Saving Information from D2L Course Sites

How can instructors save a personal copy of information from D2L course sites?

There are a number of ways an instructor can create a personal “archive,” to be retained outside of D2L. 

How to export a course site for later use in D2L

• Preserves the Content page, course files, News (Announcements), Quizzes and Question Library, Grade book, Discussion Forums and Topics, and Dropbox folders
• Creates a .zip file that the instructor can import into another D2L course site at a later date
• Does not include student grades and contributions
• .zip file could be imported into any IMSCP-compliant learning management system

How to download and save student grades and contributions

• Each area containing student grades and contributions must be individually downloaded
• Gradebook
• Dropbox Submissions
• Quiz Statistics
• Quiz Reports
• Discussion Posts

When downloading or saving gradebooks or student submissions, it is imperative to maintain the privacy of student records, which should be saved on campus-housed, password-protected network storage rather than on local hard drives or portable storage devices. Questions about how long gradebooks and student records may be retained should be discussed with the appropriate department, school, or college, or with the UWM Records Officer.


Important note:  The UWM Records Officer, Brad Houston, states "Student work as described here is a public record under the UW-System general record schedule for academic records ACAD024, which gives a retention time of six months after the end of the semester (see here: http://www.uwsa.edu/gc-off/records/schedules/studentrecsboilerplateUWROC.pdf).  ...  Per the regulations set down by the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), students may access their own records [not just those in D2L], so long as they are retained by the university. Once the retention period has passed, the records may be destroyed and instructors / departments are under no obligation to produce them. However, if records are retained beyond the 6 month period, they may still be requested and should be produced."

How to download and save course files only

• Preserves the files located in D2L "Manage Files" area

How to copy components from an old course site to a more recent D2L course site

• Preserves the Content page, course files, News (Announcements), Quizzes and Question Library, Grade book, Discussion Forums and Topics, and Dropbox folders
• Copies directly from one D2L course site to another
• Does not include student grades and contributions

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