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One of the key areas in D2L is the Content section. While instructors create and organize most of the content, there are three sections that appear automatically at the top: Overview, Bookmarks, and Course Schedule.

"Bookmarks" show pages a student has chosen to save.
"Course Schedule" displays calendar items like quiz due dates.
"Overview" is fully customizable, and it’s the first item students see when they enter the Content area.

Why customize your Overview page?

If left blank, the Overview tab won’t appear for students. But adding anything—text or a file—makes it visible.
A personalized overview sets the tone for your course. It can be as simple as a welcome note or as creative as an infographic-style syllabus.
It offers a central place to greet students, direct them to important materials, or give a visual summary of the course.

How do you customize your Overview?

Go to the Content section of your course.
Click on “Overview” in the left-hand navigation pane.
From here, you have two primary options:

Add a written message (e.g., a welcome note or instructions).
Upload a file using the “Add Attachment” button. Note that PDFs appear in an embedded preview window.
You can also do both—include a message and attach a file.




What can you include?
Your Overview page can be as simple or creative as you’d like. Consider:

A brief, friendly welcome note
A short course description
A link to your syllabus
Instructions on how to get started
A welcome graphic

Using a graphic syllabus:
Want to add a creative, visual element? Some instructors choose to use a graphic syllabus: a visual representation of the course structure, themes, or schedule. These can help students grasp big-picture ideas quickly and may be more engaging than text alone.
To use one:

Search online for "graphic syllabus" to view a variety of examples and instructions

Design a graphic or PDF infographic of your syllabus


Make sure it’s accessible (e.g., clear text, high contrast, screen reader-friendly)


Upload it using “Add Attachment” on the Overview page


Programs you can use to create a graphic syllabus:


Canva – Free and user-friendly with templates for infographics, flyers, and syllabi.


PowerPoint – Familiar to many and great for layout flexibility. Save as PDF.


Google Slides – Web-based alternative to PowerPoint, also exportable to PDF.


Adobe Express – Ideal for polished, visual designs; includes free and paid options.


Piktochart – A tool specifically for infographics; allows for easy drag-and-drop design.


Tip: If you go this route, be sure to link to the Overview in your Welcome Announcement so students see it right away (announcements are located on the homepage).
Learn more about accessible design by reading the article "What a cool syllabus... but is it accessible?" by Teresa Thompson.
Below is a screenshot of my overview page, in which I created an infographic to represent the course. The infographic is an accessible PDF file, so it appears in a preview window that they can scroll through.
 

Final Tips

Preview in Student View to confirm what students will see.
Avoid changes after the course begins, unless necessary, and communicate them clearly.
Some attachments (like "Access Google Workspace") may not display even if added—always test in advance.

Make your D2L course feel more inviting by personalizing the banner at the top of your course homepage. You can select a relevant image- either from the D2L library or your own.
You can also edit the text within the banner. Maybe you just want to modify the course name so it's more meaningful (e.g., not an abbreviated name, as it sometimes defaults to). You can also welcome each student by name.
Why customize your banner?

It helps students quickly recognize your course by using relevant visuals or clear course names.
You can create a welcoming, personal tone from the moment students enter the course.
Adding a student's name using a personalization code can increase their sense of connection.

How do you customize your banner?

Go to the course homepage of the course that you would like to modify.
Locate the banner at the top and click on the menu icon (represented by three dots) on the upper right corner of the banner.
A menu will appear with 

Change Image
Customize banner text
Remove this banner




To change the banner image:

Click "Change image" to choose a different one or upload your own.
Use the search bar to find an image by keyword (e.g., "forest," "cells," "books"). 
Or, click on the "upload" button (top right) to add your own banner image. Tip: Make sure your image is wide enough to look good as a banner.

To edit the banner text:

Click "Customize banner text" to change the text in the banner- this does not change the name at the top of the page or on the D2L homepage. It just changes the text in the banner.
Replace the default course name with a clearer or friendlier title.
You can also use a code to welcome students by name, such as the banner below.



Use this code to insert the student’s first name: {FirstName}
The text for the banner in this example is: Welcome to ISB 204, {FirstName}!





To remove the banner:
If the banner feels too busy or distracting, you can select “Remove This Banner” from the same menu.
Repeat for each course:
Custom banners are course-specific, so you’ll need to update them individually for each course.
However, if you copy a course from a previous semester, the banner, including both the image and the text, will carry over automatically. Just make sure it’s still relevant before the new semester begins.
 
