Getting Started with D2L: Tips We Wish We’d Known Sooner
A Quick-Start Guide for ETSU Instructors
“These were game-changing discoveries—the things I wish someone had shown me on day one.”
Academic Technology Services (ATS) provides comprehensive D2L/Brightspace tutorials and documentation. We encourage instructors to consult those resources for full instructions, feature explanations, and troubleshooting.
This guide highlights brief, practical insights from our instructional community. These are some of the small strategies that make teaching in D2L more efficient, organized, and engaging. These are reflections from colleagues on what they wish they had known in their first semesters using the platform.
To create this guide, we asked some of our Affiliates and Associates with the Center for Teaching Excellence for suggestions, then used Generative AI to assist in categorizing and summarizing the suggestions. We also include quotes and testimonies from these gracious instructors.
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1. Foundational Setup: Where to Begin
Request a Development Site
If you do not yet have a D2L development site, this is an excellent place to start. A development shell provides a stable “sandbox” where you can:
- Build or revise your course without affecting enrolled students
- Test tools such as intelligent agents, awards, and release conditions
- Develop and refine content that you can later copy into live course shells
As one instructor put it:
“Having a development site has been a game changer in getting ready for my classes each semester.”
Several colleagues emphasized that this was the single most helpful step they took when learning to work with D2L. It allows you to experiment, make mistakes, and refine your approach before anything is visible to students. Email ATS to request a development shell.
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2. Course Design & Visual Organization
Use CSS Templates to Improve Page Design
D2L supports the use of HTML/CSS templates to create more visually consistent and readable content pages. Without requiring advanced technical skills, these templates can provide:
- Clear headings and structure
- Consistent fonts and color palettes
- Professional-looking layouts for modules, overviews, or instructions
One instructor described this as a simple way to “spiff up” course pages and give the site a more polished appearance, which can support student navigation and engagement.
You can explore Brightspace’s HTML template resources for examples and implementation details.
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3. Motivation, Feedback, and Grading Language
Grading Schemes for Non-Score Feedback
In addition to numerical scores, D2L allows you to create custom grading schemes that use descriptive labels (for example, “Complete,” “In Progress,” “Not Yet,” or rubric-based categories).
This can be especially helpful if you are using alternative grading approaches such as Specifications grading, Standards-based grading, or Ungrading.
One colleague noted that custom schemes “better reflect the language I actually use in my rubrics,” and make it easier for students to interpret their standing at a glance.
Find out more on setting up grading schemes here.
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4. Structuring Interaction and Group Work
Auto-Assign Groups
For courses that use small-group activities (online, hybrid, or on-ground) D2L’s auto-grouping feature can streamline setup and encourage equitable participation. The tool can:
- Randomly assign students to groups of a chosen size
- Create associated discussion spaces automatically
- Provide instructors with a clear view of group progress
Faculty noted that random assignment helps diversify interactions. As one colleague commented:
“It breaks up existing social circles and helps students collaborate with someone new.”
This approach also makes it easier for instructors to monitor activity and offer targeted guidance.
Find out how to set up different types of groups in D2L here.
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5. Supporting Engagement and Activity Flow
Release Conditions
Release conditions allow you to make specific items visible only after students complete a prerequisite action—viewing a module, submitting an assignment, earning a badge, and more. These features can support:
- Self-paced progress
- Mastery-based sequencing
- Structured pathways in asynchronous courses
As one instructor wrote:
“There are so many options—visiting a module, taking an assessment, opening a file. I use them in my online courses but also find them helpful in person.”
Thoughtfully applied, release conditions can reduce confusion and guide students through a deliberate learning progression.
Find out how to enable release conditions here.
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Intelligent Agents
Intelligent agents can automate personalized communication, including reminders, nudges, and acknowledgments based on student activity. Common uses include:
- Notifying students who have not logged in
- Congratulating students for completing milestones
- Reminding learners of upcoming deadlines
- Generating access histories to support outreach or early alerts
One colleague emphasized the flexibility:
“I use them in all modalities—they send personalized reminders and help me keep track of activity patterns.”
These automated interactions can supplement instructor presence while maintaining a human tone.
Find out how to set up Intelligent Agents here.
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6. Enhancing Online Discussion
“Must Post First” Settings
If your goal is to promote original thinking and reduce repetition in discussions, D2L’s “must post first” setting ensures that students cannot view peers’ contributions until they submit their own.
Instructors report that this small adjustment:
- Encourages academic integrity in open-ended responses
- Promotes more independent reflection
- Reduces copying or phrase-matching within threads
One colleague summarized the impact simply:
“It keeps the discussion fresh.”
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7. Monitoring Student Engagement
View Reports in Content
The Content tool allows instructors to view which students opened a module and how much time they spent on it. This data can be particularly useful in asynchronous settings.
Faculty note that these reports help them:
- Identify students who may be struggling or disengaged
- Tailor reminders or check-ins
- Interpret performance patterns in relation to course activity
As one instructor explained:
“I like to see who is engaging with key modules—it helps me understand where support might be needed.”
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Exporting Data for Analysis
D2L allows data exports (CSV files) for grades, assignment statistics, intelligent agent logs, and more. This capability supports deeper analysis or customized reporting.
Common uses include:
- Examining grade trends
- Calculating final grades
- Visualizing attempts vs. performance
- Preparing data for external systems or reports
One faculty member highlighted the flexibility:
“Exporting makes it easy to run custom scripts or create scatterplots for students to interpret their progress.”
Find out how to view and generate reports here.
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8. Motivation through Awards and Badges
Awards, Badges, and Certificates
D2L’s awards tool allows instructors to set up badges or certificates tied to specific achievements. These can reinforce progress, acknowledge milestones, or support gamified learning designs.
Faculty experiences suggest that these tools can:
- Promote motivation and persistence
- Provide clear markers of accomplishment
- Add a layer of recognition to low-stakes practice activities
Brightspace resources and ETSU support units can assist with setup if needed.
Find out how to create and manage awards here.
Many of the practices highlighted here directly align with High-Impact Teaching Practices (HITPs) and Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles which the CTE recommends integrating into course design and instruction as much as possible. For example:
- Tools such as release conditions, check-ins, and intelligent agents can support timely feedback and transparency, central to many HITPs.
- Features like development sites, graded or descriptive schemes, and structured group work promote clarity, multiple means of engagement, and accessible pathways for students which are all core UDL considerations.
- Approaches such as auto-generated groups, “must post first” discussions, and badges/awards can enhance student interaction, motivation, and community building.
Access an accessible document version of this page here.
This guide is under a Creative Commons BY-SA license, last updated March 2026.