................................................................................2 THE DESIRE2LEARN DIFFERENCE ...........................................................................................................................6 NAVIGATION OF LEARNING ENVIRONMENT ...........................................................................................................9 Ease of Use - LMS .....................................................................................................................................................9 Minibar........................................................................................................................................................................9 Homepage Personalization ......................................................................................................................................10 CONTENT DELIVERY & MANAGEMENT ..................................................................................................................12 Desire2Learn Content Tool ......................................................................................................................................12 Desire2Learn ePortfolio............................................................................................................................................16 ASSESSMENT, GRADING AND FEEDBACK ............................................................................................................20 Grading Assignments in Desire2Learn .....................................................................................................................20 Desire2Learn Quiz / Testing Tool .............................................................................................................................24 Desire2Learn Grade Book........................................................................................................................................26 COMMUNICATION AND COLLABORATION.............................................................................................................30 Desire2Learn Communication Tools Overview ........................................................................................................30 Classlist Tool ............................................................................................................................................................31 Discussions Tool ......................................................................................................................................................32 Desire2Learn Social Sharing & Learning .................................................................................................................34 DESIRE2LEARN MOBILE SOLUTIONS.....................................................................................................................37 CONNECT WITH US ...................................................................................................................................................39
DISCOVER DESIRE2LEARN
Higher education has undergone drastic change over
the years: tighter budgets, policy developments and DESIRE2LEARN HIGHLIGHTS
changes to how technology can play a role in
A committed and enduring educational
teaching and learning. With rising costs and technology partner
enrollments, what students derive from education Focused on client success with over 98%
needs to remain paramount and taking education client retention
beyond the classroom and supplementing traditional 700+ clients globally serving over 8
methods with what technology can offer plays a big million users
role. With the changes the higher education sector is Global leader of SaaS delivered Learning
Platforms, with ~90% of our clients using
experiencing, enabling all institutions, instructors the Desire2Learn Cloud
and, foremost, students to succeed and achieve 99.9% uptime guarantee
crucial proficiencies and goals must be possible. Free* video and audio recording tool
which provides incredible media
Desire2Learn® Learning Suite strives to address
experience for learning and feedback
many of these issues and aims to enable all students Clear leader on open standards support
and institutions to reach their potential and goals and accessibility
now and in the future. Open APIs to support building on our
platform
Free* mobile access with our HTML5
framework and amazing tablet
experience
R&D leader with one of the most
complete learning suites
UNIQUE OFFERINGS
Only eLearning provider to offer Student
Success System | a predictive modeling
engine with our advanced learning
Analytics
Deeply integrated lecture Capture
product
Desire2Learn Assignment Grader™ | the
only free* offline grader in the industry
which allows markup, rubrics, and
video/audio feedback
st myDesire2Learn | a lifelong ePortfolio to
Reinventing Higher Education for the 21 Century
keep you engaged with your alumni
Complete Offering
Desire2Learn Learning Suite includes critical tools and fundamental capabilities as part of our base LMS
that other providers sell as separate products for additional costs, or even do not offer at all. The following
is a sample of several tools and core functions that are included in Desire2Learn Learning Environment,
at no additional fee:
Course design tools, Course Builder and Instructional Design Wizard, that may greatly reduce the
amount of time consumed crafting new course offerings
Desire2Learn Mobile Web that extends access to learning, collaboration and socialization beyond
the classroom
Desire2Learn Assignment Grader that enables anytime anywhere offline grading of assignments
Data warehouse and reporting tool which helps organizations make informed decisions about their
programs
Accessibility consideration that helps all users have equal or equivalent access to teaching and
learning
Built-in tools that offer comparable functionality to our competitor’s portfolio toolset - simple,
student-accessible document editing tools that allow students to share with others (e.g. personal
and group locker space to upload and store files)
Video and audio recording utility that provides incredible media experience for learning and
feedback
Integrated email tool that can be used for internal communication within Desire2Learn Learning
Suite as well as externally
Online community building and access to useful teaching and administrator resources via
Desire2Learn Community
Competencies and analytic rubrics assessment tools seamlessly integrated with Desire2Learn’s
cross curriculum learning outcomes tracking system
Virtually unlimited customizable roles, permissions and organization level that help distinguish
your brand and accommodate your existing physical structure
Ability to manage multiple course sections from a master course as well as time saving “semester
start up” tools
Deep integrations with third party solutions such as Google™ Apps for Education and Business,
Turnitin® and Respondus®
Support for many third party integrations via IMS LTI v 1.1.1 standard, Desire2Learn Valence (web
service APIs), custom widgets and other extensibility approaches that maximize the investment in
your existing systems
Partner Alliances
Desire2Learn is thrilled to establish business partnerships with organizations that share our passion for
eLearning and client success, and we are committed to supporting clients through collaboration with all
segments of the eLearning industry. Two key alliances are highlighted below.
Microsoft® Awards
Last year marked two prestigious partnership awards for
Desire2Learn including 2011 Microsoft Partner of the
Year as well as the 2011 Microsoft U.S. Public Sector
Partner of the Year.
Working closely together in partnership with Microsoft has enabled Desire2Learn to fulfill our mission of
delivering innovative technology that enables our clients to accomplish their goals. Our clients' success is
very important to us and we ensure we foster a culture where talented people, listening to and
collaborating closely with our clients, can express their creative passion for developing and supporting
innovative eLearning solutions. Desire2Learn has also demonstrated business leadership and success
through strong growth in new customer additions and revenue, as well as integrating with Microsoft
Live@edu, SQL Server, Windows Server, and the Windows Phone 7 platform.
