Announcements – Pin announcements to top of Announcement widget and tool pages
With this release, instructors can now pin announcements to the top of the Announcement Widget and Tool pages, allowing important information to remain visible to learners. Announcements pinned are indicated to learners as such with the use of a new pinned icon that appears on the announcement.
Note: Pinning or viewing pinned announcements is not currently supported in Slim Announcements.
Rubrics – Improve your evaluation experience with the new collapsible panel for Assignments and Discussions in mobile view
When evaluating assignments or discussions in a mobile browser, instructors can now collapse the containers for Rubrics, Grades & Feedback, Outcomes, and Competencies. The new collapsible container appears in the right-hand panel and reduces unnecessary scrolling, giving instructors more control over which fields are displayed to them. Each component is open by default when the instructor accesses the item. Instructors can open and close each collapsible component by selecting the triangle beside the name of the container.
Note: This change applies to the mobile view only.
User Progress – Class Progress displays absent periods more clearly
This feature updates Class Progress to better align the login date and the absent period. When viewing data for Course Access, Login History, and System Access History, the absent period now correlates to the login date on the same line.
Previously, the login date and absent period were misaligned, which caused confusion to users viewing the data.
This feature addresses the following accessibility criteria:
During the week of August 29, the current deprecated Zoom integration (LTI 1.1) will be removed. The new Zoom integration (LTI 1.3) has been made available. The new integration has been labelled as LTI 1.3 to identify it in the list of available tools.
Please note: The integration will not automatically update. Instructors must remove the old integration and replace it with the new Zoom LTI 1.3 version.
Figure: The new Zoom LTI 1.3 integration link in Content.
Please contact CourseLink Support if you need assistance with adding the new Zoom LTI 1.3 integration.
NEW FEATURES
The Zoom LTI 1.3 integration comes with a couple of new features.
Office Hours – easily scheduling
Set up office hours or bookable meetings using the Appointments tab and the ‘+ Create Schedule’ button.
Figure: The bookable schedule option under the Appointments tab.
Pre-assign Breakout Rooms with Roster Sync
Meeting hosts can pre-assign participants from the CourseLink Classlist into breakout rooms when scheduling meetings.
Please note: Users removed from the Classlist won’t be automatically removed from pre-assigned breakout rooms.
Figure: The breakout room assignment page showing students from the Classlist.
Meeting hosts must have the setting ‘Assign participants to breakout rooms when scheduling’ enabled on their account.
Figure: The Assign participants to breakout rooms when scheduling permission enabled.
During the week of August 29, all deprecated (LTI 1.1) integrations for Pearson will be removed, including Pearson widgets. The new Access Pearson LTI 1.3 integration has been made available.
The Access Pearson integration has the latest features, including assignment, course tool, or eText links, and other improvements. This also gives instructors the option to choose the product—MyLab and Mastering or Pearson Revel, eText, or Live Response.
Please contact CourseLink Support for assistance with upgrading to Access Pearson.
Contact
If you have any questions about the updates, please contact CourseLink Support at:
Brightspace Pulse – OAuth2-compliance added for user login
The update to OAuth2 switches users over from the existing API authentication workflow. Improvements to Pulse authentication will require all Pulse users to re-login to CourseLink after they update the Pulse app. This is to facilitate Pulse and CourseLink authentication consistency and is a one-time requirement. The change will occur in two parts:
Updating the Pulse app.
Opening an external browser to handle authentication.
To sign into Pulse with OAuth2:
From your device, tap the Brightspace Pulse icon.
Learn more about Brightspace Pulse by swiping left/right or proceed to the next step by tapping Next.
Tap Pick Your School.
Search for Guelph.
Tap on CourseLink.
Sign into CourseLink.
Instructors Only
Dropbox – Access new shortcuts to undo and redo PDF annotations on evaluations
Previously, the only way to remove PDF annotations in Dropbox was to use the eraser tool or delete the selection. Now, an undo/redo button is added for PDF annotations when evaluating in Dropbox. Alternatively, standard keyboard shortcuts are now also supported for undoing and redoing annotations:
Ctrl-z | Command-z (Apple) – Undo
Ctrl-Shift-z | Command-Shift-z (Apple) – Redo
Figure: The top of the image shows the menu bar before the update; the bottom shows the menu bar after the update.
