Knowing how and when students are interacting with course material can be invaluable and allow instructors the opportunity tweak and adjust their content during the term.
Below is an archive webinar recording from SSC’s Teaching and Learning Center focusing on various places within D2L instructors can access analytics and statistics about their courses, including looking for trends in late and missing submissions, viewing quiz questions and responses, comparing student learning between topics, confirming students are indeed accessing course material and strategic planning for intervention, if necessary.
Seeing triple or more? When a course that is cross-listed in Colleague is batched to D2L at least three shells are created. One shell for each of the individual courses (ART-130-003 and then ART-E77-703) and one shell with the courses combined (ART-130-003, ART-E77-703). This process allows instructors increased flexibility. If you do not plan to post material by section (ART-130-003) and only to use the combined section (ART-130-003, ART-E77-703) you can make the individual course shells inactive which will hide them from the view of both you and your students. The individual shells themselves can not be deleted without impacting the enrollment of the course.
While in the course shell you wish to hide follow these steps:
Wait until the Day Your Course Begins.
Select Course Tools
Select Course Admin
Select Course Offering Information
Uncheck the box that reads “Course is Active”
So What Does this Mean for Dual Delivery Courses?
You have two options for managing your D2L class shells for Spring 2022.
1) Use the individual Parent Shells for each Specific Section (usually 2 per course)
This will allow you to post different information (due dates, announcements, assignments, quizzes, etc.) to each section of that one course.
For example, you might post instructions for the virtual students (one parent section (PSY-211-002)) that are different than what the in-person students (a second parent section (PSY-211-072)) will do.
The downside is you may have common information for both groups and you would have to post this information twice (one in each parent section).
With this option you would hide the combined child section (PSY-211-002, PSY-211-072) when it becomes active on the first day of your class.
2) Use the Combined Child Shell that Includes all Parent Sections for that Course (1 per course)
This allows you to post information once and all students in the class will see the same thing, regardless of the child section they are in (i.e. virtual or in-person).
Good if each section is taking the same quizzes and doing the same assignments.
If desired, students can be sorted by sections. This can be done in D2L under Course Tools > Admin or in the Gradebook.
The downside is that if different parent sections have different information (due dates, announcements, etc.) you will have to insure each section knows which information pertains to them.
With this option you would hide the individual parent sections (PSY-211-002)(PSY-211-072) when they become active on the first day of your class (see above instructions).
Have you ever copied a previous course into the current term’s course shell and then realized it was the wrong course? Or have you ever just wanted to start from scratch in your course design of your D2L course? If so, D2L now has a course reset feature to allow faculty to “start over” with their course shell.
The course reset permanently deletes everything in the course including all content, activities, grade book items, etc., but does not affect user enrollments.
Who can reset a course and where is it found?
The course reset feature is only available to D2L Admins. If you’d like your course reset, email your request to the Teaching and Learning team at ssconline@ssc.edu. Include the course information, such as term, course id and section information in the email.
What if students have already started using the course?
If the course has started, it may be too late to start over. In that case, you will have to delete content, assignments, etc. on an individual basis.
Welcome to the Dual Delivery Student Engagement Strategy and Examples blog. The Teaching and Learning staff at South Suburban College will provide strategies and examples to assist faculty in teaching in a dual delivery format. Check back often for updates as we plan to add creative and innovative strategies throughout the term.
What is Dual Delivery at South Suburban College?
A dual delivery class provides for both limited in-person seating and virtual students attending via D2L virtual classroom. Students must choose their preferred delivery mode section when registering. Virtual students are expected to be available at the scheduled class and lab times.
What do the Virtual Students Experience?
Remember, the virtual student can only see a small portion of the physical classroom, usually the instructor and white board. The instructor can also share their screen as they showcase a PowerPoint presentation, website, or a variety of course content. But if in-class students are talking and participating in the class discussion, the virtual students may only be able to hear audio (unless the instructor moves the camera). These are considerations to keep in mind when designing your course in D2L or guiding in-class discussions.
Strategy and Example #1 – Incorporate Weekly Online Discussion Forums
The Set-up
To encourage student engagement with your virtual students, create an online discussion forum with a topic you plan to discuss in-class. This allows your virtual students to feel like they have another option to participate and be heard.
To encourage building community with both in-class and virtual students, make it a requirement that both sets of students respond to the weekly online discussion forum.
Name each weekly discussion forum Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, etc., so that the discussion forums can be easily identified.
To encourage participation, provide feedback and grading by giving the weekly online discussion forum a point value, i.e., make it worth their time.
Let students know that their online discussion forum post may be brought up during class time.
Prior to your in-class time, read the online discussion forums and take note of interesting comments by both in-class and virtual students.
During your class time, call on two students who had interesting comments in the online discussion forums or that you would like to clarify specifics of their posts.
When students respond during class time, have them mentioned their name first. This allows the virtual students to make a connection to the in-class student. The virtual student may not see those in-class students, but they may have read their online discussion forum posts.
See it In Action – Examples
“ I use the out-of-class posts to guide in-class discussions”. Dr. Jay Howard, reprint from the Teaching Professor Newsletter (December 2016)
Dr. Jay Howard is a professor of sociology and dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Butler University and author of the book Discussion in the College Classroom – Getting your Students Engaged and Participating in Person and Online.
Dr. Howard uses this strategy for his traditional face-to-face courses.
According to a Reprint from the Teaching Professor Newsletter, Dr. Howard has found advantages to this strategy:
Encourages class-wide participation.
