Learner, Collaboration and Community Tools
The Desire2Learn Learning Environment supports your organization's approach to teaching and learning by providing you with easy-to-use, robust tools to assist you in offering online courses, building a community, and creating an environment that reflects your organization.
The Desire2Learn user-focused system offers feature-rich tools combined with an easy-to-use navigation to help you accomplish your teaching and learning goals.
Learner Personal Tools
My Home
A centralized location for all of the learner's courses. My Home can display relevant updates that include news postings, upcoming events, course links, and much more.
A centralized location for all of the learner's courses. My Home can display relevant updates that include news postings, upcoming events, course links, and much more.
My Updates
Provides one location where learners can determine what has changed or requires their attention when they log in to the system (such as new discussion posts, emails, assignment feedback, and quizzes to start).
Provides one location where learners can determine what has changed or requires their attention when they log in to the system (such as new discussion posts, emails, assignment feedback, and quizzes to start).
My Settings
Learners can customize the Learning Environment to meet their unique needs.
Learners can customize the Learning Environment to meet their unique needs.
My Bookmarks
Users can easily return to their favorite pages using the Bookmark tool.
Users can easily return to their favorite pages using the Bookmark tool.
My Links
Learners can add personal links on the home page.
Learners can add personal links on the home page.
My Locker
This tool enables participants to store personal files or documents in a central location.
This tool enables participants to store personal files or documents in a central location.
Communication, Collaboration, and Community Tools
My Blog
The Learning Environment provides a safe atmosphere for learners to communicate with peers and reflect on learning and life experiences by maintaining a blog. Learners can read their peer's blogs, leave comments, and keep a list of favorites. Blogs can be published as RSS feeds, and flexible configuration options allow you to choose whether your users' blogs are available outside your institution.
The Learning Environment provides a safe atmosphere for learners to communicate with peers and reflect on learning and life experiences by maintaining a blog. Learners can read their peer's blogs, leave comments, and keep a list of favorites. Blogs can be published as RSS feeds, and flexible configuration options allow you to choose whether your users' blogs are available outside your institution.
My Email
The Learning Environment includes a fully featured email system that you can configure for internal-only or internal and external messaging, or integrate with any existing IMAP system including Microsoft Exchange, Groupwise, and Sun iPlanet. The email tool automatically associates messages and contacts with course offerings, making email communication continuous with the rest of a learner's experience.
The Learning Environment includes a fully featured email system that you can configure for internal-only or internal and external messaging, or integrate with any existing IMAP system including Microsoft Exchange, Groupwise, and Sun iPlanet. The email tool automatically associates messages and contacts with course offerings, making email communication continuous with the rest of a learner's experience.
My Calendar
This tool provides users with easy access to all their organization, course and personal events. Events that are posted to a course, department, or organization's calendar are automatically displayed as events for an individual enrolled in that course/organization.
This tool provides users with easy access to all their organization, course and personal events. Events that are posted to a course, department, or organization's calendar are automatically displayed as events for an individual enrolled in that course/organization.
My Journal
Users can make personal journal entries and may share them with an instructor.
Users can make personal journal entries and may share them with an instructor.
Community
Learners from different courses can collaborate in system-wide chat rooms or discussion forums. Groups can create online clubs or interest and study groups at the community level that use all the tools and features of the Desire2Learn system. Group/community homepages can also be linked to from the "My Home" page.
Learners from different courses can collaborate in system-wide chat rooms or discussion forums. Groups can create online clubs or interest and study groups at the community level that use all the tools and features of the Desire2Learn system. Group/community homepages can also be linked to from the "My Home" page.
Learner Portfolios
The Desire2Learn Learning Environment enables learners, instructors and others to build an electronic portfolio of digital artifacts such as presentations, resources and accomplishments.
The Desire2Learn Learning Environment enables learners, instructors and others to build an electronic portfolio of digital artifacts such as presentations, resources and accomplishments.
News
Instructors and administrators can post general announcements and news that are viewable from "My Home", individual courses, or from a departmental homepage.
Instructors and administrators can post general announcements and news that are viewable from "My Home", individual courses, or from a departmental homepage.
Document Sharing
Learners can share documents with a class or specific group, facilitating participant collaboration.
Learners can share documents with a class or specific group, facilitating participant collaboration.
Threaded Discussions
Course discussion areas provide a valuable forum for learner and instructor interaction. The discussion tool enables learners to rate one another's messages, providing a participation incentive and empowering learners to call out key contributions.
Course discussion areas provide a valuable forum for learner and instructor interaction. The discussion tool enables learners to rate one another's messages, providing a participation incentive and empowering learners to call out key contributions.
Dropbox
Dropbox provides a convenient way for students to submit individual and group assignments from their computer or directly from their locker.
Dropbox provides a convenient way for students to submit individual and group assignments from their computer or directly from their locker.
LiveRoom
LiveRoom enables participants and instructors to communicate in real-time in an open chat room or private study room. Archives are automatically created. Learners can send instant private messages with a click of the mouse. This tool also comes with a fully integrated canvas or whiteboard, allowing instructors to illustrate concepts and course material to learners in the chat room.
>> More on LiveRoom
LiveRoom enables participants and instructors to communicate in real-time in an open chat room or private study room. Archives are automatically created. Learners can send instant private messages with a click of the mouse. This tool also comes with a fully integrated canvas or whiteboard, allowing instructors to illustrate concepts and course material to learners in the chat room.