Dropbox – Apply the filters “Show everyone” and “Show all groups” for individual and group assignments
Previously, in Dropbox, the search filter defaulted to Users with submissions for individual assignments and Submitted groups for group assignments. Now, instructors will instead default to Show everyone for individual assignments and Show all groups for group assignments. These modified filters are the new default search option. After applying one of these default filters, instructors can apply additional filters to improve search optimization.
Data also shows that instructors prefer to display all users before applying additional filters.
Figure: New default search filter in Dropbox.
HTML Editor – Easily insert code snippets with the Insert Code option
There is a new option in the HTML Editor that allows instructors to directly insert a code snippet into their content. This is done by selecting the Other Insert Options menu from the Editor toolbar, and then selecting the new Insert Code option. From there, instructors select their programming language from a list of available choices and add their code into the interface to format before inserting it into the Editor.
Previously, instructors had to use the <code> tag and build out their own code to add a code snippet in the editor.
Note: The Insert Code option is not available in the Quizzes tool.
Figure: Editor with the Other Insert Options menu opened, with Insert Code as the final menu option.Figure: The code snippet inserted into the content with Brightspace Editor.
HTML Editor – Insert Stuff now includes Media Library
Media Library is now available as an option within Insert Stuff. This allows users to embed any audio or video files added via Content since January 2022 and any existing Audio Notes and Video Notes into any supported HTML Editor field.
Previously, Media Library was not accessible from Insert Stuff and it was only possible to insert Video notes via Search for Video or Insert Video Note.
This release also allows instructors to embed a new inline Audio Player using Insert Stuff.
Figure: The Insert Stuff dialog with Media Library listed.
HTML Editor – Quickly access and manage the files you uploaded using Insert Stuff
This feature releases an improvement to the HTML Editor > Insert Stuff dialog.
Now, when you are in the HTML Editor and you upload a file using Insert Stuff, a message appears indicating that the files uploaded using Insert Stuff are saved in the Manage Files area. The message also indicates that files in the Manage Files area are potentially accessible to all users enrolled in the course or to anyone who has access to the course.
As best practice, do not include individual learner feedback in the files you are uploading using Insert Stuff.
Figure: The HTML Editor > Insert Stuff dialog with the warning message.
Intelligent Agents – Create more flexible agents with fewer criteria
On the New Agent page, in the Criteria section, all selections under Take Action on Activity are now optional. This means users can now create a new Intelligent Agent that applies to certain roles and doesn’t require any other criteria. Users are still required to select one of the options under Role in Classlist.
Previously, to create an Intelligent Agent, users had to select the roles the agent applies to, and one or more conditions the agent must check against: login activity, course activity, or release conditions. If a user attempted to save the agent without selecting a condition to check against, they received an error saying No Agent Criteria Defined.
Also in this update, on the New Agent page, in the Criteria section, under Role in Classlist, the option All users visible in the Classlist is no longer selected by default. This is a precaution to prevent users from accidentally creating an agent that runs against everyone.
Figure: The Criteria section after this update, with All users visible in the Classlist no longer selected by default, and an asterisk next to Role in Classlist to indicate that the user must select one of the options.
Quizzes – End of Life for Disable Right Click option
As of this release, the Disable Right Click option in quizzes is removed from Quizzes in CourseLink. The option is no longer available in Quiz Setup, and existing quizzes with the setting will no longer enforce the limitation on learners.
This option was previously intended to allow Instructors to disable right-clicking during the time a learner was taking quiz, thus making it more difficult for learners ability to copy or print the quiz and share it with others. However, as browsers have reduced the ability for web sites to control end-user behavior, the Disable Right Click setting could not necessarily be applied to all students, and it provided a false sense of security around quiz content.
Quizzes – Save time and prevent data loss with the Restore Deleted Quizzes functionality
This feature adds a new option in quizzes that allows instructors to restore deleted quizzes. This option appears in the More Actions menu in the Quizzes tool. Instructors using this option are provided with a list of deleted quizzes that indicates when they were deleted and by whom, along with a button to restore a selected quiz.
Restored quizzes automatically have any associated quiz attempts that were already taken, statistics, and scores for those quiz attempts restored as well. Learning Outcomes associated to quiz questions are unaffected, and re-appear with the questions when the quiz is restored. Links to a grade itemare not restored.
