Welcome
Welcome to the Desire2Learn Tutorial for MU's School Library and Information Technologies program. Desire2Learn, abbreviated D2L, is an online course management system accessed from your web browser. The goals and objectives of the tutorial are as follows:
Goal
Identify key features of the Desire2Learn online learning software.
Objectives
Before your first Desire2Learn course, gain familiarity with the following tools:
- Navigational Buttons
- Assignment Dropbox
- Forum ("Threaded") Discussions
- Course Content (Table of Contents)
- Email and other Tools
- Gradebook
Before you Begin
This tutorial supplements our Orientation Guide, which lists resources to help you activate your MU email account (called Mounties Mail on campus, a reference to the MU mascot, an old grizzled mountain man) and summarizes the Desire2Learn assignments for this tutorial. The guide also includes optional activities and a tip sheet, How Do I Begin a Course?
Note: If you are a visual learner checkout one of our narrated video tours: a brief Quick Tour of how to navigate a typical Desire2Learn course or a demo of the Discussion tool. Just click the big triangular play button to start the videos, and turn your speakers turn on.
To prevent possible computer glitches, we recommend use of a current web browser, such as Internet Explorer 9, Firefox 6, or Safari 5. If you are unsure of your browser's details click its Help menu and look for an item that reads something like "About Internet Explorer" (or Firefox or Safari, etc.). That screen will display, among other things, the browser's version number. Alternatively, go to our Troubleshooting Form and look at a table there that automatically identifies information about YOUR computer.
If you experience technical problems with course-related resources you should first make sure that you are using a supported browser. You might also try clearing your browser cache, which is a type of computer storage of frequently used web pages to speed loading. For more details on this process see our page on common Browser Problems.
For assistance with passwords or logging in to Desire2Learn, visit MU's My Accounts web page, at:
https://info.mansfield.edu/myaccount
You will be asked for your 7-digit student ID number, the last 4 digits of your social security number, and the year of your birth to login.
For assistance with D2L review MU's searchable Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page or submit a question to the MU Help Desk. Additional resources are available on MU's Desire2Learn Resources page. Students and faculty may also phone (877-730-6232), email, or chat with the less reliable third-party service, Perceptis (available 24/7), though they may refer many, if not most, questions back to MU.
Entering Courses
To enter a D2L course you will first login to the system. We recommend starting from the SL&IT Current Student Page, though a link to D2L is available from any of the SL&IT web pages. Once logged in you will see a welcome screen with links to your courses and information or announcements about D2L (see Figure 1 below).
The login consists of your MU e-mail address without the word, "mounties" (e.g. smithm@mansfield.edu). The password is the first letter of your first name, followed by the first three letters of your last name, then the first four digits of your social security number, and ending with a dollar sign (e.g. mjon1234$).
Figure 1: Desire2Learn Course Menu (My Home)
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