This page contains a list of commonly asked questions organized by topic.  The list will grow as necessary so check back often.

What is a browser?

• A browser is a software application used to retrieve and view websites from the Internet.
• While there are many different browsers available, the most widely known are Internet Explorer, and Mozilla Firefox.

While Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox are the most widely known, there are others:

• Google Chrome
• Safari (Mac)
• Netscape
• Respondus LockDown Browser
• Opera
• SpaceTime
• And many other less known options.

The most important question is: Which Internet browsers have proven to be the most compatible with eLearning (Desire2Learn) and all of the other web based tools we use to develop and implement online instruction?

First, there is a difference between “viewing” and “interacting with” online content. For simply viewing online content it really doesn’t matter which browser you use. However, even something as basic as taking a quiz constitutes “interacting” with online content.

There are essentially two internet browsers recommended by the UWF Academic Technology Center (ATC) and Information Technology Services (ITS).

They are:

• Mozilla Firefox, and
• Safari (for Macintosh users)
• Respondus LockDown Browser is a special case.
• It is used to improve the security of the online assessment process.
• The Respondus LockDown Browser is very reliable (for Macs and PCs).
• And, for its stated purpose, is our only option.

Is there any issue with having all three browsers installed and available on my computer at the same time?

• Absolutely not.

elearning Officially Supported Browsers

Windows

Mac OS X

Mobile web

Where do I get these browsers?

To add someone to your course, select the Classlist link from the navigation bar at the top of your eLearning course home page. When the Classlist page opens:

1. Select the Add Participant icon Image Modified at the top of the page.
2. When the Add Participant window opens, select Add Existing User.
3. Type the name or student email address of the person you want to add to your course into the Search for: box, check the fields you are searching (first name, last name, etc.) and then select the “Search ” button.
4. All people in the eLearning system with that last name will be now be displayed.
5. Find the person you are searching for and check the box to the left of their name and choose the appropriate role from the drop down list
6. Click Enroll Selected users
7. Now select their appropriate role (e.g., Guest Student, TA, Guest Instructor) in your course by selecting the drop down box arrow to the right of their name and selecting the appropriate role from the list.
8. Select the “Enroll” button at the bottom right of the Add Participant window and that person will now have access to your eLearning class.
9. If you selected the "Send Enrollment Email" at the top of the page, an email message will be sent to the person notifying them of their enrollment.

Note: Non-registered students in current semester courses MUST be added in as Guest Students as the automatic roster load will remove them when it runs. Faculty cannot enroll a student in the official "Student" role.

Instructors will no longer be able to un-enroll persons with a student role from an eLearning course. The only reason an instructor should need to do this is to re-enroll the person as an incomplete student.

Please see the new process for changing a person's role from student to incomplete student in an eLearning course.

• Instructor's must send an email to helpdesk@uwf.edu from their facstaff email account requesting the role change from student to incomplete student.
• In the request, the instructor should include the student's name, username, and the course.
• The instructor or student must email helpdesk@uwf.edu once they would like their role changed back from incomplete student to student. This will ensure the course does not show for them indefinitely.

You will have to copy your course content into your new official course shell. You may copy from a development course master or from a previous semester's course.

Note: If you need to copy content from another instructor's course, you must first be enrolled in that course as an instructor.

Here are the steps: Copy Course Components PDF Guide

Here is a link to the Collaborate session on Copying Course Components https://sas.elluminate.com/site/external/jwsdetect/playback.jnlp?psid=2013-08-14.0956.M.5850FCE9A4C74EED855130EB8B37D5.vcr&sid=uwf0707

1. Open your newly created course shell and go to "My Tools" then "Edit Course" in the upper right corner of the navigation bar. 
2. On the next screen select the Import/Export/Copy Components icon/link. 
3. Click Search for offering. 
4. On this page you may use the Search feature to find a course by typing in the 5 digit course reference number.
5. Select the radio button next to the course you want to copy from, and then click Add Selected. 
6. Next, click the button that is labeled Copy All Components if you want everything from the previous course. (see instructions below to select specific items to copy)
7. Wait for the copy queue to finish (blue and white bar to the right of the screen