The Delete Quizzes permission has been renamed to Delete and Restore Quizzes.
Figure: The Restore option in the More Actions drop-down menu of the Manage Quizzes tab.
Zoom Cloud Retention – Some older recordings to be deleted on September 1, 2022
In accordance with communication sent out earlier this year, Zoom Cloud is intended for temporary, non-archival storage, and recordings will be deleted based on the following schedule:
Deletion Date
Delete up to:
Semesters Retained
September 1, 2022
August 31, 2021
F21, W22, S22
January 3, 2023
December 31, 2021
W22, S22, F22
May 1, 2023
April 30, 2022
S22, F22, W23
As of September 1, 2022, any Zoom meeting cloud recordings created up to and including August 31, 2021 will be deleted.
After deletion, all deleted files will be stored in the associated Zoom account’s Trash for an additional 30 days and may be recovered by following the steps outlined on Zoom’s Recover a deleted cloud recording page. After the 30-day Trash timer expires, the recordings will be permanently deleted.
If you have multiple UofG Zoom Pro accounts, such as a personal account (jdoe@uoguelph.ca) and an organizational account (code1000@uoguelph.ca), please be certain to check all impacted accounts to avoid losing any required recordings.
How to Retain Recordings (if required)
If there is a need to retain recordings stored on the Zoom cloud long term, it is recommended they be transferred to a University-approved storage solution, like OneDrive.
To help facilitate the process of copying Zoom cloud recordings to OneDrive, OpenEd developed the Zoom Transfer Tool, which allows staff and faculty with UofG Zoom Pro accounts to simply select Zoom cloud recordings from their account to copy to the associated UofG OneDrive account. The Zoom Transfer Tool can also be set to automatically copy all Zoom cloud recordings to OneDrive by enabling the Automate Transfers option.
Questions or Concerns
If you have questions, concerns, or require assistance using the Zoom Transfer Tool, please contact CourseLink Support.
Contact
If you have any questions about the updates, please contact CourseLink Support at:
This feature updates the date picker component in Activity Feed. The new date picker has a more streamlined design and requires slight workflow changes: to clear a date/time, use the Clear option and to set the calendar to the current day, use the Set to Today option.
Figure: Updated date picker component in Activity Feed for due dates
Dropbox – Consistent evaluation experience
With this release, the legacy Dropbox evaluation experience is retired.
Dropbox – Icons in attachments toolbar
This release updates the attachments toolbar which appears in the evaluation panel on the right side of the new Dropbox Evaluation Experience.
Users can now add attachments to their feedback from QuickLinks, web links, Google Drive, and OneDrive using the new icons in the toolbar. Previously, users could only add attachments by uploading a file from their computer, recording an audio note, or recording a video note.
This change aligns the attachments toolbar in the new Dropbox Evaluation Experience with the attachments toolbar in the new Create and Edit Dropbox Experience.
Figure: New attachments toolbar containing icons for Upload File, QuickLink, Web Link, Google Drive, OneDrive, Record Audio, and Record Video.
Discussions – Consistent evaluation experience
This feature updates the user evaluation experience when assessing a topic or an individual learner, allowing instructors to better review and evaluate discussion contributions. The evaluation interface for Discussions has a similar layout as the Dropbox – Consistent evaluation experience.
This new experience involves a new page layout, with evaluation tools and the post being evaluated displaying side-by-side. Assessment workflows have not changed.
Figure: New evaluation experience for Discussions, with posts and evaluation tools displayed side-by-side.
Discussions – Improvements to visibility and posting restrictions
This is a workflow that makes it easier for instructors to set visibility and posting restrictions for discussion forums and topics. More specifically, this change simplifies date management for discussion activities, offering a more consistent, simplified, and consolidated experience for instructors.
The following changes are visible to instructors when creating or editing discussion forums and topics:
Note: These changes also affect the Content and Manage Dates tools.
From the Restrictions tab, the previous Locking Options are now consolidated with the Availability Start Date and End Date options and display as the following new options:
Visible with access restricted before/after start/end. The topic/forum is visible to learners before/after the start/end date, but they cannot access it. Previously, Classic Content was the only tool to make discussions visible without access.