More than just an LMS!
Desire2Learn Learning Suite is comprised of six key platforms that are all built upon one common
platform: the Learning Platform. The Learning Platform represents the foundation of Learning Suite
including the infrastructure for all products and services; since each product shares a common
infrastructure, they integrate seamlessly to provide maximum value to our clients; this is a key
differentiator for Desire2Learn. The following are the six platforms in Desire2Learn Learning Suite:
DESIRE2LEARN LEARNING ENVIRONMENT
Desire2Learn Learning Environment enables our clients to deliver engaging content, collaborate
effectively, and realize their eLearning vision through a comprehensive and flexible eLearning solution.
An innovative combination of best-of-breed teaching and learning tools, built-in accessibility adherence,
powerful measurement and assessment options, and standards-based technology, Desire2Learn Learning
Environment redefines what a learning management system should be.
Desire2Learn Learning Environment | Homepage sample
DESIRE2LEARN® ePORTFOLIO
Desire2Learn ePortfolio takes the best of both worlds: it pairs engaging social networking and self-
directed learning concepts with proven traditional education to produce a unique and powerful solution
that enables our clients to shape the learning paths of their users and give them the opportunity to create
and share their own eLearning journey. Fully equipped with robust tools to meet and exceed the needs of any user or organization, Desire2Learn ePortfolio propels eLearning into the future. DESIRE2LEARN® LEARNING REPOSITORY Desire2Learn Learning Repository enables our clients to effectively manage and share learning resources. Enhanced usability and features allow institutions to manage their learning objects with ease, all in a standards-based tool, with full-text search capability and easy integration with other content repositories like libraries. DESIRE2LEARN® ANALYTICS Desire2Learn Analytics provides organizations a competitive edge by transforming data into simple reports which shows usage patterns and outcomes. The all-inclusive statistical analysis allows users to improve the online educational experience by providing insights into improvement and success opportunities for students, faculty, and for course components. Users have the flexibility to create and distribute reports utilizing an optimized set of reporting domains. DESIRE2LEARN® CAPTURE Desire2Learn Capture is designed to fit a variety of web production scenarios - from personal webcasting to fully-automated room deployment. Rich media presentations can be captured and the synchronized content shared with viewers as a live and/or on-demand webcast. Presentations can include video, slides, screen and peripheral sharing, incorporate digital whiteboards and document cameras, as well as viewer chats and comments. This highly scalable solution allows for greater collaboration and focus, enabling persistent access to rich media.
THE DESIRE2LEARN DIFFERENCE
Desire2Learn represents the union between stability and innovation. We offer the reliability, experience
and industry know-how that only an industry leader like Desire2Learn can provide. Furthermore
Desire2Learn’s relentless dedication in research and development activities enables its product offerings
to be innovative and in sync with the current needs of the market.
We have provided below a summary of the values, features and capabilities which we feel constitute “The
Desire2Learn Difference.”
Reinventing Learning Experiences
FOUNDED TO Dedicated to helping our clients deliver transformative learning
TRANSFORM THE experiences and break down barriers
LEARNING EXPERIENCE
INNOVATIVE CULTURE Numerous client events, conferences, and thought leadership sessions
INVESTMENT IN R&D Greater than 40% of employees are focused on activities related to the
research and development of our solutions
BREADTH OF Valuable R&D partnerships with clients
INTEGRATED SOLUTIONS Full suite of integrated learning technology that allow for integration of
other systems (best of both worlds)
Proven Track Record
SCALING EFFECTIVELY Over 600 people in the company supporting over 700 implementations
that represent 8 million users globally
BROAD PARTNER Content support from most major publishers and import tools for the
RESOURCES rest
Optional offerings for ERP/SIS integrations, publishers, and common
third party products and infrastructure, etc.
Platform allows seamless integration of additional solutions
EASY MIGRATION Imports standards based courses from select major LMS solutions
Desire2Learn’s project expertise and extensive experience enables faster
platform transition times and successful migration. One example was a
migration of approximately 350,000 courses and retraining of 10,000
instructors within 3 months (not that you need to move that fast)
Architecture
ADAPTIVE OFFERINGS With our dedicated Desire2Learn SaaS solution, upgrades of offerings
can be on a client’s schedule (no getting surprised with a new quiz tool in
the middle of exams)
Clients are able to test upgrades or service packs prior to rollout
PEAK LOAD Desire2Learn technology is designed for high availability, maximum
MANAGEMENT performance and scalability
Provides clients with options to eliminate single points of failure and
reduce unexpected downtimes.