 

How many times have you been on campus at MSU - using a restroom, walking by a bulletin board in a hallway, waiting for an elevator - and saw a flyer or poster for an upcoming event. "Ooo, that sounds super interesting!" You scan the printed sheet of paper for details. "Bummer! I missed it." I have been at MSU in a variety of capacities since 2008 and I cannot count the number of times this has happened to me. If I happened to walk through a building that was outside my usual route and see a program or event of interest, it usually had already passed. Once I began my work in educational development, alongside with my doctoral studies in HALE, this became increasingly frusterating. I saw really cool topics, relevant across disciplines, being offered to limited groups - or even worse, being open to all MSU educators but not being promoted broadly. I was missing out so I knew others were as well. So when I saw the #iteachmsu Commons Educator Events Calendar, I was super excited. There is now a common calendar that, just like all of the #iteachmsu Commons, is for educators by educators. Anyone with MSU credentials can log in to iteach.msu.edu and share an event on the calendar. From unit, college, or organization-sponsored programs like educator trainings and workshops, to individual initatives like communities of practice, coworks, or meet-ups, any scheduled activity with an intended/open audience of folx who support the teaching and learning, student succes, and/or outreach mission of the university can be shared here!
      
From a self-proclaimed lifelong learner, I'm really excited to have a "one stop shop" where I can determine MSU personal growth and professional development activities, but as an educator at the Center for Teaching and Learning Innovation I am also thrilled about some of the ways the new #iteachmsu site functionality supports program facilitators. The "Going" button on an event details page can be linked directly to your event's registration. You can upload supporting materials or pre-activity details. There are easy ways to designate both face-to-face and virtual events. There's even a discussion thread for comments on each event!            If you have events that support MSU educators, start sharing them on the #iteachmsu Events Calendar today!Article cover photo by Windows on Unsplash

Mark W. Hodginshodgins@msu.eduInstructional Technology and Development TeamResponsible for the instructional development of both video and computer-aided instruction. Joint coordination with other staff members within ITS and the Innovation HUB as well as other technical support people on campus. Technical consultant to the faculty, students and staff on the design/development/delivery of all forms of mediated instruction and administrative information systems.  Technical knowledge in the configuration and use of Learning Management Systems (i.e. Angel, Blackboard, and D2L) as well as Cloud services like Microsoft Office 365, Google Apps, Apple iCloud. Apple University and Kultura MediaSpace. Extensive experience in relational database system design and development.



Education:

Master of Arts in Educational Systems Development - Instructional Computing

Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI


Bachelor of Arts in Telecommunications

Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI


Associates of Applied Science (Digital Electronics)

Lansing Community College, Lansing, MI



Experience: 

Instructional System Designer - Michigan State University, IT Services | Instructional Technology and Development. Responsible for the instructional development of both video and computer-aided instruction. Joint coordination with other staff members within ITS and the Innovation HUB as well as other technical support people on campus. Technical consultant to the faculty, students and staff on the design/development/delivery of all forms of mediated instruction and administrative information systems.  2017 – Present
Training Program Developer III - Michigan State University, Health Information Technology. Responsible for the instructional development of both video and computer-aided instruction. Joint coordination with other staff members within HIT as well as other technical support people on campus. Technical consultant to the faculty, students and staff on the design/development/delivery of all forms of mediated instruction and administrative information systems.  2003 – 2017
Training Program Developer II - Michigan State University, College of Osteopathic Medicine.  Responsible for the development of video and computer-aided instructional programs. Joint-coordination with other staff members of the Learning Resource Center and Interactive Computer Lab. Technical consultant to the faculty, students and staff of COM on the design/development/delivery of all forms of mediated instruction and administrative information systems. 1991 – 2003
Television Production Engineer - Michigan State University, College of Osteopathic Medicine. Responsible for the operation of the college’s media production facility. Co-supervisor of Media Services and Learning Resource Center and in charge of Technical Services. Involved in the design and production of instructional video programs for the college's faculty. 1981-1991
Technical Production Assistant - Michigan State University, College of Osteopathic Medicine. Assisted staff engineer on television studio operations.  Involved in A/V system designs and installations. Assisted program director with the production of educational videotape programs. 1978-1980

Attended Conferences 

Interactive HealthCare Conference & Exposition - Washington, D.C. 
Information Technology in the Health Sciences - Memphis, TN, Houston, TX, New Orleans, LA. 
Society of Applied Learning and Technology (SALT) -Orlando, FL 
Slice of Life Conference - Salt Lake City, UT, Chicago, IL, Philadelphia, PA, Portland, OR, Munich, Germany 
Campus Technology Syllabus Conference -San Jose, CA, Boston, MA.
Apple World Wide Developers Conference – San Francisco, CA