• If everything copied fine, you will see a check in a green circle.
• If there were errors in the copy, you will see a message and you can view the copy history to see what may have not copied (typically the Calendar)

To select specific items to copy

• If you want to select specific items to copy, click on the Select Components button.
• You may also just check those items you wish to copy, such as the Question Library and/or Quizzes.
• If you only want the Content be sure to also select the Course Files as well.
• Please note that student data WILL NOT be copied over. 
• Then click Continue
• On the next screen you can modify your selections to specific items, or just click Finish. This may take a few moments so do not click copy more than onceor you will get multiple copies of your course in your new shell!
• On the next screen you will see a progress icon for each category of content. When you see all green check marks next to your items, click Done

Watch the YouTube Video: Inserting a row or column into a table in eLearning (D2L)

1. Place your cursor in the location within the text box where you want to place the link.

2. Click the Insert Quicklink icon. 

Image Modified

3. Select the type of content within your course you want to link to. If you want to link to a website outside of eLearning, select URL.

Image Modified

4. Select the specific item within your course you want to link to. If you selected URL, enter the website’s address in the “URL” field.

5. In the “Title” field, enter the text you want displayed for the link.

6. Select whether the link should open in a new browser window. For links to external websites, it is recommended that you select New Window.

Image Modified

7. Click Insert. The link will appear underlined. After you have finished inserting the link, preview your content and click the link to test it.

Recent changes in browser security are causing problems in eLearning with Topic Links to external web sites. These resources are not opening for students as they once did.

The easiest and best solution for this problem is to have the link open in a new window. We consider it a “Best Practice” to have sites external to eLearning always open in a new window.

Please follow these simple steps to edit your links:

1. Select the down arrow next to your Topic and select Edit Link:

1. On the next screen, check the box to have the link open in a new window, and then click Update.

Creating accessible files is not as daunting a task as many believe it to be. These six steps will go a long way in making your content more accessible.

1. Provide Alternative Text descriptions (ALT Text) on photos or images
   • DO: Solar Eclipse, moon darkening 3/4 of sun leaving a glowing crescent
   • DON'T: Solar Eclipse
     
     
   • How to Add Alt Text in D2L
2. Provide a text equivalent for charts or graphs.
3. Use descriptive text for links
   • DO: The Library of Congress web site holds a wealth of free resources.
   • DON'T: Click here for a web site holds with wealth of free resources
     
     
   • How to Add Meaningful Links in D2L
4. Limit the use of color text, use only 1 color as a "hightlight" color.
   • Color blind students, and visually impaired students may not see that color as you see it (red may appear olive or grey).
   • Students with cognitive impairments, dyslexia, or other conditions can be confused and distracted by many different colors on a page.
   • Screen readers are not typically set to read the color of text as it disrupts the content flow.
     
     
5. Use the Heading and list features when creating your documents
   
   

• How to Add Heading Tags in D2L
• How to Add Lists in D2L
• How to Add Table Headers in D2L
• Include speaker notes in your narrated PowerPoint. These notes become the "closed caption" feature for deaf students.

More Information

More information on creating accessible content can be found on the ATC web site at: http://uwf.edu/offices/academic-technology-center/faculty-support-and-resources/accessibility/

Below are links to easy to follow instructions from WebAIM on making various documents accessible (pages will open in a new window).