DATA REPLICATION AND Desire2Learn's SaaS facilities can provide both scheduled and near real-
STORAGE MANAGEMENT time backup functionality through its Business Continuity service
offering
LATEST GENERATION OF XML, JSON, REST, SOAP used for SOA layer
TECHNOLOGY Ability to scale to millions of users
Openness
API Check out our available APIs code-named Desire2Learn Valence
(http://docs.valence.desire2learn.com/)
STANDARDS LEADER One of the first companies to support SCORM, IMS LTI v1.0, IMS CC,
and many other open standards
Active participation (director and chair several groups)
EDUCATIONAL Support for Creative Commons publishing
RESOURCES Provides ability to import open educational resources using open
standards SRU and OAI-PMH
SECURITY Track record of ensuring security has been a priority, and ongoing
security reviews with each release
Regular privacy reviews to ensure we are protecting our client data and
information
Features
ADVANCED LMS Provides a suite of tools aimed at increasing student engagement
FUNCTIONALITY through an inviting learning environment and the ability to create
individual learning paths and customize workflows to cater to different
learning styles
Advanced tools like Desire2Learn Course Builder™ and Instructional
Design Wizard™ allows instructors to allow for seamless integration of
course competencies within course units and assessments, creating
higher-quality, and more engaging courses.
Automated rollover from old to new course offerings, including seamless
updates of all dates and settings
Advanced section and group management
Calendar sync with phones and other calendar systems such as Google™
or Microsoft® Outlook calendar systems
Special access configurations for different users (e.g. give different dates
or durations for different users for assessments or learning activities)
Intelligent Agents to trigger notifications and action using complex rules
with personalized messaging
INTEGRATED LEARNING Support for accreditation process and help with improving the quality of
OUTCOMES client programs
Flexible learning outcome assessment tools and rubrics
INTEGRATED COMMUNITY Provides integrated synchronous and asynchronous tools, as well as the
MANAGEMENT SYSTEM effective management of group work areas that facilitate collaborative
aspects of learning
MOBILE ACCESS HTML5 mobile web access
SOCIAL APPLICATIONS Industry’s leading optional ePortfolio, and many other social tools
including instant messaging, email, blogging, and third party
integrations including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn®, Google™,
Microsoft® Office, and many more
Usability & Accessibility
EASE OF USE Based on our comprehensive usability studies, 80% prefer using the
Desire2Learn platform compared to their prior systems, and most clients
report far lower support calls (from student and faculty surveys in
Wisconsin, Ohio, Tennessee, and other locations)
ACCESSIBILITY NFB Certification
Section 508 and WAI guidelines support (e.g. WCAG 2.0), ATAG 2.0, and
WAI-ARIA)
Support non-disclosure of disability or individualization
Preferred LMS for accessibility (equal access to everyone for everything)
Active Special Interest Group with clients and other leaders that has year
round impact on product
Focused on not just our system being accessible, but helping our clients
build accessible content and systems
Learn more about our Accessibility
(http://www.Desire2Learn.com/Products/Accessibility/)
HAPPY POWER USERS Polished user experience and numerous power user features to keep all
users happy, not just novices.
We offer full set of features and flexibility with usability, not just usability
by simplicity
NAVIGATION OF LEARNING ENVIRONMENT
Ease of Use - LMS
Desire2Learn Learning Environment is renowned for its ease of use for all users including students,
instructors, course developers, administrative staff, and parents. Interfaces are designed from insight
gained through intensive usability-focus groups. Desire2Learn Learning Environment is intuitive enough
to enable novice and expert users alike to navigate through, and interact with the Learning Suite skillfully.
We employ a team of interaction, usability, and accessibility experts that work closely with clients and
industry experts to constantly revise and improve our user interface standards. Our usability experts
frequently consult with students, instructors and administrators to design intuitive and stimulating
interface updates for each new release. One result of this collaboration is the ability to easily group links
within the navigation bar, which allows users access to every aspect of a course from a single screen. The
minibar holds three separate streams of notifications:
1. Messaging: Provides access to email and instant messenger
2. Course Activity: Provides access to instructors announcements, newly released grades and due
dates
3. High Volume Activities: Provides access to the discussion board posts
This separation allows users to more easily access features that are important to them.
Desire2Learn Learning Suite’s look and feel works great on different displays and focuses a user’s
attention on the most important content of a page. Users have consistent access to courses, course alerts
and personal settings. Our overall usability is focused on simple layouts, clear primary actions, button
consistency, and streamlined workflows.
Our superior flexibility and customization allows course designers to choose whether access to all course
components is desirable for individual courses. In open courses, students and instructors can be given
broad access to move from one area to another at their own discretion and pace. In more linear courses,
students can be guided from one area to another along a learning path that can change depending on their
input and activities.
Desire2Learn’s ultimate goal is to produce an application where users focus on teaching and learning, and
not learning the application itself. Desire2Learn’s user-centric system navigation brings common tasks to
the presentation layer so novice users can quickly and easily access and complete common tasks within a
few clicks. Advanced users can probe deeper to utilize advanced features and tool-to-tool interoperability
Minibar
Switch between courses, navigate to organization and course home pages, access account settings such as
Profile and Preferences, and receive alerts specific to your system activity via the navigation minibar
located at the top of every page with easy access to Profile, Notifications, and Account Settings (which
includes links to change password and change email address for users with permissions).Additionally, users with appropriate
permissions (typically administrators) to access
items found in the Admin Tools widget and
Admin Tools navigation bar link, can also access
those items from an icon in the minibar.
Access to Admin Tools from the Minibar
For branding, organizations can customize the minibar’s color, logo, and can specify if the minibar is fixed
to the top of each page or if it floats at the top of the page so that content scrolls behind it.
Homepage Personalization
The course homepage provides a centralized access point from which users can access all tools and
information regarding a particular course. News items, calendar items, and customized areas provide a
link to view content, see what is upcoming, or communicate with users taking the course.