Visible with submission restricted before/after start/end. The topic/forum is visible to learners before/after the start/end date and they can access it, but they cannot post new threads or replies. This effectively makes a discussion read-only. Previously, this was accomplished with the lock option or unlock dates.
Hidden before/after start/end. The topic/forum is hidden from learners until the start/end date. This is a new feature. Calendar events for Availability Starts and Availability Ends are hidden until the start/end date. Notifications are also not sent until the start/end date. Previously, the hidden status of a discussion topic was decided by the tool displaying the topic.
From the Restrictions tab, the Display in Calendar option is now consolidated with the Availability Start Date and End Date options, which adds the start date and end dates to the calendar. Previously, the tool decided which calendar event should be added to the calendar. With this change, calendar events for availability dates may change and additional events for Availability Start Dates may be added.
Calendar events for unlocked dates are now hidden from learners.
Where Discussions and User Progress may have previously hidden a topic or forum when outside of availability dates, those tools now may show them as visible, but inaccessible.
From Discussion Settings, instructors can now set the default visibility and access behavior for new discussion forums and topics.
Figure: The new consolidated options for visibility and posting restrictions in the Restrictions tab
To improve page performance for the Grade book Mastery View, the Evaluated and Aligned Activity counter has been removed. We recognize that this is important contextual information for instructors and evaluators when reviewing the overall level of achievement for a learner. We are re-evaluating ways in which to present this information while not impacting the performance of this page.
The information from the Evaluated and Aligned Activity data element will be reintroduced in a future release with additional context to help clients better analyze what the numbers represent in their learning environment.
Rubrics – Increased accessibility with labels on radio buttons
To provide a better experience to clients using screen readers, criterion levels now indicate the level name and point value of each radio button when it has the focus. Previously, screen readers only indicated “radio button X out of Y” or “radio button, not selected” depending on whether the focus is on a selected criterion.
In addition, the mobile view of Rubrics now has radio buttons implemented to describe the level name and point value of each criterion level, consistent with the view on a larger screen.
Note: Depending on the screen reader you use, the way of listing all the radio buttons on a page differs. For example, In NVDA, press INSERT+F7; in JAWS, press CTRL+INSERT+A. In general, D2L tests compatibility with the following screen readers: NVDA, JAWS, and Voiceover.
Figure: Criterion level rows behave as radio buttons for screen readers.
Rubrics – Inline grading improvements
There have been improvements to the ease of use of the inline grading experience, including changes to ensure grading experience parity for screen reader users. Previously, screen reader users were unable to grade or review tasks due to missing information. In addition, the updates now include the following:
The interaction of the arrow buttons at either end of the evaluation slider now indicate a hover state compared to a focus state. If there is no level under the hover pointer, the level area is empty.
Keyboard navigation of the slider evaluation levels identify the focus and indicate the criterion you are viewing. When the keyboard focus is on a level, you can press the arrow keys at the beginning and end of the slider or use the left and right arrow keys on the keyboard to move the focus within a scale. In grading mode, moving the focus to a level directly selects the level. You can also press Enter to select or unselect a level. In preview mode, the selected level does not change when you review other levels’ information.
Keyboard navigation of the slider evaluation levels more clearly identify the focus and level you have selected in grading mode. You can use the right or left arrow key at the beginning and end of the slider to move the focus within a scale. Press Enter or use the left and right arrow keys on the keyboard to select and deselect the level.
The level name and description of an evaluation level appear below the evaluation slider in the selected state, and the selection indicator appears on the slider at the chosen level.
When the rubric has been graded, the level information area displays the selected level’s information by default, unless other levels are in hover state in grading mode, or in hover or focus state in reviewing mode.
When you move the selection block to a different level, there is now an animation to smoothly transition to the new level.
Rubrics – Overall Score now appears in Mobile View and the New Assignment and Discussion Evaluation Experiences
When an instructor using the New Dropbox Evaluation Experience opens a rubric in a new window, the Overall Score displays for each rubric, and the instructor can override the level if necessary. Previously, if an instructor did not open a new window, rather, they viewed the rubrics inline in the New Dropbox Evaluation Experience tool, the Overall Score did not appear, and the instructor could not override the level. As a result, text-only rubrics could not be assessed because the Overall Score was not available.
