Week 5

Evaluation:

Home Page

IDL-7140

LMS Evaluation Introduction

Hello, Members of the Board,

I am here today to share the findings from this week's evaluation of D2L Brightspace and Google Classroom. The evaluation will look at what each LMS offers in Homepage customization to assist students with navigating within the course. I will also look at added features that address different modalities such as audio introductions.

The five tools I will cover are as follows:

Create a New Customized Course Homepage
Create "Start Here" Information in Content
Add "Start Here" Link to "In News" Widget
Customize NAVBAR
Post Audio Message in News Tool

D2L LMS Evaluation

Create a New Customized Course Homepage

Customizing Homepages in D2L requires the instructor to make a "duplicate" page:

Click on "Course Admin" (right side of the NavBar)
Click on "Homepages"
Click on the down arrow to the right of the "Course Homepage" and select "Copy." A copy will be made (Course Homepage-Copy)
Change the name of the properties:

Name: "Last Name_Homepage"
Description: Leave Blank
Type: Keep "Widget Based"
Header: Click on "Include homepage header." Then replace the (OrgUnitName) with something meaningful like " Last Name Practice Course"
Layout: Click on "Change Layout" button (Basic)
Widgets: (Left side) Click on the left side "Add Widgets" and click on "News" and click "Add"
Widgets Continues: (Right side) On the right side, click on "Add Widgets." Click on box next to "Updates"and click on "Add." Drag "Updates" to the top of the list. Delete the "Calendar" widget by clicking on the "X."
Click, "Save and Close."
Click "Apply" under the "Active Homepage."

Under the "Restrictions" tab, verify the dates set for all students. Make note of it.
At the bottom of the page click, "Add Users to Special Access"
Select the student you want to have special access
Click "Add Special Access" at the bottom of the page
Set the special access properties (e.g., date, time restrictions, etc.)
Click "Save and Close"

Create "Start Here" Information in Content

Customize your Homepage to help students easily navigate.

Click on "Content" on the NavBar. Click "Add a module" on left side menu bar.
Type in "START HERE" and return.
Move the folder to the top under the "Table of Contents."

Add "Start Here" Link to "In News" Widget

Create a "Getting Started" HTML Page

In the "Start Here" module click on the down arrow to the right of "New." Then select "Create a File."
Name the new file, "Getting Started."
"Include information the following on the page:
Instructions on how to get started and find course
State the purpose and structure of course
Netiquette expectations
Course and/or institutional policies
Minimum technology requirements
Prerequisite knowledge
Minimum technology skills
Self-instruction by the instructor
Learners are asked to introduce themselves (Quality Matters Rubric, 2015).

Customize NAVBAR

Add or delete tools from your NavBar as needed:

Click on the "Actions for NavBar."
"Manage all Course NavBars."
Find the "Active NavBar." Scroll to the right and click the arrow, copy it.
Click "Apply" once you select the newly copied course.
Click on the "Actions NavBar" (right ot the top NavBar.
Click on the "Home" icon to go back to the homepage.
Click on the "Actions for NavBar" (right of the top NavBar).
Select "Edit this NavBar."
Delete and add tools as needed.
Click, "Save and Close."

Post Audio Message in "News" Tool

You can post an audio message on your homepage.

Click "Home" on the NavBar.

In the "News Tool" click the down arrow to the right of "News." Select the green plus "New News Item."

Give it a title (Audio Welcome).

Type in a short message.

Under "Attachments" click on "Record Audio."

Click on "Record Audio" and "New Recording."

Record your message.

Click on "Stop" and "Add."

Google Classroom LMS Evaluation

Create a New Customized Course Homepage

At this time it is not possible to edit the order of the Classroom page in Google Classroom. Widgets cannot be moved around or deleted.

Communicate with Students in Google Classroom Stream

Announcements to students can be directly added to the "Stream" in Google Classroom.

Click the drop-down arrow and select the intended class as well as the students.
On the Google Classroom page, click on the "Announce Something to Your Class" space.
Type in the message or news for students to view.
If you need to add a document, click on the "Add" button.
Click "Post."

Create a Google Classroom "Start Here" Announcement

Under "Stream", click on "Announce Something to Your Class"
Type in your message, for example, "START HERE."
Select which students to send the message to, (drop down arrow and select).
Click on "Add" and add a Google Doc with instructions to your students.
Click, "Save."

Customize Navigation Bar

At this time Google Classroom has limited capacity to edit the Classroom navigation bar.
Instructors can "Repost" assignments and materials, but not make a copy of the Classroom.
I suggest creating a new Classroom by clicking on the "+" sign and click, "Create Class."

Post Audio Message in "Material"

At this time Google Classroom does not have the capability to record a "live" message. You can upload a pre-recorded message.

Under Classwork, click on "Create."

Select "Material."

Give the folder a title.

Click the "Add" button.

Select the audio file from your Google Drive or hard drive.

Click, "Save."

Recommendation

Hello Board, this week I evaluated customization of Homepages in D2L and Google Classroom. I found that D2L offered more options for editing, for example, the removal of widgets or the ability to rearrange widgets. Whereas Google Classroom did not offer this tool. HTML editing capability is still an important feature. I was able to create a "Getting Started" HTML page right on the D2L course page under "Create a File." In Google Classroom, I had to attach a Google Doc. The D2L HTML Editing feels more intentional and in line with online learning standards. Unfortunately, Google Classroom has limitations with the navigation bar options. I was not able to delete or add. The D2L LMS does allow customization.

This week I recommend D2L Brightspace for its robust customization features.

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