• Microsoft Word
• Converting Word to PDF
• PowerPoint

Symptoms

• Videos and other embedded media in the Content area are not playing or rendering; accessing this same content from the Links section works
• Link Content topic does not load
• Custom widget does not load
• Embedded YouTube, Vimeo, SlideShare, etc.. widget does not load
• Custom Navbar link to an external site does not load
• The page / content is blank, nothing comes up or is shown

Cause

• Internet browsers are blocking unsecure or mixed content by default; applies to:
• Firefox 23
• Internet Explorer 10
• Chrome 30 (Beta)
• Other browsers may be implementing this security feature however Safari is currently not blocking mixed content

Resolution

Instructors/Content Publishers:

1. When posting linked content, ensure you are only adding secure (https://) URLs. Many websites are updating to secure URLs due to this new browser security restriction. 
2. If the destination URL does not have an (https://) URL then you might reconsider linking to this content.
3. If it is necessary, ensure that your students know that they need to enable the ability to view unsecure content (steps for doing this are in the section below).

Students:

In your Desire2Learn site, you can choose to allow blocked content to appear in order to view your course items:

• A rubric inserted in the Discussions “Assessment” area cannot be viewed in the Grades area.
• Students cannot see the scored rubric in Discussions.
• Students can only be see the *unscored* rubric in Discussions, just above the Topic title.
• Overall, inserting a rubric in the Discussions area under “Assessment” is not recommended.

To assess discussions using a rubric, we recommend:

• directing students to “Rubrics” on your navigation bar so they can see the rubric, and
• placing the rubric in your linked grade item in the D2L gradebook.

Here’s how to use rubrics to assess Discussion posts:

Add Rubric to Grade Item

1. Click on [Grades] in the navigation bar.

2. Click on [Manage Grades].

3. Click on the name of the grade item for your discussion assignment.

4. Under grading, click [Add Rubric].

Image Modified

5. Select the Rubric from the list, and click [Add Selected].

6.  Click [Save].

Link Discussion Topic to Grade Item

7.  Click [Discussions] in the main navigation bar.

8.  Find the Topic you wish to assess. Beside the title of the Topic, click the [small inverted triangle] to reveal the dropdown menu.

9.  Click [Edit Topic] in the dropdown menu.

10. Click the [Assessment] tab.

11. Click the dropdown menu under “Grade Item” to select the appropriate grade item to be linked to the Topic.

12. Type the number of possible points in the “Score out of” field.

13. Click [Save and Close].

Assess Discussion Posts and Enter Grade

14. Click [Grades] in the main navigation bar.

15. Click on the small inverted triangle beside the appropriate grade item.

16. Choose [Grade All] in the dropdown menu.

17. Click the colorful icon in the [Submission] column to read any student’s aggregated posts in the linked Topic.

18. Click the yellow ruler icon under the [Assessment] column to score the rubric.

19. Manually enter the score into the [Grade] column — scoring the rubric will NOT automatically enter the grade.

20. You may choose to leave comments in the [Feedback] column.

After you score the rubrics, students will be able to view them when they go into their gradebook.

You can upload the following types of files into a dropbox:

Restricted file extensions

Important: Due to the large number of file extensions in usage, you may encounter additional restricted file extensions not listed in the table below.

The following file extensions are not supported by D2L Brightspace:

 Restricted Upload Extensions   ASP  ASHX  JSL  VB  ASPX  ASMX  LICX  VBPROJ  EXE  AXD  REM  VJSPROJ  BAT  CDX  RESOURCES  VSDISCO  DLL  CER  RESX  WEBINFO  COM  CONFIG  SHTM  INI  ASA  IDC  SHTML    ASAX  CS  SOAP    ASCX  CSPROJ  STM  

The grade book will revert to the default setting of "Points" when copied over.

To reset the grade option to the "Weighted" system:

• Go to your "Grades" on the menu bar and
• Select "Grade Settings."
• Next select "Calculation Options."
• Select the "Weighted" radio button and
• Save your choice.

Your grade book will now calculate using the weighted system.

In the D2L gradebook, it is possible to create a Calculated grade item that will display to students their midterm grades.

Note: Calculated grade items cannot belong to a grade category nor can they contribute to final grades.

