Options for group discussion instructions

Making topic descriptions visible to students who have the Grid View option turned on for discussions is possible, as it is a setting for Grid View for instructors in a course. Unfortunately there is not a similar option for the forum description.

This becomes a challenge for forums that have multiple topics with the same description. For example, a class might be divided into dyads or triads and each group needs its own discussion topic. To make that description easily visible to each topic can be done by copying and pasting into the topic description for each of the fifteen to twenty (or more) topics for that group. (The main blog entry on groups has more information on group options.)

Another option is to add the discussion instructions as a thread and simultaneously post that thread to all of the discussion topics within the group forum. This is only an option when creating a new thread as part of the Posting Options at the bottom of the Compose window. The demo video shows how to do this.

One-on-one Groups for Private Conversations inside D2L

Groups and discussions tools can be used to set up private conversations between instructors and students inside a D2L course offering.

Student Editors on a Los Rios Google Apps Site

This is cross-posted on Greg's Google Blog
The Los Rios Google Sites tool can support a group assignment wherein create a web site together. This video shows how to add students' Los Rios Google user accounts as editors to a Los Rios Google Site. The names are taken from the classlist on a Desire2Learn course offering.

Character limit for various text fields

The various identifying fields inside Desire2Learn have limits on the number of characters (including spaces) allowed:

Tool	Item	Field	Limit
News	Item	Headline	400
Content	Module and Topic	Title	150
Discussions	Forum and Topic	Title	250
Discussions	Message	Subject	150
Dropbox	Folder	Name	128
Quizzes	Quiz [Properties and Submission Views and Reports]	Name	256
Quizzes	Quiz [Restrictions]	Password	20
Quizzes	Question Library  [Sections and Random Sections]	Name	256
Quizzes	Question Library [Questions and Information]	Title	256
Quizzes	Question Library [Question Images]	Description	1791
Grades	Grade Item and Category	Name	127
Email	Compose New Message	Subject	256
Attendance	Register and Session	Name	128
Attendance	Session	Description	128
Calendar	Event	Title	128
Chat	Chat	Title	150
Chat	Chat	Message	400
Checklist	Checklist and Item	Name	128
Groups	Category and Group	Name	128
Groups	Group	Code	50

Groups

Students within a Desire2Learn course offering can be divided into groups, which give instructors an additional set of tools. The Groups page can be accessed via the Groups navbar link or by selecting the Edit Course link and then choosing Groups. Students access their groups via the navbar link.

Grades for Students with Different Assignments

You may have a class where not all students do all assignments, and you want each student to have a points possible in the grades area that matches the assignments required for that student. For example, students who are returning to take the same class might have advanced assignments not required of their beginning classmates. To do this requires the use of groups, calculated grade items, and release conditions:

Limit a Syllabus to Certain Students

Revised 11/2013

If you group students from multiple classes into the same course offering, you may want to show some content (like the syllabus) to students enrolled in a certain class. Use the release conditions to do this. Here are the steps:

• When creating a new topic or editing an existing topic, click the Restrictions tab (this is the same tab that has the date restrictions)

• In the Release Conditions section, click the button Create and Attach

• Select Section Enrollment as the condition type in the pull-down menu that appears

• In the Condition Details portion of the window, choose the section from the pull-down list - you will need to match the five-digit enrollment code that is part of the section name
• Click Create and you will see your release condition at the bottom of this page.

• Click Save and this content will only be visible to students who meet the criteria you selected.

After you create a release condition, it will be available for your use on any other item in your course offering. You can click the Attach Existing button to limit other content items, quizzes, dropbox folders, etc. You can copy release conditions from class to class, but this example will not work in any other class because the section code will differ.