The figure below illustrates one example of a course homepage customization. Some examples of typical
Widgets include News items, video feeds or search engine interfaces.Another Example of Homepage Customization Examples of Organization Navigation Bars Customization
CONTENT DELIVERY & MANAGEMENT
Desire2Learn Content Tool
View your entire course via the Table of Contents area within the Content tool. The Table of Contents area
provides a scrollable view of all units and topics in the course with the ability to access individual topics
and has the following features:
Full view of your entire course
One click to view a topic
Provides count of tasks in a unit along with topic progress indicators
Bulk editing, completion tracking management, downloading, and deleting
Links to course management tools such as Manage Files, Course Builder, Reports, and Copy
Course Components for users with access to those tools.
Manage content display settings
Print a course outline including course unit descriptions
The Table of Contents area allows instructors and course designers to efficiently and easily build,
restructure, and revise content in their courses. To manage content, click the context menu beside a topic
name to edit it, rename it in place, change status (draft or published), set completion method, add
restrictions (date, release conditions), and add descriptions all from the Table of Contents area.
Build and edit your course from within the Table of Contents area. Access the view of a specific unit by
clicking it in the area below the Table of Contents on the left. Add to your course with ease using drag and
drop capabilities that enable course designers to insert one or multiple PDF and Microsoft® Office®
documents from their desktop to create new document topics.
To enable access to content regardless of programs present on a student’s computer, there is an inline
document converter/viewer, so that all conversion is done in Learning Environment and does not require
a third-party. This is a huge plus because students do not need to have programs such as Acrobat ® or
Word® on their computer to access content. As you build out your course, you can choose to indicate the
status of your additions and edits as published or draft. If you select the draft status, it is not available to
students.Content Areas – Table of Contents Area
When a unit is clicked from the left hand Unit List, the Unit Details area opens to the right. The Unit
Details area provides access to common actions and the ability to create new content or add existing
content.
Instructor can add/edit unit description inline with a full HTML Editor
Unit Details – Inline Unit Description with HTML Editor
Instructor can set Draft v. Published to an entire unit or individual topics Instructor can add due dates, restrictions, and release conditions from one consolidated view
Instructor can add activities (create new or link to existing)
Unit Details – Add Activities
When creating a new document, instructors can use the updated HTML Editor, and also copy the
contents of an existing course file which enables the creation and use of templates.
Instructor can drag and drop multiple files at once from their computer to easily create and
update file topics
Instructor can rename topics inline, reorder, add restrictions to individual topics, and publish to
Desirer2Learn Learning Repository
Unit Details – Rename Topics Inline
Instructor can set method for completion status on individual topics
Unit Details – Setting Method for Completion Status
Instructor can easily add sub-units by simply typing in the name of the new sub-unit at the
bottom of any unit viewUnit Details -
Instructor and student can access individual topics for viewing
Student view is the same view, but without editing areas and actions
Instructor and student can print list of topics
Instructor can configure course to arrange topics by content type instead of a flat list
Instructor can set the default completion status method to be used for new topics
Instructor can set default
behavior for what happens if files
with the same name are dragged /
uploaded into the course.
This provides an incredibly easy
workflow for authoring on a
desktop and updating content in
the Learning Environment.
Time is always as a premium. This
feature is designed to save time
and help users to be more efficient
in getting course content into the
Learning Environment.
Set up your course quickly, easily,
and intuitively with the various
features that allow course content
creation to come together with
simplicity and ease – to boost and
not impede content creation.
Unit Details Area – Content SettingsUnit Details Area – Upload Multiple Files
Desire2Learn ePortfolio
Desire2Learn ePortfolio takes the best of both worlds: it pairs social learning and self-directed learning
concepts with proven traditional education. This produces a unique and powerful solution that enables
our clients to shape the learning paths of their users and give them the opportunity to create and share
their own eLearning journey. Desire2Learn ePortfolio propels eLearning into the future.
Scrapbook capabilities of Desire2Learn ePortfolioDesire2Learn recognizes that students and instructors both demand a personalized learning experience that extends beyond the boundaries of traditional educational tools. Students and instructors alike need to be able to interact with networks of peers and evaluators to share their portfolio for personal, educational as well as professional purposes. Desire2Learn ePortfolio meets these demands to accelerate a user’s eLearning experience. Of particular interest to Dartmouth College may be Desire2Learn ePortfolio’s ability to empower instructors to guide and improve student’s learning experiences by gaining valuable insight to a student’s learning path which is enabled by the portfolio. You gain knowledge through data on students’ progress toward learning objectives and the degree of shared learning and collaboration. Instructors can aggregate individual efforts at the course, departmental, and institutional level. Equipped with such insight, you now have the ability to shape the learning experience and improve learning outcomes for all students. The following diagram illustrates how Desire2Learn ePortfolio uses relationships to bring together artifacts, reflections and presentations: For more information about Desire2Learn ePortfolio, please visit http://www.Desire2Learn.com/ePortfolio/ Benefits of Desire2Learn ePortfolio Some of the key benefits of Desire2Learn ePortfolio are highlighted below: Life-Long Learning | The flexible options for porting the Desire2Learn ePortfolio into other formats provide learners the capabilities to use and re-use their portfolio for lifelong learning. ePortfolio provides the ability to map, document and showcase learning and achievements during specific educational enrolments and continue beyond the timeframe of a relationship with a specific educational institution.
