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Using D2L Templates

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PEDAGOGICAL DESIGN
Using D2L Templates

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Author :
Jay Loftus
Using D2L Templates

JL Contact profile image
Author :
Jay Loftus

D2L Templates

Along your journey towards the start of a new semester you will encounter a crossroads decision: Do you create a new course site from scratch and populate it with previous or familiar materials? Or, should you take the path of the tried and tested? The latter is far more effective, and in a lot of cases, it is the path least traveled. Many instructors and developers are not familiar with the extremely valuable and helpful template resources available within D2L.

Using The D2L Course Templates

  1. Go to https://d2l.msu.edu/d2l/home/1339707 - This is a shell template that you will you to populate your own course site. Notice that this template is consistent throughout. You will be able to modify this once you have copied this template into your course site. It is important to highlight and point out that this template contains all of the policy statements and links for technical assistance. This template conforms to the Quality Matters course design standards. For this reason instructors are encouraged to use this template for building their courses.

  2. Go to your course shell or the course which you are building.
  3. Go to the ‘Course Admin’ tab
  4. Look for the link to ‘Import / Export / Copy Components’ 

Course Admin
  

5. Select the ‘Copy Components from another Org Unit’. Uncheck the ‘Include protected resources’ if checked. Select ‘Search for offering’ (See below).

Course Copy

        6. In the ‘Search for offering’ search textbox, search for ‘template’. You will see the following as one of the options.

Search offering

Select the radio button for the ‘Course Design Model - V3 Templates’. Then select ‘Add Selected’.


       7. Select ‘Copy All Components’ (see below)


       8. Your newly copied template should be within your course shell and look like the image below.

 

This template contains:

  1. A Getting Started section to add an introduction for your course.

  2. A syllabus section with links to MSU policy statements.

  3. Thirteen modules to edit and modify for your course.
Course components

Editing the Course Template

Now that you have imported the course template into your course shell, it is time to add content and make this course your own. There are several things you can do within D2L to make your course more appealing. One key feature within D2L are the templates for pages you build to present your content. Outlined below are the steps to using the course page templates within D2L.


Jazzing Up Your Course Using D2L Templates


  1. Select ‘Create a File’ (See below)

    Create a file

     2. Enter a title for the file (page) you are going to create. Next, choose the ‘Select a Document Template’ drop down  
     menu. Look at the options and see the previews before selecting the ‘Save and Close’ option.

Enter title

The templates are very clean looking in appearance. More importantly, these templates include the MSU digital branding standards and color scheme. You can make modifications to these pages. However, it is recommended to stick to the templates and use the formatting that is embedded within the page. You may encounter some challenges with modification of the accordion or tabs pages if you require more spaces for your content. Thankfully, there are lots of resources to help you when you encounter these issues.


Watch Sue Halick’s presentation on using the D2L templates

https://mediaspace.msu.edu/media/D2L+Content+Templates+for+Consistent+Course+Design+%2808.04.22%29/1_g7em6knt

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