Audio Capture

The Audio Capture tool allows both students and instructors to record and post audio files within D2L.


Audio Capture is available in the News, Discussions, and Dropbox areas of D2L.  

PLEASE NOTE: 

• Maximum length of recording using the Audio Capture tool is one minute.
• The recorded audio is posted in D2L as file attachments in .wav format.
• The recorded audio file is not saved to the Manage Files area of the D2L course site.
• Audio Capture works best with Firefox and Safari browsers; other browsers are problematic.
• Please see the posting for Document Viewer in Dropbox for more information on providing audio feedback in Dropbox.

1a. To record audio for a News item, from "Course Home," click on the green plus sign to open a screen for you to create a new "News" post. 

1b. To record audio for a Discussions post, click on [Discussions] in the Navigation Bar, then select forum and topic, then compose a new message.

2. Under "Attachments," click on [Record Audio] 

3. A screen will pop up displaying the D2L capture audio feature. The first time you open the capture audio feature, you will notice a second smaller pop up window for "Adobe Flash Player Settings."

4. To use the audio capture feature, click "Allow."  (The default choice is "Deny.") You can also choose to check the box that says "Remember" under "Allow" if you do not want to be prompted with the Adobe Flash pop-up window each time you go to use this feature.

5. After you have allowed the Adobe Flash Player Settings, you will be able to use the capture audio feature. The red record button allows you to record up to 1 minute of audio. When you are finished recording, click [Add].

D2L 9.4.1 – January 2012

Save draft vs. post

When creating new items in D2L, you can save your messages as a draft instead of posting right away or you can simply post.


This feature is available in both the News and Discussions tools.

The save draft button allows you to come back to the message later to edit it before posting.  In order to find a saved draft, look for the draft in the area it was created (news or discussions). 

In Discussions, select the topic where the draft was created and select Drafts from the View drop-down list in the top right corner of the page.

News: From the course home page, select the News tool.  A list of posts will appear with the "status."  Select the desired draft.  

Note: Once you have posted a news item, it cannot be reverted to a draft form.  

Discussions: Anonymous Posting

The instructor can choose to allow anonymous posting to any Discussion Forum or Discussion Topic at any time, and can also remove the ability for anonymous posting at any time.

IMPORTANT: Posts that are authored anonymously will remain anonymous forever.  Posts that reveal the identity of the author at the time they are posted will never switch to "anonymous."


Here's how to allow anonymous posting in a Discussion forum or topic:


1. On the Properties tab of a new or existing Discussion forum or topic, look below the "Description" text box to find "Options."

2. In "Options," check the box beside "Allow anonymous messages"

3. Click [Save]

NOTE:  In a Discussion forum or topic that allows anonymous posting, author anonymity is not automatic.  When authoring a message in Discussions, users MUST check the box beside "Author anonymously" in the Message Options area, if they wish to have their message posted anonymously.

Discussions - No text in messages

Occasionally, a posting to a discussion forum (or a response to a posting) may appear to be blank.

This situation may be a result of this known issue: https://jira.doit.wisc.edu/KnownIssuesList/RequestController?issueId=43512&stylesheet=knownissues.css

As described in the linked article, removing certain HTML tags from the original posting (using the HTML editor) may resolve the issue.  However, it is difficult for most users to find the offending tags and eliminate them in the html view of the editor -- most people don't even know that view exists.

One best practice is for users to compose their D2L Discussion postings in something OTHER than MS Word. Notepad is an easy solution, but since there is no spellcheck, the person who uses Notepad might want to do spellchecking and editing (font, bold, italic, etc) AFTER they paste into D2L.

This known issue is not consistent across all users who copy/paste from Word into the D2L HTML editor, and it doesn't even happen EVERY time for a single user, for some reason, so it is very difficult to prevent and troubleshoot.

Resizing the D2L HTML editor window

It is possible to change the size of the window where I type in D2L!


1.  Click on the lower right-hand corner of the HTML editor window, then 
2.  drag it to make the window larger or smaller, as you wish. 


Here's a quick (silent) video that illustrates how to do it: http://screencast.com/t/CyFAublxZALC

UNdeleting a D2L discussion forum message

1. From the D2L Course Home page, click on [Discussions] in the main navigation bar
2. Click on the desired topic in the “Forums & Topics List”
3. Click on [Settings]
4. In the popup window, under “Personal Settings,” check the box beside [Display
deleted messages]
5. Click on [Save]
6. Note:  Deleted message subjects display in the message list to the Instructor as
strikethrough gray text

7. Select the message to be restored (“undeleted”) by clicking the subject line
8. Click on [Undelete] above body of the message.
9. In the message list, the “undeleted” message subject will change to the normal
blue underlined text

D2L 9.2.1 SP3 – October 2011

Deleting D2L discussion forum messages

1. From the D2L Course Home page, click on [Discussions] in the main navigation bar
2. Click on the desired topic in the “Forums & Topics List”
3. Select the message(s) to be deleted by clicking the box(es) to the left of each.
4. Click the [trash can] icon above the list of messages.
5. A popup window appears.
6. Click on [Yes] to confirm deletion of the selected message(s) and all associated
replies.