The following information is marked confidential, and is not intended for public release. In the event of a public records request, this information is to be redacted to the maximum extent provided by law. MYDESIRE2LEARN myDesire2Learn allows graduating students to maintain an active Desire2Learn ePortfolio after leaving their institution. myDesire2Learn ePortfolios are managed in Desire2Learn Cloud and are an example of Desire2Learn’s commitment to supporting lifelong learning. myDesire2Learn will be available next year. Please see https://mydesire2learn.com/ for more information. Use ePortfolio for setting goals and developing a Learning Roadmap that evolves continuously through the various phases as users learn through every day experiences and formal training. Social Learning | ePortfolio enables learners to connect with peers and mentors, give and receive ideas and feedback, share learning experiences, and collaborate with others. Learners can build and extend their learning networks across peers, evaluators, colleagues and subject matter experts. Learners can also insert social profiles into user accounts, such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn® and Google™+1. Desire2Learn ePortfolio captures both the formal and informal training learning experience. Develop and achieve goals, gain recognition working with a community of individuals seeking personal growth through social interactions. Empowers Learners | Web 2.0 standard interface components such as a dashboard and tagging engage learners. The dashboard brings social sharing capabilities to the next level, as it allows learners to view recent updates and changes within ePortfolio. Unread invites, recently changed items and recently viewed items are all posted here, and you can also view which items others have recently viewed of yours. The ability to publish anything within Desire2Learn ePortfolio provides learners with ultimate control over their learning adventure. Desire2Learn believes social learning to be very empowering. Ownership of Learning | ePortfolio provides learners with a tool to organize and manage their learning goals and achievements. Learners can tell a story with their ePortfolio and personalize the presentation of the learning story to reflect their personality or message. Assess Transparently | Desire2Learn ePortfolio allows for comments and assessment with rubrics on any item. Grades, competencies and learning objectives add to the formal assessment component in Desire2Learn ePortfolio. Harness Flexibility | Robust and easy to use, institutions can track accreditation while learners establish a personal repository of learning artifacts. With import and export capabilities, learners can take their Desire2Learn ePortfolio contents with them if they ever change institutions. Integrate Seamlessly | When combined with the Desire2Learn Learning Environment and Web Services, Desire2Learn ePortfolio offers a complete and robust learning experience. Career Development Management | Map goals, track learning experiences and receive feedback on activities, learning objectives, and developing competencies. Support Peer Assessment | Users can provide comments and assessments using formal rubrics to peers.
Supplement Course Activities | Deep integration with Desire2learn Learning Environment allows for seamless movement of ePortfolio materials into the course for showcase or assessment and supports users pulling course feedback and assessment items from courses into the ePortfolio. Support Reflective Learning Practice and Self-assessment | Metacognition, self-explanation and reflection are methods for students to develop deeper learning through clarification, linking experiences and past learning, relating personal beliefs and values and recognition of patterns. Desire2Learn ePortfolio is an enterprise offering to support user-centric learning processes through goal setting, capturing learning experiences, and organizing learning evidence. Thus allowing learners to share ideas, give and receive feedback, participate in social learning networks and showcase their achievements and capabilities.
ASSESSMENT, GRADING AND FEEDBACK
Grading Assignments in Desire2Learn
The Dropbox tool enables students to submit assignments through Desire2Learn Learning Environment,
eliminating the need to mail, fax, or email assignments. Using the Dropbox tool, students can simply
upload their assignments to the appropriate folder.
Instructors may set up separate dropbox folders for each assignment and restrict access to the folders by
date and time, group membership, or special access permissions. Set a dropbox folder due date
independent of folder availability to clearly communicate the date until on-time submissions are accepted.
Additionally, due dates are highlighted for students while late submissions are highlighted for instructors.
These late indicators in the interface are dynamic and are based on the submitting user’s due date – if a
submission previously flagged as late has its due date extended for the user, it will not be flagged as late in
the interface.
Instructors can be notified of new dropbox submissions through the Updates widget or daily summary
notifications. Instructors can also grade each assignment, leave feedback in a variety of ways, and return
submissions with comments all from within the Dropbox tool. Once assignments are submitted, an
instructor can view the assignment in their browser or download them, sort assignments by students or
check submission times.
Dropbox | Instructor view of a Dropbox folder
The dropbox folder supports individual or multiple attachments of virtually every single file type. The
table below presents some of the more commonly used file types that are supported by Desire2Learn
Learning Environment:
File Type Extension File Type Extension
Web ASP, HTM, HTML, XHTML, etc. Audio MP3, MPA, RA, WAV, WMA, etc.
Text DOC(X), RTF, PDF, TXT, WPD, etc. Video AVI, FLV, MOV, MP4, MPG, RM, SWF,
WMVData CSV, PPT(X), XLS(X), XML, etc. Developer C, CPP, CS, JAVA, PL, PY, etc.
Image BMP, GIF, JPG, PNG, PSD, TIF, etc. Other ZIP, RAR, KDW, etc.
Desire2Learn also features a complete integration with Google Docs™. Once submitted to the Dropbox,
these documents are converted to PDF, and allow other tools like Turnitin ® to perform document
analysis. Upon submitting these documents, users can no longer edit them. Being able to submit these
documents to the Dropbox tool allows customers to use Google’s office productivity and collaboration
tools more effectively.
