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

Using "User Progress"

Instructor Question:

Is it possible to select a view where I click on an individual student and then get a list of all the surveys the student submitted?

Answer:

Yes! (Although my example talks about Quizzes, this also works for Surveys.)

Here's how:

• In the Classlist, click on the "students" tab.
• Then, click on the "track progress" icon for the student in question.

• In the "user progress" area, choose which D2L tool you would like to see for the particular user. Options include Content, Discussions, Dropbox, Grades, Quizzes and Surveys.
• Scroll to the bottom of the page to see more information.
  

• Click on the Quiz or Survey name for more information. Other tools will display similar lists with detail available by clicking on the name of an item.
  

Making the course "Active"

At UW-Milwaukee, prior to each semester, we create D2L sites for all the courses we believe *might* use D2L ... but the instructor is the ultimate decision-maker about whether to actually make D2L part of the class.

By default, then, a new UWM D2L site is "Inactive" so it will not be visible to students unless the instructor chooses to use it.

Many instructors leave their sites "inactive" until they have their content, discussions, quizzes, etc. ready for students to see.

When you are ready to make your site visible to students, here's what you do:

• Click on [Edit Course] on the main navigation bar, then
  
• click on [Course Offering Information]
  
• check the box beside "Is Active?"
  
• [Save]

Reminder: At UWM, the "Start" and "End" dates have no effect on whether students can see your course site.

D2L 9.2.1 SP3 – September 2011

"Special characters" spell TROUBLE

Many problems in D2L begin with a simple, innocent mistake: using special characters.

"What," you may ask, "*are* they? Where will they cause trouble, and how can I avoid becoming involved with these unsavory characters?"

As a rule, D2L has no trouble with English letters and standard number characters (A-Z, a-z, 0-9). Dashes and underscores have not been known to cause issues.

Beyond that -- watch out!

Both students and instructors should avoid the use of special characters, especially in file names. Instructors would also be well advised to inform their students of the best practices for submitting files to a dropbox and other areas in D2L.

Special characters have been found to be the cause of problems with:

- Login
- Content
- Dropbox
- Discussions
- Locker
- Searches

Here is a list of "special character" issues from the University of Wisconsin System D2L Knowledgebase. Click on any link for more detail.

Submitting Files to a Dropbox

Special Characters for File and Folder Names

Possible Problems Uploading Files with Invalid Characters in File Names

Unable to View Content Topics in Course

User Receives Internal Server Error When Attempting to Logon

Trouble-shooting Problems when Accessing Files from the Locker

Avoid Using Apostrophes in Search Text Fields

Special Characters in Role Type Names