Western Online
Introduction to Desire2Learn
Welcome to the Western Online: Introduction to Desire2Learn (D2L) online tutorial brought to you by the Center for Innovation in Teaching and Research. This tutorial contains information on how to get started with the Western Online system.
After completing this tutorial you will be able to:
This tutorial uses text poppers. Text poppers are words or images that you can hover over to get more information. Hover over the words Text Popper below to see an example.
Text Popper
This tutorial also uses videos to help demonstrate the actions being taught. Whenever you see the following video clip icon on the lower left of the page, click on it to view the video.
You must have Quicktime installed on your computer in order to view the videos. You can download Quicktime here.
Use the links above and below to navigate through the tutorial.
Using Western Online, instructors can deliver content to students online. It can be used for fully online courses, hybrid courses (partially online, partially face-to-face), or it can be used simply to supplement a fully face-to-face course. Using this system, instructors can create online discussions, assessments, assignments, post grades, embed video, record audio and much more.
Western Online uses a course management software system called Desire2Learn (D2L).
Western Online is fully integrated with the LDAP and STARS systems.
LDAP
Western Online is completely integrated with the WIU LDAP Directory. This means that all you and your students need is your ECOM Username and Password to access the system. No special logins or passwords will be required.
STARS
Western Online is also integrated with the STARS system. This means that all registrations are automatically reflected in the Classlist. You do not have to enter your students manually. Additionally, adds and withdrawals are reflected rightly.
To view the Classlist for a course do the following:
There are a few ways to access the Western Online login page:
When you first login to Western Online you will be taken to your system Home Page. Similar to the one below.
On this page you will see the following widgets. Hover over each item below to get a closer look:
Your courses will automatically appear in your My Courses widget each semester. This happens about half way through the previous semester. For example, half way through the fall semester you will see your spring semester courses start to appear. However, this does not mean they are active and visible to your students. To make a course active do the following:
In this same window (see image above) you will see a Start Date and End Date. This date is set automatically by the STARS system. However, you have the ability to change them if you like. Perhaps you would like students to have access to the material a few days before the semester starts. In this case you could change the Start Date. If you have an incomplete and need to extend the End Date, you can do that as well.
To change the Start Date and End Date, do the following:
Once you've made your changes to this page click Save.
As long as the course is activated and you are within the start and end dates, your students will have access to the course in their Western Online.
Answer the following questions to check your knowledge of the material presented.
Self Check Question 1
Self Check Question 2
Self Check Question 3
Self Check Question 4
Congratulations! You have completed the Western Online: Introduction to Desire2Learn tutorial. You have learned the structure of the Western Online system and how it integrates with other systems on campus, how to navigate the system home page, how to activate a course, and how to change the start and end dates for a course.
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