View Documents In-line
Instructors can view documents in their browser without having to download them. This reduces the
likelihood that an instructor is missing the appropriate software to view common file types or has to
download and manage multiple copies of documents.
Dropbox | View and grade documents in your browser
The in-line document viewer is powered by the platform’s document viewer and conversion tools. It
supports the viewing of a variety of file types, some of which are converted locally.
Unlike systems that send student submissions to hosted, third-party services to convert for in-browser
rendering, Desire2Learn Learning Environment converts supported file types locally into images and
HTML/text versions where required prior to displaying them.
Image view (File Types Supported)
Word processing documents (.doc, .docx, .txt)
Presentations (.ppt, .pptx) PDF (.pdf)
Images (.gif, .png, .jpeg)
HTML/Text view (File Types Supported)
Word processing documents (.doc, .docx, .txt)
Web documents (.html)
Presentations (.ppt, .pptx)
Originality Report
For institutions using plagiarism detection through the integration with Turnitin ®, users can
also see the submitted document in the form of an originality report.
Download
Instructors can download all other file types to work offline with the associated software
program
Individual students or groups of students can submit assignments to various dropboxes associated with
assignments within a course. Using the Dropbox tool, instructors can provide meaningful and
individualized feedback.
Feedback can be withheld so that instructors can
review and revise grades, rubrics, comments, and
attachments.
Once feedback is published, students are able to
see feedback from their submission history in the
dropbox; publishing feedback updates any
associated grade items. Instructors can publish
feedback to all students simultaneously or on a
student by student basis.
There are many evaluative feedback features
within the Dropbox tool:
Dropbox | Save feedback as a draft
Annotating HTML and Text Documents
The annotate action is offered on each applicable file and stored as an attachment with the version
indicated, which makes annotating HTML files and text files through Desire2Learn Learning
Environment’s HTML Editor easier to discover.Online Markup Online Markup, the integration with Turnitin® GradeMark® for clients that use it, provides a number of features to annotate documents online such as leaving text comments, markup, and highlights. This functionality is easily accessed when reviewing student submissions to encourage instructors to provide rich feedback to students. Download and Edit Instructors can download documents, make edits in the associated software, and then attach the updated files as feedback to the student. Record Audio A simple interface for recording audio feedback is available when reviewing a student’s submission. The generated audio file is attached to the feedback. Record Video THE VIDEO NOTES TOOL The video notes tool enables users to quickly and effectively add video recorded from their webcams into Learning Suite content and is included as part of Desire2Learn Learning Environment. With the video notes tool, add recorded webcam anywhere Insert Stuff™ or video attachments are currently supported in Desire2Learn Learning Environment. The video notes tool supports the recording and embedding of videos as long as the browser supports Adobe® Flash®. Access User Information and Contact Users In the top right is information about the user or group whose submission you are evaluating. This area offers student information visible to the evaluator and available contact methods. Folder Information and Properties Folder Information and Properties is a collapsible section that provides access to information about the folder and gives options for adjusting its properties. For example, quickly add special access to a student who might need more time to submit their assignment. Therefore, a teacher’s assistant who does not have permission to edit or view the folder properties, can consistently see the instructions for the assignment. Evaluation Options Desire2Learn provides options to the evaluations section in the feedback panel. This section contains options instructors might have forgotten (e.g., adding rubrics), class benchmarking (e.g., teachers assistants evaluating how other markers scored students by reviewing rubric and grade statistics) and workflow elements (e.g., a link to the grade book to assign zeros to users without submissions). Record Evaluation Desire2Learn has compressed the areas to assign scores and score rubrics by adding learning objective associations in context of the rubric control.
Dropbox | Use a Rubric to score assignments Offline Grading Our newest mobile application, Desire2Learn® Assignment Grader for iPad®, integrated with Desire2Learn Learning Environment, allows instructors and educators to take their entire launched collection of student-submitted digital assignments anywhere they want and grade them from the convenience of an iPad® device. Desire2Learn Assignment Grader can help shorten turnaround times for providing grades and feedback as well as increased student engagement by providing written, audio and/or video commentary. Desire2Learn Quiz / Testing Tool Desire2Learn provides a versatile quizzing tool which allows for the quick creation of surveys, self- assessments and evaluative assessments using a large number of question types. Instructors can easily create, edit, and grade quizzes with no prior knowledge of HTML or other web programming technologies. Quiz results are viewed in an organized and concise format. Dartmouth College can set numerous restrictions on the quizzes they create (such as date of availability), as well as associating them with learning objectives. Questions can also be created in, or copied, to question libraries that allow for full reuse of questions or quizzes within a course, or all courses across the organization.
Fair tests can be created that pull a certain number of questions of particular difficulty levels from
different random question pools. The Desire2Learn testing and assessment tools are fully compliant with
IMS. The following question types (question formats) are currently available:
Multiple choice Ordering
Multi-select Image and description text
Likert style (only for surveys) Significant figures
True or false Multi-short answer
Matching Calculated – including randomly generated
Fill-in-the-blanks numbers
Short answer Other custom question types
Long answer
RANDOM QUESTIONS
Inserting a random section into a quiz ensures that each user will receive a unique set of questions. The
random section pulls from a designated pool of questions stored in the Question Library. It is important
to note that you must import questions that have already been created elsewhere into a random section.