Students who might experience anxiety of being called upon in-class, may feel better organizing their thoughts in an online discussion forum first, then clarifying their thoughts in-class.
Since students know their online discussion forum posts may be brought up in-class, this encourages them to provide reflective posts.
Motivates students to complete readings required that week. Students can be assigned to provide a quote from a reading in the online discussion forum or post something that raises a question.
Since Dr. Howard is reading the online discussion forums prior to class, he can determine where students may be struggling and if more in-class discussion is required.
On that same note, he can also determine if students are on track and he can now focus on other areas of discussion.
Bongo recently introduced a new feature in their virtual classroom platform that increases the number of student cameras that can be displayed at one time. The Large Gallery view can be found under settings and can be utilized by both the instructor and student to customize their individual view. Presentation view is on by default, but users can toggle between Presentation view and Large Gallery view.
Bongo Virtual Classroom Large Gallery View
Toggle Between Presentation view and Large Gallery view
While in the virtual classroom, select the Settings options (three dots in the upper right corner)
Select Large Gallery view
Repeat steps to return to Presentation view
Important Note – In order to use Large Gallery view, at least one camera must be turned on, otherwise this option will be greyed out. Large Gallery view is not available on mobile devices.
When teaching a combined section course, there may be times when an instructor would like to release an assignment or quiz to a particular section of students. Releasing assignments and quizzes to sections have slightly different directions which are referenced below:
Assignment – Release an assignment to a particular section of students
Edit a current Assignment
Select Availability Dates and Conditions
Under Release Conditions > Select Add a Release Condition
Select Create New
Under Condition Type > Select Section Enrollment
Under Condition Details > Select the Section and Create
Only students in that section can now access the assignment
Quiz – Release a quiz to a particular section of students
Edit a current Quiz > select Restrictions
Under Release Conditions > Select Create and Attach
Under Condition Type > Select Section Enrollment
Under Condition Details > Select the Section and Create
Only students in that section can now access the quiz
There may be times when an instructor would like to release a quiz to a particular group of students. For example, an instructor may have a group project as part of an assignment and would like to release an assignment or quiz to just that particular group.
The first step is creating student groups and enrolling students into that group. The next step includes adding restrictions to a quiz or assignment based on the group.
Step 1: Create Groups in child shell course (combined section)
Go to Course Tools > Groups > New Category
Provide a Category Name, such as Labs
Enrollment Type: Select # of Groups – No Auto Enrollment (this allows the instructor to manually enroll students into each group)
Select Number of Groups
Provide Group Prefix. This name will appear before each group number (Labs 1, Labs 2)
Save
Step 2: Manually Enroll Students into each Group
Select the Group Name
Select Enroll Users
Select the student names
Save
Step 3: Create a Restriction for the Quiz based on Groups
Edit the current Quiz > select Restrictions
Under Release Conditions > Select Create and Attach
Under Condition Type > Select Group Enrollment
Select the Group that the quiz should be release to
Classrooms upgraded for simulcast delivery include a webcam, a second Epson projector, and a projection screen. The second projector and screen (located in the back of the room) can be used to view your virtual classroom students. Virtual classroom students will be able to view your webcam, anything you screen share and communicate with you through chat or audio.
Before Your Class Begins
Log on to the Teacher’s Workstation with your SSC Network Credentials
Turn on the Front Projector, and then the Rear Projector
A webcam has been installed to allow remote learners a view of the classroom. It is positioned so that it can capture not just the instructor, but also any information presented on the dry-erase board in the front of the classroom. The Webcam is on if the blue light is visible as in the photo above. If there are no lights visible on the camera, press the power button on the webcam remote as pictured below.
WEBCAM REMOTE CONTROL
Using the Webcam Remote Control
The left/right arrows move the webcam left and right
The up/down arrows tilt the webcam
The zoom fast/slow buttons control the webcam zoom feature
The auto button can be used to automatically focus the webcam
If by chance the image displayed by the webcam is upside down, press the ‘REV’ button, this will right your image.
Instructors can use their personal laptop computer to replace the Teacher’s Workstation in the classroom.
NOTE: By using your personal laptop you will not be able to use the interactive features of the Epson Integrated Projector or the Promethean ActivPanel.
Step 1: Connect the USB and HDMI cables into the corresponding laptop ports as shown below.
USB Connection
HDMI Connection
Step 2: Press the black button so the green light changes from input 1/A to input 2/B on the HDMI video switch. This connects the laptop to the projection system.
Step 3: Press the circular Webcam controller button to switch the Webcam connection from the Instructor Workstation to the Laptop.
Step 1: Turn on (Blue Light Comes On) the Elmo Document Camera Power
Step 2: Select ‘EIT ICON’ Shortcut on Teachers Workstation.
Step 3: Select ‘Primary Display’ to display the image on Teachers Workstation or Select ‘Secondary Display’ to display the image on Projector Display Screen.
Step 4: Users can use the ‘Pen Feature’ within the EIT Program to mark or edit what is being displayed.
THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF FULL-SCREEN OPTIONS WHEN USING THE EIT PROGRAM INCLUDING SAMPLE IMAGE DISPLAYED THROUGH DOCUMENT CAMERA.
Step 5: Once you are finished with the unit, make sure you turn the document camera off. (NO Lights on the unit)
If your students report that they cannot see their total points in the gradebook in D2L, this usually means that their final calculated grade has not been released. There are two ways to fix this issue and release their grades. See the following document for a step by step guide to releasing the final calculated grade in your D2L courses.
