Technology Advisory Group

Reposting from email to all faculty, sent by CTLE Director Eugeniu Grigorescu on 2013-10-10:

Dear Faculty,

After an extensive and in-depth evaluation process by the Learning Management System Evaluation Working Group, the University has chosen Desire2Learn (D2L) as its next Learning Management System (LMS). An email from Dr. Harold Baillie and Dr. Jerry DeSanto regarding this decision was sent on July 1, 2013.

The Evaluation Working Group consisted of faculty members recommended by the Technology Advisory Group (TAG), undergraduate and graduate students, and staff members from several campus departments who will be supporting the new LMS.

D2L will be available for the Spring 2014 semester. ANGEL will be available until May 31, 2014. During the Spring 2014 semester, ANGEL and D2L will run in parallel. You will have the option to choose which system you want to use next spring.

The Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence (CTLE) and the IT Development and Applications (ITDA) are working with a group of pilot faculty this semester to optimize the migration process and prepare “best practices” for teaching and learning in D2L.

Course Conversion – ANGEL to D2L
Over the next 2 months, ANGEL courses will be converted/migrated to D2L. Existing ANGEL courses from fall 2011 through summer 2013 will be converted automatically. Moreover, you will be able to request conversion of additional courses via an online form. The form will be available in early January 2014. The form’s availability will be announced via email.

Access to D2L
D2L will be available for faculty access on Monday, January 6, 2014. At that time, you will be able to view all of your converted courses from ANGEL.

Teaching with D2L
During spring 2014, you may use either ANGEL or D2L, but not both. If you decide to use D2L, you must complete an online form to opt in to teach all of your courses in D2L. The form and instructions will be available in early January. The form’s availability will be announced via email. The deadline to commit to using D2L for Spring 2014 is Friday, January 17, 2014.

In spring 2014, the only courses accessible by students in D2L will be those that you committed (opted in) to teach using D2L.

D2L Showcase
The CTLE will be hosting showcases of the D2L features on Monday, November 11 (3:00 – 4:00 pm) and Tuesday, November 12 (4:00 – 5:00 pm). Both presentations will be in Brennan 228.

D2L Workshops
The CTLE will offer numerous workshops in January 2014 to prepare you for the switch to D2L. There will be 2 types of offerings: training hands-on sessions and open migration workshops. The hands-on sessions will cover basic functionality of D2L as well as the grade book, discussion forums, and assessments. The open migration workshops will provide one-on-one assistance in adjusting the converted content from ANGEL into D2L. The workshop schedule will be announced via email in mid November.

D2L Links

• D2L Website: www.desire2learn.com
• D2L Learning Environment Video Tutorials
  • Navigation
  • Course Content
  • Dropbox
  • Classlist
  • Discussions
  • Quizzes
  • User Progress
  • Grades
• D2L Mobile: www.desire2learn.com/products/mobile/

As always, the CTLE and ITDA will be available to help make this transition as smooth as possible. Please do not hesitate to call upon us at any time.

Best regards,
Connie Wisdo, ITDA
Eugeniu Grigorescu, CTLE