Course Content

Handouts and Other Information

If paper handouts are no longer an option, D2L is your best tool for distributing documents and information to students.

The Basics: Adding Modules, Uploading Files, and Rearranging Modules and Topics - Transcript
Building and Editing Web Pages in D2L's Content Area - Transcript
Embedding Google Docs in D2L (Close Captioned)
Record Webcam Videos to Communicate with Students - Transcript
Be aware of whether your content is or is not visible to students: Basic Visibility in Content (Hidden vs. Visible.)

Don't create course content you can get from somewhere else. Think of where your discipline can use primary sources, databases, and other content already on the web. Speak with colleagues about this, here and elsewhere. Remember, Bouwhuis Library has a variety of database resources.

For more on adding or uploading content to D2L, see the full list of our Self-Paced Training Set.

Online Interactive Lessons

Create online lessons using Google Sites. Can you adapt lecture notes into a website? Particularly if you rely on lots of images and even videos, you probably can. Here's an example.

If you have experience with other website-builder tools, they can work just as well.

Audio Recordings

You can record lectures and other information as audio files.

Using a Mac? You can record audio using QuickTime, or you can record and edit Audio using GarageBand. These are available free for Mac users from Apple.

Using a PC? Try Audacity. It’s free, has documentation, and there are plenty of tutorials on YouTube.

Screencasting

Record Screencast Videos for your students. You can essentially salvage classroom lectures by creating or adapting a few slides, and adding your voice and slide-timings. Publish the video via Google Drive or D2L.

PowerPoint is great for recording your slide-based lectures.
Screencast-O-Matic is a favorite for Canisius users. This can record essentially anything on screen, for when you need to show or demonstrate things other than PowerPoint slides.
Quicktime and iMovie on the Mac are also a great combination for screencasting.
Here's our Guide to Screencasting.

Tips

Lots of video can be time-consuming for you to produce and for students to watch. Don't record lectures if you don't need to. Record what you absolutely need, and nothing more.

Is it covered in text, or existing video resources already available on the web?
In lecture, are you paralleling a textbook or other class readings, and can save time by just focusing on what is not otherwise available to them?

Write a script before recording.

You will find it much easier to record a better video if you read from a script, either prose or a very strong outline.
If you use Google Drive to host video, share the transcript with students as well, so they can read as well as watch.

Share your Slidedeck

Make the slides available to students for download, in case they wish them into their notes.
Visually-impaired students can use screen-reading software to read the slide content.

See below for how to to host video at YouTube or in Google Drive, and have it appear in D2L.

YouTube

Using YouTube to Distribute Videos to Your Students is relatively easy. These videos need not be made available for the general public to find via Google or YouTube search, but are easily installed in D2L. While you must set up a channel, you then have very little additional management each time you upload a video.

You can also Find Course Content on YouTube. YouTube has excellent tutorials, primary sources, and other videos that are suitable for teaching and learning in many fields. Many faculty are using YouTube-based content now. Don't record something that someone already recorded and made available to all of us!

Using Google Drive and D2L to Share Video With Students

If you want to share video (or audio) files, such as screencasts, in D2L, it's best to host them in Google Drive, and then install them in D2L as embedded players or links. This provides better playback performance, and the easy ability to reuse videos across multiple courses, or share with colleagues.

If you just need simple sharing for videos, audio, or other content, that keeps your content out of Google search:

Simple Sharing with Classes via Google Drive (including D2L instructions).

If you wish to share content with your students more securely, consider this method:

Securely Share With Your Students via Google Drive.
Install a Google Drive-hosted Video into D2L
Install this YouTube video in your D2L Course Space, that instructs students to log into their Google Drive: https://youtu.be/SsXjLwnkaKo.

Continuity Guide

Bouwhuis Library is as helpful and relevant to us in our online or remote courses, as it is when we are on campus. At their Continuity Guide, you can find links to their databases, research guides, and how to work remotely with library staff.

Open Textbooks

The Open Textbook Library may be an excellent place to find free, online publications suitable for higher education courses. While you may be using a textbook in your course already, you may find additional content here.

Other Considerations

Consider saving .docx or .pptx files as PDFs, since these are more smartphone-accessible files.

Cancelled on-campus labs? Consider the following:

Investigate whether you can substitute video or web-based simulations for on-campus labs.
Can you supply data so students could at least complete part of the process off-campus?

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