A couple of weeks ago, while traveling with a team of athletes from around the Midwest (all of whom are students at different D2L institutions) I had the opportunity to talk a little with them about what frustrates them with D2L. To be fair, one was my own kid and managing our D2L instance is my job, but it seemed like a good opportunity to get some student feedback.
What was interesting about their responses was that in all but one exception (the one exception being the discussion board) the feedback they gave me had less to do with the Learning Management System itself and more to do with things the instructor does with the system. I thought I would share with you their observations and some best practices. Below are their top three complaints and what you can do to alleviate some of the issues.
1. No Due Dates in the Calendar
Students love the calendar and the list of upcoming tasks. Those that have had instructors use the calendar say that they often miss deadlines in classes where the instructor doesn’t include due dates.
What you can do
Finding all the places to update your due dates can be confusing. The easiest way to do this all on one page is to first add links to everything you want your students to do to CONTENT. Besides files, you can create links to each item the students need to complete.
Once you have added all your items click on “Table of Contents” in the left-side navigation and then the “Bulk Edit” button toward the top middle.
Clicking on the double pencil or bulk edit tool provides you with the ability to set all of your dates at once. (Note you can use this tool at the Table of Contents level or at any module/submodule level).
Under each item you will see a place where you can set both dates and restrictions.
Click on the words “Add dates and restriction” and you will be able to set Start Dates (date the item becomes visible to students), End Dates (date the item becomes unavailable to students) and Due Dates (the date that is published in the calendar).
You can also set release conditions (like having to be a member of a group or completing a prior task) from this screen. When you are done click UPDATE and move to the next item you need to set a due date for. (You don’t need to add all these dates – simply add a due date to push the dates to the calendar)
2. Hard to Find Information
When content is disorganized, students find it harder to complete assignments, get to readings, and know what their instructor is expecting.
What you can do
One of D2L’s strengths is that you get to decide how you organize material – this is great because you aren’t trapped by someone else’s idea of what makes sense – but it also means that you have to provide the structure. To prevent confusion, find a structure and stick with it. This might be modules by week, by topic or even by type of thing (e.g. readings, lectures, assignment).
When creating dropboxes for student work, include all the instructions and attachments in the dropbox. Having all the documents at the point of submission reduces the likelihood that students will miss an element or requirement.
3. No Grades or Feedback
Students rely on their instructor to provide them with grades and feedback on assignments in a timely fashion. No one likes to be surprised at the end of the quarter (or even at mid-term week).
What you can do
As an instructor I know how time consuming grading is, but I also know how much my students depend on getting good/quick feedback from me. There are a number of things that can make your grading experience easier (and allow you to get feedback back to your students quicker). Note: Each suggestion is a link to a resource guide for that feature.
Quite true and factual, Melisa. The student-customer to the process deserves a voice in its design, otherwise providers will be chasing satisfaction that was never assured in the construction of the platform.
Again, the suggestions you made can be tested for results by researching student feedback as to utility and seamless interface opportunities with existing systems.