Now, instructors using Mobile view can evaluate text-only rubrics for assignments (using the New Dropbox Evaluation Experience) and can evaluate text-only rubrics for discussions (using the New Discussions Evaluation Experience) as expected.
Figure: The Overall Score in Mobile and New Dropbox Evaluation Experience views
Students and Instructors
CourseLink – Supported Browsers
As an update to CourseLink, the warning banner for legacy Edge has been removed on Aug 1st and replaced with a “your browser is unsupported” page with a Your browser is looking a little retro… pop-up message.
CourseLink recommends using the system with an up-to-date browser that provides robust support for all features. If you are using CourseLink with a legacy browser, a pop-up message appears directing you to update your browser, change to a supported browser, or dismiss the message.
Currently, the browser version check displays a warning for versions previous to:
Chrome 90
Chrome OS Chrome 90
Mobile Chrome 90
Safari 14
Mobile Safari 14
Firefox 88
Chromium-based Microsoft Edge 90
Figure: The Your browser is looking a little retro… pop-up message.
The following message appears if you are using one of the following browsers (or older):
Chrome 67 (released March 2018)
macOS Safari 12 (released September 2018)
Firefox 67 (released May 2019)
Chrome OS Chrome 67 (released Mar 2018)
iOS Safari 11 (released September 2017)
Android Chrome 67 (released Mar 2018)
Figure: Legacy support tier/really prominent warning.
CourseLink – End of Life for Secondary Window Pop-Ups
This update brings End of Life status to the Show dialogs as pop-ups setting under Username > Account Settings. All secondary windows now open in Dialogs. Historically, this setting was used as an Accessibility accommodation as not all Screen Readers were able to handle dialogs. Modern screen readers provide better support for dialogs.
Figure: The Show secondary window as setting which has been removed.
Brightspace Pulse – Comment on Activity Feed posts
To encourage class engagement, learners can now comment on Activity Feed posts in Brightspace Pulse. Previously, learners could only read Activity Feed posts and comments in Brightspace Pulse.
In Brightspace Pulse, tap the Courses tab, and then tap a course with Activity Feed enabled.
From the Activity Feed tab, tap the post you want to comment on, and then tap Add Comment. A browser opens, displaying the Activity Feed for the course in CourseLink.
Tap the post you want to comment on, add your comment, and then tap Post. Your comment displays.
To close the browser and return to Brightspace Pulse, tap Done.
In Brightspace Pulse, refresh the page to display your comment.
Figure: The new Add Comment button in Brightspace Pulse’s Activity Feed
Brightspace Pulse – View all grades for a course
Learners can now view all grades for a course from a new Grades tab in the course. Previously, learners could only view course grades from notifications in Brightspace Pulse or by opening a browser and navigating to the Grades tool in CourseLink.
To view all grades for a course, tap the Courses tab. Next, tap a course, and then the Grades tab. All received grades for the course display, indicating if feedback is available. To open the Grades tool in a browser and view full grade breakdowns and calculations, tap View Grades in Browser.
To view feedback, tap a grade. The grade and text feedback display. To view details about the associated activity in CourseLink, tap View Activity.
Figure: The new Grades tab for a course in Brightspace Pulse
Learners can now view content module descriptions in Brightspace Pulse. Instructors use module descriptions to communicate vital information to learners about specific course content. Previously, module descriptions were only visible from CourseLink, which may have caused learners to miss important information when accessing courses from Brightspace Pulse.
Figure: A content module description in Brightspace Pulse
Contact
If you have any questions about the updates, please contact CourseLink Support at:
Quizzes – Question Library – Attach Files using Written Response Questions
When creating a written response question, instructors can now allow learners to upload files in their answers and include embedded images. Learners can also record audio or video responses when answering written response question types.
When grading a quiz, similar to the behavior in the Discussions tool, instructors can download and open these attachments in another tab. Bulk download is not available at this time.
When learners are reviewing their quiz submissions, if they are allowed to view their quiz responses, they can view their uploaded attachments.
The maximum file size for a single file or embedded image attached to a quiz response is set to 102400 KB (100 MB). The maximum file size for all files attached or embedded in a single quiz question response is set to 102400 KB (100 MB).