After selecting the questions from the library, you can specify how many questions from the random
question pool each user should see. The random section will then randomly select this number of
questions for each user that takes the quiz. This feature guarantees that each user will receive a unique
quiz with different questions. There are no limits to the number or type of questions in a random quiz.
QUIZ MANAGEMENT
Instructors can handle student pre/post testing by creating multiple attempts for a quiz (see below figure)
and use our release condition feature to set schedule and requirements for pre/post-tests.
Manage Quizzes Tool – Edit Quiz AttemptsInstructors are also able to create custom learning paths for each student, as the Restrictions tab allows for special access for specific users. For example, if a special education user is in need of more time on a quiz or test, the instructor can give them special access to that quiz for an extended period of time. Desire2Learn keeps confidentiality in mind, as users will not be able to see the differences in due dates. The Calendar will only show the due date for that specific user. Dartmouth College may also add bonus questions, mandatory questions, and prevent users from moving backwards in the quiz. LEARNING OBJECTIVES You can associate a quiz with a set of learning objectives and a competency that you want people taking your course to master. You can also evaluate the quiz using a rubric. You can associate a whole quiz, or a group of questions, with learning objectives. Using the Objectives tab, you can associate a quiz with a learning objective, and therefore tie the assignment to a competency you want users to master. This association can be a basic association or an association with a rubric-based assessment. In cases where only a subset of quiz questions are relevant to a learning objective, you can align specific groups of quiz questions to learning objectives from the quiz’s Objectives tab. The questions must be together in a section. In addition, you can use a new learning objective assessment method for quizzes called “Score on selected questions”. It’s the numeric score of all questions in the quiz aligned to the learning objective. QUIZ PREVIEW The quiz preview option allows you to "write" a quiz before releasing it. While previewing a quiz, you work through the steps of answering the questions, submitting the quiz, having the quiz graded (if auto-grading applies to it) to ensure that the automatic grading was set up properly, and viewing the reports you have set up. The preview feature allows you to ensure the accuracy of the content and grading before releasing it to students. Desire2Learn Grade Book Grade book meets a multitude of needs utilizing a powerful feature set and set-up wizard. Flexible setup options provide our clients freedom to implement the grading system that works best for their individual course. For time efficiency, grades can be entered in a simple spreadsheet-style interface or imported from Microsoft® Excel® or CSV File Format. EASILY FILTER GRADE BOOK INFORMATION, SAVE AND RETAIN THAT VIEW The “Enter Grades” area is where instructors enter, import, and export grades for students. In this area the grade book is organized by user. From this view, instructors can grade users by user, item, category, or final grade. Instructors can also switch between the standard view of the grade book and a spread sheet view.
The Grades tool | Spreadsheet view of grade book SEARCH FOR USERS Instructors can search for users in the grade book by the Search, View By, or Next Page options. RENAMING AND ADDING COLUMNS TO THE GRADE BOOK Any column can be added manually or be added via upload or via Desire2Learn Valence. These columns can also be renamed. REORDER COLUMNS A reorder option is available from the Manage Grades area. Instructors can select a new position for a category or grade item using the “Sort Order” drop-down list beside its name. The positions of other categories and grade items adjust accordingly. UPLOAD GRADES FROM A SPREADSHEET Instructors can enter grades in another application and import them into Learning Environment using a CSV or TXT file. Instructors are also enabled to create new grade items through an import file by adding a column to the file. The import file must follow a standard format. A “grades sample import” file is available as a reference point. We recommend that instructors set up their grade book in Learning Environment even if they plan on entering grades in a CSV or TXT file. Instructors can then use the Export Grades option to create an appropriately structured file. EDIT GRADES Grades can be manually edited to provide instructors with more flexibility.
ADD NOTES TO GRADES
Grade book allows instructors to leave comments that users can see when viewing their final grades. Also,
the Grades tool allows instructors to leave comments only other authorized graders, such as TAs, can see
– not users. For example, an instructor can leave a message or comment inline for a teaching assistant in
the grade book.
The Grades tool | Leave comments for users or graders
ACCESS ASSESSMENTS VIA THE GRADE BOOK (IN-PLACE GRADING)
You can enter or update a grade from either the Grades tool or the tool with which the item is associated.
You can associate quizzes, dropbox folders, and discussion forums and topics with grade items and grade
them directly from the Quizzes tool, the Dropbox tool, the Discussions tool, and the Attendance tool.
CALCULATE COLUMNS USING A FORMULA
The Formula Editor enables you to define a formula that calculates a grade item’s value based on other
grade items. When you create a formula, you specify which grade items you want included in the formula
and the relationships between them. An example of a simple formula is one that calculates the sum of a
number of grade items. A more complicated formula is one that drops the minimum or maximum value
from a set of grade items.INTEGRATE GRADE BOOK WITH STUDENT INFORMATION SYSTEM Learning Environment fully supports bi-directional integration with SIS and has the ability to transfer rosters and grade information. Learning Environment features both the Holding Tank and Desire2Learn Valence for integrating with SIS systems. RELEASE THE APPLICABLE GRADES TO A USER The “release to user” option is configurable and up to the lecturer when grades are released. You have the option to allow the automatically graded quiz attempt grade to be seen immediately after the user has completed and submitted the quiz. However, the displayed score is limited by what the system can auto-grade which may exclude essay questions, for example.
