Welcome to this introduction to the most commonly used and important tools in D2L, also known as NSOnline.

We recommend you open two browser windows on your monitor to apply the training to your actual course. Keep this window open in your browser and open a second window with your D2L Course Shell open. Use this side-by-side arrangement to practice with the D2L tools as you move through the training

The eight tools you will need to be familiar with in order to efficiently and effectively manage an online course or the online portion of an on-ground course are as follows:

1. Log In
2. Email
3. News (also known as Announcements)
4. Content
5. Discussions
6. Assignment Dropbox
7. Quizzes
8. Grades

Log In

The preferred way to log in to NS Online is through the nscc.edu login page. Learn how to login through the nscc.edu homepage. If, for some reason, the nscc.edu homepage was inaccessible, you may type elearn.nscc.edu into your browser and log in. Click here for a video tutorial on D2L:How to Log in (1:18).

Email

Video: How to Use the Email tool(10:04)

NSOnline email is a closed system. This means students and teachers cannot send messages to or from external sites, such as Yahoo, Gmail or Outlook. Students and teachers are encouraged to use NSOnline email for course-related topics.

News

Video: create an annoucement using the News tool (4:07)

1. Choose the course in which you want to create an Announcement/News Item.
2. Click the drop-down arrow next to “News.”
3. Select New News item.
4. Add a headline in the Headline field.
5. Enter the content of your news/announcement in the Content field.
6. In the Availability section, choose whether you’d like to “Always show start date.” Also add, if you wish, a start date and an end date.
7. Click Publish.

Content

Video: Add a Module (1:15)

1. Choose the course in which you want to create a module.
2. In the navigation bar, click Content.
3. In the left column, click Add a module.
4. Enter the module name in the blank field and hit the Enter key.
5. The module will appear in the left column.

Guide: Create and Edit Files in D2L
Video: How to Upload Files to D2L (6:15)

Discussions

Video: Create a Forum (2:06)
Video: Create a Topic (2:17)
Guide: Using the Discussion Tool
Guide: The Discussion Tool Best Practices

Dropbox

Video: Create an Assignment (4:12)
Guide: Using the Assignment Dropbox

Quizzes

Guide: Using the Quizzes Tool
Video: Creating a New Quiz with New Questions (3:34)
Video: Customize Submission Views (2:15)
Video: Reset Quiz Attempts for Learners (0:47)

Grades

Video: Create a Grade Item (2:04)
Video: Associate an Activity with a Grade Item (2:09)
Guide: Using the Gradebook

Have Feedback or Questions?

Please send them to online.learning@nscc.edu