>> More on LiveRoom
Instant Messaging/Pager
Online participants can quickly find other users who are currently online and send private messages. This feature allows instructors to minimize the amount of email they receive, and enables learners to communicate quickly with their peers. The Pager tool can be turned off when learners are taking an online quiz.
Online participants can quickly find other users who are currently online and send private messages. This feature allows instructors to minimize the amount of email they receive, and enables learners to communicate quickly with their peers. The Pager tool can be turned off when learners are taking an online quiz.
Class List/Roster
This tool enables learners and instructors to immediately identify who is online, send instant messages or emails, distinguish group members, edit/view personal profiles, and see shared files.
This tool enables learners and instructors to immediately identify who is online, send instant messages or emails, distinguish group members, edit/view personal profiles, and see shared files.
Progress, Assessments and Survey/Feedback Tools
Competencies and Student Success
Learners can track their progress on activities, learning objectives, and competencies in courses, programs, and their experiences at your organization. Learners gain greater insight into what is required for success, how they are progressing, and any current gaps, which in turn help drive improved student outcomes.
Learners can track their progress on activities, learning objectives, and competencies in courses, programs, and their experiences at your organization. Learners gain greater insight into what is required for success, how they are progressing, and any current gaps, which in turn help drive improved student outcomes.
Rubrics
With access to a rubric, learners can gather greater insight into the requirements and methods for assessment on activities such as a quizzes or dropbox assignments.
With access to a rubric, learners can gather greater insight into the requirements and methods for assessment on activities such as a quizzes or dropbox assignments.
My Progress
Learners can see their progress through course(s) from a single summary page that contains information on visited topics, assignments completed/submitted, grades received, quiz results, discussion usage, and more.
Learners can see their progress through course(s) from a single summary page that contains information on visited topics, assignments completed/submitted, grades received, quiz results, discussion usage, and more.
Grades
The Grades tool has been redesigned to enable novice users to get to work quickly, while retaining the powerful feature set needed to support the demands of advanced users. The new setup wizard streamlines the process of configuring the gradebook. Flexible setup options let each instructor implement the grading system that works for your institution.
The Grades tool has been redesigned to enable novice users to get to work quickly, while retaining the powerful feature set needed to support the demands of advanced users. The new setup wizard streamlines the process of configuring the gradebook. Flexible setup options let each instructor implement the grading system that works for your institution.
Self-Assessments
The self assessment tool enables learners to test their comprehension of course material and receive immediate feedback.
The self assessment tool enables learners to test their comprehension of course material and receive immediate feedback.
Quizzing
Instructors can assess learners using the quizzing tool, which includes a complete toolkit of question styles that can be adapted to any pedagogical methodology. Instructors can create questions of varying difficulty and randomize questions within a quiz. The consolidated question library allows instructors to store questions in a common location where they can easily be shared across quizzes or reused in self assessments and surveys. To ensure quality, instructors can preview quizzes before releasing them to students, while powerful reporting options allow for a detailed analysis of learner performance. Your can leverage your organizational structure and share quizzes across multiple courses and compare outcomes between classes.
Instructors can assess learners using the quizzing tool, which includes a complete toolkit of question styles that can be adapted to any pedagogical methodology. Instructors can create questions of varying difficulty and randomize questions within a quiz. The consolidated question library allows instructors to store questions in a common location where they can easily be shared across quizzes or reused in self assessments and surveys. To ensure quality, instructors can preview quizzes before releasing them to students, while powerful reporting options allow for a detailed analysis of learner performance. Your can leverage your organizational structure and share quizzes across multiple courses and compare outcomes between classes.
Survey Tool
Instructors and administrators can easily request feedback from learners on course topics, quizzes, assignments and more by providing learners with surveys. The Desire2Learn system supports all typical question types, emailing custom survey invitations, restricting the number of survey responses, providing optional anonymous surveys, full reporting and statistics, integration with courses or cross-organization surveys, and export to external systems.
Instructors and administrators can easily request feedback from learners on course topics, quizzes, assignments and more by providing learners with surveys. The Desire2Learn system supports all typical question types, emailing custom survey invitations, restricting the number of survey responses, providing optional anonymous surveys, full reporting and statistics, integration with courses or cross-organization surveys, and export to external systems.
Other Desire2Learn Learner Tools
Orientation and Help
The Desire2Learn system includes an online learner guide and extensive context sensitive help for each of the tools and interfaces. You can also customize help items specifically to your organization. In addition, several quick guides, learning objects and other help resources, developed by Desire2Learn clients, are available to share through the Desire2Learn Learning Community.
The Desire2Learn system includes an online learner guide and extensive context sensitive help for each of the tools and interfaces. You can also customize help items specifically to your organization. In addition, several quick guides, learning objects and other help resources, developed by Desire2Learn clients, are available to share through the Desire2Learn Learning Community.
Search and/or Compile and Download
The Desire2Learn system enables users to search, optionally compile and download course content for printing. Discussion threads and Learning Object Repositories can also be searched by either using basic search features or advanced filters.
The Desire2Learn system enables users to search, optionally compile and download course content for printing. Discussion threads and Learning Object Repositories can also be searched by either using basic search features or advanced filters.
Plus many more tools and features exist, including feedback systems, personalized learning paths through the course, home pages, glossary, etc.
Use all the features and functionality offered in the Desire2Learn Learning Environment, select only specific ones, or have Desire2Learn create new ones: all aspects of
the Desire2Learn Learning Environment can be tailored to your organization's unique needs.
