New Semester Checklist for Online Courses
- Create a JIRA ticket to have your courses uploaded to D2L if you want to work in your class early or if you need multiple sections of a course combined into a single section. Course sections cannot be combined after the semester start date.
- Copy course content from a previous or existing course. See Copy Course Materials Instructions and Exporting and Imporing a Course in Brightspace.
- Update or add items in the following areas as necessary. Update due dates and availability if you copied course materials from a previous semester.
- Assignments
- Quizzes
- Discussion Forums and Topics
- Content (You can use the Broken Link Finder under Course Admin to locate broken links within your course.)
- Calendar (You can also use Manage Dates under Course Administration to adjust the dates of items in your course. See How to use Manage Dates.)
- Customize your course homepage with existing or custom widgets, such as the Instructor Bio widget. See Adding a Custom Widget to Your Course. It’s also a good idea to remind your students to access their campus email account, as this will be the primary method used by the college for student communication. They can do this from within D2L by clicking on the Office 365 widget.
- Set up or update the grade book. See the Gradebook topic under D2L Brightspace Resources.
- Verify the course start and end dates are correct. See Changing Start and End Dates.
- Post a welcome announcement and getting started message on your course homepage. See Create an Announcement. Include information about publisher content and student support.
- Send a welcome email with information about the course syllabus, required materials, technical requirements, and the date the course will become available in D2L. See email Learners.
- Inform your students of The CTL Student Resources Website, where they will find online and in-person help with academic technology.
- Questions or need some assistance? Schedule a consultation with CTL staff and check out our Course Design page!
You’ll find these and many other helpful tutorials on the Faculty Resources site, under eLearning – D2L Brightspace Resources.