Published Research 

Lovell K, Haf J, Hodgins M. Development of neuropathology interactive videodisk instructional units. Teaching and Learning in Medicine 1991;3:156-8. 
Bean P, Lovell K, Hodgins M, Parkhurst P, Sprafka S. Quantitative and Qualitative Evaluation of Interactive Videodisk Instructional Modules in Preclinical Neuropathology Education Teaching and Learning in Medicine 1993;5:3-9.
Oommen J Z, Hodgins M, Hinojosa R, et al. (June 21, 2021) Accuracy of Weight Estimation Using the Broselow Tape in a Peruvian Pediatric Population. Cureus 13(6): e15807. doi:10.7759/cureus.15807

Current Projects

Part of MSU's Institute for Global Health team working on curriculum revisions for the Armed Forces College of Medicine in Cairo Egypt.
Serving as an Instructional Technology Advisor for MSU's Global Health Studies Program.
Remediation of Medical Administrative Systems to integrate with MSU's new Student Information System.

International Travel

Travele extensively around the world to attend Instructional Technology conferences, conduct project site visits, as well as  pleasure trips to visit family.
Destinations include British Columbia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Egypt, France, Germany, England, and Ireland.

Project DescriptionThe past year I have considered aspects of what makes a healthy music studio through fostering community and culture. How we engage with each other interpersonally informs our professional life and our musical understanding (rehearsal, performance, interpretation, etc). When the COVID-19 pandemic limited these activities, I applied these concepts to the large ensemble. 
Hunter's Reflection on Creating & Strengthening Collaborations in the Graduate Student CommunityRealizing the role that social, cultural, and emotional surroundings play in creating art, I seek to explore how one’s artistic community can shape performance. With support from the Graduate School’s Leadership Development Fellowship, I looked at the role creating community plays in fostering healthy culture in music studios. Acknowledging there is a correlation between social and interpersonal environment and musical performance, I work to consider how we can create an atmosphere more conducive to learning and ultimately sharing. As a conductor, I am especially aware of how culture informs ensemble performance. In chamber music, interpersonal relationship is essential and creating bonds between studios and their cultures allows more opportunity for fruitful chamber ensemble performances. 
This fellowship allowed me to connect with individuals from across campus in order to work together in a community that seeks to make MSU the best institution it can be for all of us. Through the networking, brainstorming, and access to resources provided by this fellowship, I was able to connect ideas across campus and get insight from a variety of perspectives. Academia is often siloed into our individual colleges and areas of research. This fellowship allows us to connect and share for the common good: improving ourselves while improving our colleges, all of which improves MSU.  
While the COVID-19 pandemic interrupted our modus operandi, the College of Music had to consider new ways to connect and engage with audiences, stakeholders, students, faculty, and within studios. If nothing else, it proved how valuable live, real-time music-making is. My goals of this fellowship: to explore and consider how to improve studio culture, have not changed. The past year, however, has allowed me to consider other ways that culture plays a role in musical ensembles and how we can build culture in a healthy and productive way.  
Unable to engage directly with our studios due to COVID limitations and protocols, I used the time and resources available to refocus research to culture in the large ensemble. Through the fellowship, I’ve been able to connect many of the perspectives I’ve gathered and ideas I’ve formed into ways to connect our curriculum (what we teach and perform), our community (studios, ensembles, schools, and region), and our creativity (unique application and expression of ideas) to building culture. This has led to two conference presentations and is currently being composed in an article format. The resources, opportunity, and support provided through this fellowship has been essential to the traction gained in these areas. I’m excited to see this continue in my personal exploration of studio and ensemble culture, and the work continuing through the College of Music being represented in this fellowship.  

This week, we are featuring, Dr. Gary Roloff, Professor and Chair in the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife. Dr. Roloff was recognized via iteach.msu.edu's Thank and Educator Initiative! We encourage MSU community members to nominate high impact Spartan educators (via our Thank an Educator form) regularly!
Read more about Dr. Roloff’s perspectives below. #iteachmsu's questions are bolded below, followed by his responses!
 