D2L 9.2.1 SP3 – October 2011

Printing D2L discussion forum messages

1. From the D2L Course Home page, click on [Discussions] in the main navigation bar
2. Click on the desired topic in the “Forums & Topics List”
3. Select the message(s) to be printed by clicking the box(es) to their left.
4. Click the [printer] icon above the list of messages.
5. A popup window appears.
6. Click on [Print] at the bottom of the popup window.
7. Note:  Selected messages are listed according to date and time, regardless of
“Subject” or “thread.”

D2L 9.2.1 SP3 – October 2011

Sorting D2L discussion forum messages

1. From the D2L Course Home page, click on [Discussions] in the main navigation bar
2. Click on the desired topic in the “Forums & Topics List”
3. On the right, above the list of messages, click on the “View” dropdown menu.
4. Choose “All Messages” and click on [Apply].
5. Click the “Subject,” “Authored By,” or “Date” column heading to sort.
6. OPTIONAL:  Click the selected column heading again, to reverse the sort order from
ascending to descending.
7. OPTIONAL:  In the “threaded” view of discussions, only the “Date” column heading
provides sort capabilities.  Entire threads are sorted according to the date of the
original message in any “Subject” grouping.

D2L 9.2.1 SP3 – October 2011

Posting a message to a D2L discussion forum

1. From the D2L Course Home page, click on [Discussions] in the main navigation bar
2. Click on the desired topic in the “Forums & Topics List”
3. Click on [Compose]
4. In the popup window, type a Subject and the text of your message.
5. OPTIONAL: Click [Add a File] to include an attachment.
6. OPTIONAL: Click [Record Audio] to include audio.
7. Click [Post] in the lower‐right hand corner of the popup window to post right away or [Save Draft] to save and post later.

D2L 9.4.1 – January 2012

Create a simple D2L discussion forum

1. From your D2L Course Home page, click on [Discussions] in the main navigation bar.
2. Click on [New Forum].
3. Type the title of your forum.
4. Click the checkbox beside “Create a new topic in this forum with the same title.”
5. OPTIONAL: Click on [Show forum visibility options].
By default, the forum is “always visible” to students.  You can choose [Hide this
forum] to make it invisible to students, or you can set a [start date] and/or [end
date] to control its visibility.
6. Click on [Save].

Note: To see the new forum and topic, click on [Discussions] in the main navigation bar.
The new forum will be at the bottom of the list, if other forums already exist in the
course site.

D2L 9.2.1 SP3 – October 2011

Copying D2L Discussion Forum and Topics

1) From your D2L course site, click on [Discussions] and then on [Copy].



2) Select [Copy a Forum].




3) Pull down the window next to [Forum to Copy:] and select the forum you’d like to copy.




4) Re-name the forum by entering the title in [New Forum title:].

5) Click the [Copy] button.

Printing out Discussion Group Lists

Aside from copying and pasting from that screen to a word document, D2L doesn't offer a way to actually export group lists into any particular file type. However, you can save the group list as a PDF file which will allow you to keep a record of just the group list.

(1) Rather than go into "Groups," go into "Classlist."

(2) Once you are in "Classlist," where it says "view by," change it from "users" to "groups."

(3) You can then go through all of the groups and then click on "print tab" and it will print the group list rather than the entire class list.

(4) You should have the option to "print" the list as a PDF file. This way you can keep a copy on your computer as well as printing one off in hardcopy.

Assessing Discussion Messages

1.  Click the [pencil icon] to edit the properties of the D2L discussion topic you wish to assess.

2.  Click to select the [Assessment] tab

3.  Enter the maximum points a student can earn for this discussion topic.

     (Optional: select an existing grade item or create a new one.)
     (Optional: select an existing rubric or create a new one.)
     (Optional: check box to assess each posting individually.)

4.  [SAVE] changes to the Assessments tab.

5.  Click to return to the [Forum & Topics List], then click [Assess Topic for ...] (yellow ruler icon) beside the topic to be assessed.

6.  Click the [Assessments] tab

7.  Click any student's name to see and assess all messages that person authored in the current topic

8.  In the popup, you can read messages, enter the student's score, and leave feedback as desired.  Then click [Save].

D2L 9.2.1 SP3 - September 2011

Sharing ePortfolio Presentations in the Discussions

You can easily share an ePortfolio Presentation in a D2L Discussion.