In Grades, choose Manage Grades:

1. Select New, then Item. 
   
   
2. Choose Calculated toward the bottom of the list of Grade Item Types. 
   
   
3. The New Item screen appears; name the grade item, e.g., Midterm Grade. 
   
   OPTIONAL: Type an abbreviated name, e.g., MT Grade, in the Short Name field which will display only to you, not to students. Using short names keeps your gradebook columns narrow and reduces left/right scrolling in your view of Grades. 
   
   
4. Scroll down the page and select (check the checkboxes) the grade items from the list to include in the calculation. 
   
   
5. If there are extra credit/bonus items in the gradebook, check the Can Exceedcheckbox above the list of grade items: 
   
    
   
   
6. In a weighted gradebook, you may choose the calculation method you prefer, either Milestone or Final Grade Calculation. 
   
   The Milestone Grade Calculation is a good method for providing a course interim grade calculation. For more information, see the UW Knowledgebase article on this topic 
   
   
7. Press Save and Close; you are returned to Manage Grades. 
   
   
8. Move the item to the desired location in the list by pressing More Actions, then Reorder. 

If You do not intend to respond to pages from your students, we recommend that:

• tell students the Pager is for communicating with other students, but you will not respond,
• OR, remove the tool altogether.

To remove the Pager or any other Menu Tool:

1. Go to you course and click "Edit Course"
2. On the left side of the page, under Administration, select "Tools"
3. Scroll down the list until you see the tolls listed
4. Check the box next to teh toll, and then scroll up or down until you see the red X Set Inactive
5. Click on the X Set Inactive and then select "Save"

It may take awhile for the Pager icon or tool to disappear, but it will eventually, usually when you log back into your course.

Image Modified

Image Modified

Image Modified

Image Modified

If your students receive an error message (like the image below) that there is a problem with the settings for an exam that requires the LockDown Browser and Monitor, the instructor needs to login to the course and access the LockDown Browser Dashboard once in a new course to fix the problem.

Sometimes if there is no text in the "Submission Views" "Messages" area, the quiz won't show up in the Respondus Dashboard. The instructor can go into the course and add a space with the space bar and the quiz will show up. Here is the info on the issue: http://bit.ly/2nAR88P

Follow this link for instructions (may require a login): https://confluence.uwf.edu/x/9ie8

Steps for Regrading All Attempts for a Quiz Question

1. Select Quizzes from the top navigation bar in the D2L course

2. Select Grade from the drop-down menu next to the quiz in which the question needs to be regraded

Image Modified

3. Select the Questions tab 

Image Modified

4. Next, to regrade all attempts for a particular question, select Update All Attempts

Image Modified

5. Now scroll down to the question and click on the question. A new screen will open showing the question and questions statistics.

6. Scroll down to the Grade heading and re-score accordingly:

Image Modified

7. Click Save before exiting out of the screen.

1. Go to the D2L course, then go to Quizzes> Manage Quizzes. 
2. From the Manage Quizzes list, click the black arrow  to the right of the desired quiz, and select Grade. The list of completed student quiz attempts appears.
   
   
3. To locate students who have not submitted their quiz attempt, select Users with attempts in progress from the Restrict to dropdown menu.
   
   
4. Then, click on the magnifying glass to the right of the search box (located a bit above the Restrict to dropdown menu). 
   
   
   
   
5. If results display, you will see the attempt list with an In Progress notification and an Enter Quiz as User icon.
   
   
6. Click the Enter Quiz as User icon: 
   
   
7. Choose Yes to confirm.
   
   
8. The student's attempt will open. If desired, review the quiz answers in that attempt.
   
   
9. Submit the quiz on the student's behalf by clicking Go to Submit Quiz, found at the bottom of the list of questions.
   
   
10. Confirm the submission if asked, or click Exit Impersonating if you decide not to submit the quiz of the student's behalf.
    
    
11. If you chose to submit the attempt, you will be returned to the list of unsubmitted attempts for that quiz.