COMMUNICATION AND COLLABORATION Desire2Learn Communication Tools Overview Desire2Learn Learning Environment enables academic networking through flexible group management options that are integrated with learning tools, and provides both real-time and asynchronous communication tools that can be customized to enforce security policies and promote engaging usage. Desire2Learn Capture Desire2Learn Capture empowers presenters to go beyond simply communicating, so that audiences can connect like never before. Our portable and fully-automated room and mobile capture solutions cost less and do more, allowing you to capture and effortlessly deliver a synchronized audio, video and presentation rich media experience. Viewers can also participate in live text chat as well as search text contained in visual aids. Email A fully-featured Email tool is included in Desire2Learn Learning Environment. Our clients can choose to configure it for send-only messaging, for internal messaging only, for sending/receiving both internally and externally. Clients are able to filter through emails, as well as create personalized folders. The Email tool automatically associates messages and contacts with course offerings, and facilitates continuous communication with the rest of the user’s experience. Instant Messaging Users can quickly find other users who are currently online and send private messages using the Pager tool. This feature allows instructors to minimize the amount of email they receive, and enables learners to communicate quickly with their peers. The Pager tool can be turned off when learners are taking an online quiz. Chat The Chat tool is a real-time, text-based collaboration tool. Dartmouth College can use the Chat tool to brainstorm ideas, hold a question and answer period, have a debate or discussion, or organize a remote study group. As opposed to other collaboration tools, such as Discussions, Chat conversations occur in real-time. You can set up course specific chat rooms or chat rooms that involve individuals from all over the organization. Archives for chat sessions are automatically created and logged. Discussions Discussions provide a means for class interaction. The Discussions tool enables rating one another's message postings, allows for offering participation incentives, and empowers users to call out key contributions. Discussions can be graded with ease and supports numeric and rubric assessment types.
Blog The Blog tool provides a controlled environment for our users to communicate and reflect. They can read their peers’ blogs, leave comments, and maintain a list of favorite blogs. It is up to our clients to decide whether their users’ blogs are available inside or outside their institution; if they are public, social sharing networks can be inserted into the user profile, such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn ® and Google™+1. Calendar The Calendar tool provides an integrated view to help our users stay on top of all course work and upcoming deadlines. Clients can create course-related events in other tools and set them to appear in the Calendar using content, discussions, dropbox, grades, and more. Users can share scheduled events with peers and courses, and view the availability of others. The Calendar tool allows synchronization to your mobile devices and other calendars like Outlook® and Google™ to be through iCal®, and also highlight different views and consolidated viewing. Synchronous Integration Desire2Learn has developed an Integration Pack for Synchronous Communication Tools (IPSCT), which provides a direct integration with Adobe® Connect™ and Blackboard® Collaborate for distance learning, meetings, webcasting, and events. The following information is marked confidential, and is not intended for public release. In the event of a public records request, this information is to be redacted to the maximum extent provided by law. We are also currently working on extending the IPSCT integration to other third party offerings such as WebEx™ and Microsoft® Lync®. Classlist Tool The Classlist tool enables an interactive environment for Dartmouth College to keep track of users. Use the Classlist tool to see who is enrolled in a course; users logged into Desire2Learn Learning Environment appear with a green dot beside their names. Also, use the Classlist tool to send emails and pager messages. Organizational tabs for easy navigation may be set up according to different roles or groups of roles pertaining to the users. For example, instructors can choose to have a tab which only shows students, a tab which only shows faculty, and a tab that shows both. The Classlist tool is also a central area for managing information about students. View user profiles, Desire2Learn ePortfolios, blogs, shared locker files and progress, print the classlist, check enrollment reports, and change enrollment information (e.g. enrolling and removing users, changing roles, unlocking accounts, and resetting passwords).
Discussions Tool
The Discussion tool provides document sharing, private group collaboration, and multiple viewing
options including threaded and temporal sequencing. The Discussion tool is also fully integrated with the
Grades tool, allowing instructors to grade and provide feedback on discussion postings from within the
tool itself.
Course discussions provide a valuable forum for learner and instructor interaction. The Discussion tool
enables students to rate one another’s messages which provide a participation incentive, and empower
students to call out key contributions. The Discussion encourages students to:
Share thoughts on course material with their peers
Set up forums to ask questions
Pose a question for the class to debate
Discuss the answers to an assignment
Create forums for groups to work on group assignmentsDiscussions
Discussions are an important aspect of an academic solution. The Discussions tool provides:
The ability to create, edit, delete, and flag Full archives
messages Gradable discussions
Detailed searching – including subject and Peer reviews
message
Private group collaborations
Document sharing possibilities
Setting of group permissions
Easy moderation (create, monitor, etc.) by
Useful statistics gathering and reporting
course administrators
Email notifications
Notifications of new message posts allow students to stay on top of discussions even when they are away
from their computers. These notifications are sent to a user’s external email and provide more
opportunities for reading messages and interacting with discussions in process.
Desire2Learn Learning Environment provides a straightforward subscription process from the
Discussions pages and Compose Message window. Flexible subscription and delivery options allow users
to control what notifications they receive and when. For example, users have the option to subscribe at the
forum, topic, or message thread level. Additionally, users can choose to receive those notifications
immediately or as a daily digest of new, unread messages by course. The Subscriptions List page shows
users their subscriptions and allows them to update subscriptions from a centralized location.You can also read