Step 1: Set Presentation PermissionsTo adjust the Permissions for the Presentation so that people can see your Presentation, please see:

http://d2ltipsandtricks.blogspot.com/2011/05/sharing-items-in-eportfolio-via.html

Step 2: Create a Quicklink in a Discussion Posting

1. Go to the Discussion Forum and Topic where you will share your Presentation

2. Click [Compose] and create your message.

3. Link to your ePortfolio Presentation:

a. In the message toolbar, select the "Quicklink" icon (looks like a grey chain with an orange star above it)

b. In the pop-up window:

i. select "ePortfolio Item from the "Category" dropdown menu
ii. in the "Link Details" area, leave the "Source" as "My Items"
iii. in the "Item" area, click on "Select Item"
iv. from the list, select the Presentation you wish to share
v. in the "Page" area, select the page of your Presentation people will see first
vi. in the "Link Caption" area, type the text that people will click on to take them to your Presentation
vii. choose how your Presentation will open in the browser ("Same Frame" or "New Window" are recommended)
viii. click [Insert]

c. After the popup window closes, click [Post]

4. (Optional) If you wish, click to open your Discussion posting, then click on the Quicklink you created, to see if your Presentation opens for you. If not, either click [Edit Message] to try again -or- return to the ePortfolio area and double-check that the Permissions have been correctly set.

D2L 9.2.1 SP6 – November 2011

No HTML Editor Appears When Editing Discussion Topic in Course

On occasion, the Discussions tool of a course cannot be edited. The course instructor or an administrator clicks on the pencil to edit this topic, the tabs - Properties, Restrictions, and Assessment - are visible, but there is no HTML Editor and the remaining edit areas are blank. Typically, bad HTML code in the discussion topic Description is to blame. To fix this problem:

1. Go to the [My Home] page
2. Click on [Set your D2L Preferences] under "Utilities 
3. Select the [Appearance & Accessibility] tab
4. In the [HTML Editor Settings] section, click the box [HTML Editor: Turn off rich text editor and view source]
5. Click [Save]
6. Go back to [My Home], and select the course
7. Go into the Discussion topic
8. Under the [Properties] tab, delete the problematic HTML code from the Description
9. Click [Save]

D2L 9.2.1 SP3 – September 2011

Discussion Assessment

When you add a new topic to the Discussions, three tabs will appear on the screen - Properties, Restrictions, and Assessment. The Assessment tab will allow you to provide a score and feedback to students without leaving the discussion.

If you have already set up the discussion topic:

1. Click on the pencil to the right of that topic to view the Properties, Restrictions, and Assessment tabs.
2. Select the Assessment tab.
3. On the Assessment screen, choose a grade item (if one exists) and note the points value (called "Score Out of").
4. Click Save.

After you save this topic, you should see an Assess icon for each discussion post. Clicking on this icon will allow you to enter the score and provide feedback.

Restricting Discussion Forum / Topics

To establish restrictions (when Groups have already been created):

- From the D2L course home page, click [Discussions]
- Click [Group Restrictions]
- Select the correct "Group Category" and "Forum"
- Click to put a checkbox in the "Restricted?" column for each topic to be restricted
- Click to select which group to restrict each topic to

D2L 9.2.1 SP3 – September 2011

Preview Pane in Discussion Board

D2L allows you the option to open a discussion thread in either a new window or in a preview pane at the bottom of the screen. The preview pane is the default setting, but if you would prefer to have your threads open in new windows, you should:

1. Click on "Discussions" in the main navigation bar.
2. Click on any discussion topic (the blue indented link beneath the forum title).
3. Click on "Settings" beneath the dark gray bar within the discussion area. A new window will pop up.
4. Uncheck the box next to "Show the preview pane."
5. Click "Save" at the bottom right of the window.

If you would prefer to have all discussion threads open in the preview pane, follow the steps listed above, but instead of unchecking the box next to "Show the preview pane," check it and save.

Searching D2L Discussion Forum Messages

1. From the D2L Course Home page, click on [Discussions] in the main navigation bar
2. Click on the desired topic in the “Forums & Topics List”
3. Click on “Show Search” just below the dark gray bar. A search box will appear
below it.
4. Type the words you wish to find in the “Search for” text box, and click on [Search].
Note: The default searches only the Subject and Body of messages in the selected
topic.
5. OPTIONAL: Click on [Show Search Options] to choose other variables, then click on
[Search].
6. OPTIONAL: Click on [Clear Search] to view the entire topic message list again.
7. OPTIONAL: Click on [Hide Search] to remove the "search" text box.

D2L 9.4.1 – January 2012