Figure: The updated Written Response question creation screen
Quizzes – User Experience Updates for Editing Quizzes with Attempts
To improve the user experience for instructors who edit quizzes with previous attempts by learners, the following updates have been made:
Points for past quiz attempts are no longer modified when edits are made that affect the overall points and/or the grading calculations for a quiz. A learner’s grade on previous quiz attempts must now be changed directly by the instructor using the Update All Attempts workflow. Previously, the points for all past quiz attempts were modified automatically, which could alter a learner’s grade unexpectedly.
Warning messages now appear when editing a quiz question with previous attempts to clearly communicate to instructors that editing quiz questions does not affect the content or automatically change the score of learners’ past attempts.
Figure: A warning message appears when accessing the Add/Edit Questions workflow
Building on the functionality added to the new create and edit Dropbox experience in the July release, you can now do the following:
Attach release conditions to an assignment
Figure: The create and edit Dropbox page with the Release Conditions functionality
Dropbox – Copy Folder Option
This feature adds the ability to copy existing folders. Instructors can select the Copy Assignment option in the drop-down menu for an existing folder to quickly create new folders. This feature copies all settings of an existing folder except the associated grade item and Turnitin settings.
Figure: The Copy Assignment option appears in the drop-down menu for existing assignments
Brightspace Assignment Grader – End-of-life
Effective August 15, 2020, the Assignment Grader mobile app is no longer available to new users. Existing users may continue to use the app if they have it installed, but no further updates or support will be made available by D2L and the app will be removed from app stores. As an alternative mobile grading option, D2L recommends using the Quick Eval tool in CourseLink.
Brightspace ePortfolio mobile app – End-of-life
Effective August 30, 2020, the Brightspace ePortfolio mobile app is no longer available to new users. Existing users may continue to use the app if they have it installed, but no further updates or support will be made available by D2L and the app will be removed from the iOS App Store and the Google Play Apps store. Note that the Brightspace ePortfolio is still available for use – only the mobile app version is unavailable.
Checklists – Copy a checklist
Instructors can now perform copy actions for checklists. You can copy a whole checklist, a checklist category (including all items within it), or individual items in a checklist.
Classlist – User Experience Changes
When adding participants to a Classlist using the Add users interface, search results now include users who are currently enrolled in the course. Previously, enrolled users were not displayed in these search results. On the search results page an icon displays beside an enrolled user’s name to indicate their enrollment status. Instructors can also use the drop-down menu beside each username to update a user’s enrollment status, remove them from the class or change the role they were enrolled with.
Notifications – Deleted Content Links to Message
Notifications for content that is subsequently hidden/deleted/conditionally released are now removed from the CourseLink notifications area on the minibar. Notifications that arrive via email or text notifications, or in Brightspace Pulse push notifications, now provide a link to the Course Table of Contents with a message that states ‘Item not available’. Previously, clicking the link created a 404 Not Authorized error.
Outcomes Management – Competency Tool is Hidden when Learning Outcomes is Enabled
In CourseLink, it is only possible to use the Competency tool or the Learning Outcomes tool in a course. If you are using one, all instances of the other are now hidden from view. For a new, empty shell course, both the Competency tool and Learning Outcomes tool appear in the Course Administration page. However, as soon as you decide to use the Learning Outcomes tool or the Competency tool, then the link to the other tool is hidden.
The Competency tool is considered to be in use when at least one learning objective is aligned to activities in the course. When this is the case, the Learning Outcomes tool is hidden on the Course Administration page.
The Learning Outcomes tool is considered to be in use when an intent list is created by importing or creating at least one learning outcome in the course. When this is the case, the Competencies tool is hidden on the Course Administation page, and the Objectives Progress column in Class Progress is no longer visible.
Contact
If you have any questions about the updates, please contact CourseLink Support at:
To improve the delivery of course notifications in CourseLink, the Notifications option, available from the username on the minibar, includes the following changes:
Added a Summary of Activity option for receiving email notifications about the summary of activity for each course. Options include: Never, Daily, or Weekly (default).
Removed the following Customize Notifications options: Allow past courses to send me notifications and Allow inactive courses to send me notifications. Learners can now only receive daily email digests for current and future courses.
Removed the following SMS notifications for Instant Notifications: Content – content item created, Content – content item updated, and Content – content overview updated.