 
In one word, what does being an educator mean to you? 
Empowering
Share with me what this word/quality looks like in your practice? 
As an educator, I look to facilitate critical thinking, synthesis of ideas and information, acquisition of contextual knowledge, and informed judgment that ultimately results in empowered, confident decision-making and choices by our students.
Have your ideas on this changed over time? if so how? 
My philosophy on this has absolutely changed over time. When I initially started teaching I leaned towards emphasizing contextual knowledge (e.g., why snowshoe hare are white in winter, why pigs turn feral so fast when released into an unconstrained environment), where there was a clear answer that could be assessed for correctness. I quickly realized that guidance for students on synthesizing and integrating contextual knowledge (and other pieces of information) to make informed arguments and decisions was a gap in my learning outcomes. Since then, I’ve worked to correct that deficiency in my course offerings.
Tell me more about your educational “setting.” This can include, but not limited to departmental affiliations, community connections, co-instructors, and students.
I am lucky enough to teach a field-based course in wildlife research and management techniques (I also teach a graduate-level course), which includes a blend of classroom and field experiences. Much of the class is hands-on and outside, and I involve our agency partners like the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and USDA Wildlife Services to teach sections of the class. This professional-student interaction is often a highlight for the students, providing an important opportunity to help build a professional network that is so critical to success. Some students in my class have gone on to work for the agencies that help me teach.
What is a challenge you experience in your educator role? 
My biggest challenge is reading the classroom early and trying to adjust my delivery of content to the different learning styles that I know occur in the room. As instructors, if we fail to recognize and adjust our content and delivery to appeal to diverse learning styles we are not being fair.
Any particular “solutions” or “best practices” you’ve found that help you support student success at the university despite/in the face of this? 
I started implementing a brief survey at the start of the semester in my undergraduate class to gauge personality types. The students work in groups in that class on a semester project that looks for integration and synthesis across the semester. One of my PhD students, as part of her FAST Fellows program, showed that “introverts” were at a significant disadvantage in these types of settings, unless we were able to integrate them into “extrovert” groups from the start. I stopped letting students form groups on their own, as the “introverts” and  “extroverts” tended to group together; instead I purposefully mix the personality types to help create a more equitable chance of success for all students in the class.
What are practices you utilize that help you feel successful as an educator? 
Last fall, I changed my standard assessment technique for the mid-term. I used to implement a standard type test, where students identify things and answer questions on paper. This fall I changed the mid-term to a field practical, where I interacted verbally with the students (i.e., an oral exam) and had them show me how to do things and explain their answers. This one-on-one assessment, though time-consuming, gave me a better sense (I believe) of how the students were learning the course content.
What topics or ideas about teaching and learning would you like to see discussed on the iteach.msu.edu platform? Why do you think this conversation is needed at msu? 
Efficient, effective ways to teach our students better oral and written communication skills as part of the classes they take.
What are you looking forward to (or excited to be a part of) next semester? 
I really miss the energy of campus; I’m hoping we can return to some sense of post-pandemic normalcy soon.
 

Don't forget to celebrate individuals you see making a difference in teaching, learning, or student success at MSU with #iteachmsu's Thank an Educator initiative. You might just see them appear in the next feature! Follow the MSU Hub Twitter account to see other great content from the #iteachmsu Commons as well as educators featured every week during #ThankfulThursdays.
 

 
As the host, you can control who meeting or webinar participants are allowed to chat with. You can also disable the chat for all participants or disable private chat, so participants cannot send private messages.
 
Check out this article for additional instructions on:

Controlling Chat Access
Disabling In-Meeting Chat

https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/115004809306-Controlling-and-Disabling-In-Meeting-Chat#h_d9a04597-0138-4fb9-86cd-81cc4c68b21f

Who did you work with and what was their role in your project? I led the executive board and committee chairs as we collaborated with our expert speakers to put together our two-day conference. In total, we offered 22 sessions including workshops, lectures, networking opportunities, and social events. How did you manage relationships with key stakeholders in your college to achieve your project goals? I reached out to the Deans and department chairs to schedule meetings with them if they wanted more information. The initial email was very detailed about what we were trying to accomplish. I have met with these stakeholders in the past before too so that was helpful.  What is the impact of your project? Who was your target audience and what difference did your project make for them?  Our conference helped to bring together individuals who are passionate about science communication. Our attendees included a mix of students who were interested in entering science communication fields and experts looking to connect to peers and provide advice to the next generation. Our formal sessions included presentations and workshops that were targeted to specific interest areas, and we also offered space for networking and other informal conversations, all of which was well-received by our attendees.  If someone were to continue your work in the future, what advice would you have for them?  It was very important to us to highlight the diversity of science communicators as we worked to put together this conference, and we would encourage anyone else looking to plan a similar event to do the same. For anyone looking to host a virtual conference, make sure that your technology is accessible, and have members of your team ready to assist with any technical difficulties.  How did this work contribute to your personal leadership development? Through the process of planning and executing a conference of this scale, our leadership team was able to gain valuable skills related to event planning, public relations, marketing, grant-writing, and innovative technology use. I was able to guide our team in conducting all of this which helped me feel prepared for future event planning. I learned a lot about what it takes to run a successful large-scale event, and I look forward to the opportunity to use these skills when planning future MSU SciComm programs.  MSU SciComm Conveyance Website