Institutions typically provide pre-built course shells that instructors can customize to meet their needs. These shells often include sections like Content, Assignments, Quizzes, Gradebook, and more.

Instructors can conveniently import materials from previous courses, especially useful for recurring courses.

Students are usually enrolled through the school registrar’s office or by the IT department.

D2L courses are structured using sections such as:

• Homepage: The central hub for the course.

• Content: Organize materials into unit and lesson folders. Additional folders can be created for teacher-only documents or supplementary materials.

• Discussions, Quizzes, Grades: Tools for student interaction and assessment.

Instructors can also hide specific materials from students, allowing for efficient organization and resource management.

D2L supports both teacher-directed and self-directed learning approaches:

• Sequential Learning: Courses can be set up to guide students step-by-step through lessons, assignments, and quizzes.

• Video Integration: Videos can be added directly to the content section to support independent learning or a flipped classroom model.

While D2L’s built-in collaboration tools are limited compared to other platforms, it supports group work and discussion boards. Additionally, its integration with Google and Microsoft products allows for enhanced external collaboration.

• Portfolio Feature: Students can showcase learning, share work with parents, and upload images or videos of projects not easily submitted through other means.

User-Friendly: Most features are easy to use, with advanced options requiring only minimal training.

Permissions: Administrators can assign specific roles with varying permissions to staff members.

Integration: Works seamlessly with Google and Microsoft tools, making it adaptable to a wide range of institutions.

Learning Curve: Some advanced features may take time to learn.

Cost: Approximately $30,000 annually for 500 users, which may be prohibitive for smaller institutions.

Collaboration Tools: Group collaboration features are less robust than on some other platforms.