Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Modules



Create Modules

D2L allows you to organize your course content as you see fit.  All you have to do is upload your materials into the “Course Content” area. However, D2L does not automatically organize your course materials for you. The recommended organization method on D2L is to create Modules. A Module can be seen as a “Unit”, “Folder”, or “Category.” A module will hold all information that is relevant to one specific topic, set of topics, or “unit.” Using modules will help students stay organized and allow them to easily find the course materials they are looking for. 

What are some examples of how I can organize Modules?

You can organize your modules in the way that makes the most sense to your course.  
  • You can have each module represent one chapter. For example, Module 1 = Chapter 1, and have as many modules as there are chapters.
  • Some instructors might want to structure their modules based on weeks, with one module per week.  For example, Week 1 = Module 1, Week 2 = Module 2, etc. Each module lasting only 1 week.
Helpful Tips
  • Create a “Getting Started” Module – It is beneficial for the organization of your course, to create a module just for “housekeeping” information, as well as to provide students a clear starting point in your class. This module should contain your syllabus, your biography, contact information, and any other introductory information or activities you would like students to complete. 
    • This module should be titled “Getting Started”, “Course Information”, “Begin Here”, or something similar, so students know this is the starting point of the course.
    • Creating this module will help you address some of the required Quality Matters standards.
  •  If you each more than one course, it’s a great idea to keep your different syllabi and biographies saved on your computer. This way, each new term, you can review and edit them as needed and easily upload them to your new courses when the term starts. 
  • When organizing the content within your modules, it is beneficial to organize all modules the same way. For example, if in the first module your content is as follows: introduction, notes, assignment, quiz; you will want to continue this theme throughout the course. This way, students will be familiar with your course structure and layout.  

1 comment:

L. Kryzak said...

Great ideas. Another thing I do - which really helps when you are copying your course to another course - is to go to "Manage Files" in "Content" and create all of my folders for the course prior to creating the modules or uploading files. I have a file each module, assignments, handouts, ppt presentations, etc. This makes it so much easier to find your content when copying.