If any of the removed notification options are currently selected, learners will no longer receive these notifications after the monthly update. To receive content-related instant notifications, CourseLink recommends using the Brightspace Pulse mobile app or select the Email option for the instant notification type on the Notifications page. Email content notifications remain unaffected.
Supported browsers | Updated
New clients can no longer access the CourseLink Learning Environment using Microsoft Internet Explorer. If users attempt to access CourseLink using Internet Explorer, an unsupported page appears. The unsupported page contains links to download supported browsers and a link to the Community End of Life communication. The text of the unsupported page is customizable using the Language Management tool. Users cannot log in to CourseLink using any version of Internet Explorer.
When a user tries to access CourseLink using any version of Internet Explorer, a retro pop-up dialog box appears. The text in the retro pop-up dialog box has been updated to include the January 2020 end of life date information. Users who had previously dismissed the pop-up will see it again following the August update if CourseLink is accessed using any version of Internet Explorer. The pop-up can be dismissed again and will not reappear with subsequent updates.
OpenDyslexic font setting | Removed
The OpenDyslexic font is intended to increase readability of text for users with dyslexia. D2L introduced this font into CourseLink as a measure of support for users with dyslexia, based on interest from clients and initially positive media reports. However, to date, there is no empirical evidence that it improves readability or comprehension for users with dyslexia. To ensure that D2L offers true accessibility solutions and that we align our design system and development practices with the W3C’s Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.1 Level AA Criteria), the OpenDyslexic font is removed in the August 2019 release.
Email – Add images to messages | Updated
When composing email messages, users can select Insert Image to add pictures from their computer, a URL, or Manage Files. Images are inserted in place, attached to the email, and display in place for the recipient. The Insert Stuff button is no longer shown in Email, as it has several workflows that are incompatible with the external email experience.
Instructors Only
Dropbox – Spell check for annotation notes | Updated
When assessing submissions with the built-in annotation tools in Dropbox, text within the comment annotation is now checked for spelling mistakes.
Intelligent Agents now re-evaluate the status of release conditions at the moment of triggering to determine whether a user has completed a particular release condition or not. Previously, Intelligent Agents retained release condition information from users, even if users no longer triggered the retained release condition.
Quizzes – General availability of Quiz Builder
Quiz Builder is a new work flow for adding, editing, reordering, and deleting quiz content in the Quizzes tool.
Quiz Builder saves instructors time by streamlining the screens and work flows for building and arranging quiz content. Instructors can add questions, sections and question pools, or import from the Question library. From a single interface, they can edit, delete and reorder questions. They can also review critical information such as question points and total points in the quiz; mandatory and bonus status and shuffling behavior.
You can use the new Quiz Builder experience by clicking Add/Edit Questions on the quiz Properties tab. The updated Add/Edit Questions screen provides the option to add, edit, reorder, delete, and move between sections using keyboard interaction in the new experience. The experience is accessible when using assistive technologies.
Quizzes – Restore quiz attempts in the Quiz Attempt log | New
Instructors can now restore deleted quiz attempts for learners from within a quiz using the new Quiz Attempt log. The New Quiz Attempt log tracks quiz attempt submissions per user, in both an overview and detailed set of logs.
The following actions are captured in the Overview:
Attempt Started
Attempt Submitted
Attempt Deleted
Attempt Restored
Figure: The overview tab on the Attempt Logs page
Video Assignments – Auto Analysis ™ tool | New
Auto Analysis™ is a tool for the Video Assignments integration. It automatically transcribes all uploaded Individual Project assignments and measures the speaking rate, speech clarity, and use of filler words. The transcribed data is compiled into a report with a score that instructors can use as a data point when assessing the assignment. Instructors can configure an Individual Project to show or hide overall delivery scores.
The Auto Analysis™ tool interface appears in all languages supported by Video Assignments. Note that Auto Analysis™ is designed for English-speaking video assignments only – it cannot transcribe or analyze non-English audio.
This automated reporting feature provides learners greater insight into their performance and opportunity to reflect, practice and improve their assignment before submission.
Figure: The report view by Auto Analysis™ provides feedback on the Clarity, Fillers, Speaking Rate and Overall Delivery score on Individual project assignments
Contact
If you have any questions about the updates, please contact CourseLink Support at:
