Manage Content

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Manage Content

Content is where you will store all the course documents for your course such as your assignments and syllabus. You can upload various file types to content such as HTML, .doc, .ppt, .pdf, etc. It is important to note that even though you can upload these file types to D2L your students will need to have the software to open them. Either make sure you list links to free software packages for the file types you upload or use HTML which is the most commonly used file type of the web, but choose what is appropriate for your material.

The Content section is arranged into Modules, which act as larger subject headings that you can list your course documents under. You will list your course documents as topics which are contained within each Module.

All content uploaded to D2L is kept in the File Manger. Whether you create topics within content or upload files from your computer when creating topics, those files will be stored in the File Manger. You may also upload files directly to the File Manager and then link them to the topics as you create the course content. The File Manager is an essential part of D2L and is covered in more detail in the Managing Content Workshop.

Adding Modules

Modules will act as course headers for each section of your D2L course. You must create Modules in order to add topics inside them.

1. From the Content page in D2L, click the New Module button

2. Give your Module a Title and optional Short Title

3. To set Restriction options select the second tab, “Restrictions”

4. When finished, be sure to Save

Adding Topics

Topics are contained within your course Modules. Topics can be created using D2L’s HTML editor, from a file you upload from your computer to the D2L File Manager, or as a link to another place within your course or on the web.

Clicking the New Topic button will give you a page asking what Source you would like to add a Topic from; which includes Create a New File, Course File, Upload New File, and QuickLink.

Create a topic using the HTML editor

1. Click New Topic

2. Choose “Create New File”

3. Select the appropriate parent module from the drop down menu of Modules

4. Enter content in the HTML editor

5. Click “Save” or “Save and New” to add another piece of content

Create a topic using a file previously uploaded to the File Manager

1. Click New Topic

2. Choose “Course File”

3. Select the appropriate parent module from the drop down menu of Modules

4. Give your topic a Title

5. Browse the File Manager for the file you want to create a topic with

6. Click “Save” or “Save and New” to add another piece of content

Create a topic from a file on your computer

1. Click New Topic

2. Choose “Upload New File:

3. Select the appropriate parent module from the drop down menu of Modules

4. Give your topic a Title

5. Browse your computer for the file you want to upload

6. Click “Save” or “Save and New” to add another piece of content

Create a topic using a QuickLink

1. Click New Topic

2. Choose “QuickLink”

3. Select the appropriate parent module from the drop down menu of Modules

4. Give your topic a Title

5. Enter the URL of the website or select another section of your Course

6. Click “Save” or “Save and New” to add another piece of content

Once you have finished creating the topic you can set your options for that piece of content by selecting the appropriate tab at the top.

Restrictions Tab

This tab will allow you to hide the topic so that it cannot be seen by course participants, set availability dates so the topic can only be viewable when you want it to be, and also choose to display the topic in the course Calendar.

Discussions Tab

This tab will allow you to associate your topic with specific discussion boards using the Discussion Tool. This tool will be discussed in the advanced D2L workshop.

Editing a Topic

Once you have created a Topic you may need to go back and change some of the settings you set when you originally created the Topic.

1. Find the Topic you wish to edit in the Manager Content window

2. On the far right of the Topic there will be a small pencil icon, click this to edit the Topic

3. Be sure to Save once you have finished editing the Topic

Collapsing Content

After you have setup your Content you may wish to view your Content only by the section you are currently working on. This feature will allow you to view more or less of your materials as you prefer. This feature is especially useful for courses that contain complicated content structure trees or any course that contains numerous Modules.

To Collapse Content

1. Locate the Module you wish to collapse

2. Click the “Minus” sign to the left of the Module Title

To Expand Content

1. Locate the Module you wish to expand

2. Click the “Plus” sign to the left of the Module Title

Statistics/Reports

Another great feature located in Content is the Statistics and Reports Tool. This tool lets you check your student’s progress through the course. You have the ability to see what the students are viewing and have viewed, when they logged in to your course and how long they stayed, as well as other useful information.

To view the Statistic/Reports click the button from the Content Areas. This page will give you a breakdown of how many users have viewed each piece of content and how long they spent on each individual topic. You also have the ability to export this information to a .csv file.

To view Reports and Statistics for individual users, select the Users tab from the top and then select the individual student you would like to view to receive another window with their information.