D2L Release Notes – 10.4.0 – 10.4.12
May – June 2015
The following are highlights from Brightspace by D2L’s monthly continuous delivery release notes as
they pertain to WCU.
D2L Learning Environment 10.4.0
Content - Evaluating non-submissions | New
In 10.3, instructors were given the option to evaluate a dropbox folder non-submission or a system-external
submission in Dropbox, allowing them to grade users who lacked a submission or had non-electronic submissions.
An identical workflow can now be initiated for Dropbox activities in the Content tool.
Discussions - Scroll Spy | New
Previously, the Read status of discussion posts by instructors and students automatically tracked during the page
loading process for all discussion posts. This often resulted in inaccurate data, making it difficult for users to track
the posts they hadn’t read, and produced inaccurate statistics on the number of posts read. Now, posts that are
positioned on users’ screens to be read are marked as read as the user scrolls through them, ensuring a more
reliable tracking process. If a user opens an unread thread, after a few seconds of resting on the first post in the
thread, it will mark as read. The rest of the posts will mark as read as the user scrolls through them. Students and
instructors can trust that they won't miss an important post due to it getting marked read before they could read
it, and instructors can be more confident that students have actually read the number of posts reported in
Statistics.
HTML Editor - Improved table selection | Updated
The HTML Editor table manipulation controls were improved so that users can insert a table by expanding a fly out
to select their table size using a visual grid. Previously, users opened a dialog and entered the number of rows and
columns they wanted to have.
HTML Editor - Rearranged menu options | Updated
The Table menu is now located before Equations, and the Cut/Copy/Paste menus appear after the Undo/Redo
menu. Font style controls were also separated to allow them to wrap separately when the HTML Editor is used in a
narrower view.
Redesigned HTML Editor Table menu and rearranged menu options
Minibar - Course selector | Updated
Performance improvements were made to the course selector to increase the load speed of courses that users are
enrolled in. Users enrolled in less than 25 courses see an alphabetical course list in the course selector, and can pin
the courses they want to keep at the top of the list. Users enrolled in more than 25 courses see their most recently
accessed courses, can pin courses they want to keep at the top of the list, and can also search for courses from the
Search My Courses page by clicking the Advanced Search link or the Search all courses button.
My Courses widget - Courses filtering | Updated
New filter options are available for the My Courses widget within the Customize Widget dialog. These options
make it easier for users to filter course lists by roles, semesters, and departments. The new design behaves similar
to the way Group My Courses by Role worked for users that surpassed the Max Role Tabs variable.
Note: This item was also released in 10.3 SP14.
Question Library - Usability improvements | Updated
Adding, updating, and deleting operations in Question Library was improved, as these operations now avoid
unnecessary question tree re-sorting. Gaps in the sort numbering is allowed as long as the numbers are sorted
numerically.
Quizzes - Quiz Item Analysis | Updated
Additional statistics are now available in the Quizzes tool to assist instructors in evaluating how well students
perform on quiz questions after the questions are submitted for evaluation.
•
User Stats includes the standard deviation and existing class average for the overall quiz.
•
Question Stats now includes standard deviation, discrimination index, and point biserial per question, along
with the standard deviation and existing class average for the overall quiz.
Question Details now includes standard deviation, discrimination index, and average grade achieved per
question.
Quizzes - Quizzes reports | Updated
Question Statistics and Question Details reports offer the option to include three new statistics (standard
deviation, discrimination index, and point biserial correlation). The User Statistics report can include standard
deviation along with the class average.
New statistics in a Question Details report
D2L Learning Environment 10.4.1
Content - Closed Captions for Video Topics | New
Instructors can now attach subtitle (SRT) files to video topics in Content. A video topic can include SRT files in
multiple languages. Subtitles are uploaded into a subfolder in the same location where the video file is located. SRT
files uploaded to this subfolder are automatically renamed according to the original filename and include the
culture that the subtitles are for. The ISO two letter language codes, as well as Canadian French, Brazilian
Portuguese, Simplified Chinese, and Traditional Chinese were used to build the list of selectable languages.
Subtitles appear to users as closed captions within the default video player. Users can choose if they want to view
subtitles, and which available language they want to view.
Note: Subtitles are not automatically generated for videos and translated for different languages.
Closed Captioning extends the default video player to support instructors teaching language courses and students
who might benefit from additional learning support. This feature continues the D2L commitment to supporting
accessible learning practices, which includes providing subtitles with media content wherever possible.
Option to Add Subtitles to a video topic
Content - Additional Next and Previous buttons | New
Previously, users had to scroll back to the top of a topic page or open the side navigation panel to move to the next
topic when viewing course content and activities in the Content tool. Now, users can navigate more easily through
topics with the addition of Next and Previous icons above and below content.
Note: This item was also released in 10.3 SP12.
Next and Previous buttons are available above and below content
Content - Icons in the collapsible navigation panel | Updated
A series of usability changes were made to the collapsible navigation panel available when viewing topics in the
Content tool. These changes focused on removing confusion around whether the Next and Previous icons moved
between topics or modules. The new design makes it clear whether the Next and Previous icons move between
topics or modules when viewing content in the Content Viewer. This design is similar to the mini calendar month
iterators used in the Calendar and Homepages tools.
Note: This item was also released in 10.3 SP12.
New arrows in the collapsible navigation panel
Content - Topic action name changes | Updated
In the Content tool, the content topic action Edit ePortfolio Restrictions was renamed to Edit ePortfolio Options.
Consistency around what is meant by restrictions (availability) and options (setting or configuration) is important
for non-visual users who rely on clear link and button text to navigate actions.
Content - User interface improvements for topics | Updated
We updated the user interface for viewing content topics and activities with the goals of improving usability and
minimizing clutter. Previously, all information surrounding Activity Details, Learning Objectives, and Completion
Summary displayed on content topic pages as three stacked, collapsible areas. Now, these areas display as
separate tabs, improving discoverability of different areas, progressive disclosure of information, and aesthetics.
Activity Details, Learning Objectives, and Completion Summary display in tabs
Content - Welcome message for first time users | New
User testing has revealed that instructors who are not familiar with the Content tool have difficulty discovering the
first step to getting started with setting up their course content. For instructors and administrators accessing the
tool for the first time, the Table of Contents landing page now includes an informative message about importing
course material and creating modules.
Welcome message displayed to users navigating to Content for the first time
Dropbox - Workflow | Updated
We improved the workflow for deleting dropbox folders from the main Dropbox Folders page to align with
established web patterns. Instructors can now delete dropbox folders from their individual context menus or from
the More Actions button.
Delete a dropbox folder from its context menu
Grades - Workflow | Updated
We improved the workflow for saving pages in Grades to align with established web patterns. The Save and Close
button is now available in Grades.
New Save and Close button
HTML Editor - Auto-linking of URLs| Updated
We updated HTML Editor to support auto-linking of web addresses (URLs). Now, when users enter a URL in HTML
Editor, it will automatically convert to a link.
Note: This item was also released in 10.3 SP12.
Navbar and Minibar - Icons | Updated
The icons displayed in the minibar and navbar areas were updated to reflect design patterns used across Learning
Environment.
Quizzes - Quiz Restrictions tab | Updated
We reorganized the Timing section in the Restrictions tab that displays when creating and editing quizzes. Changes
include reorganizing the order of form fields and re-labelling form fields to be more descriptive and accurate.
Quizzes - Quiz timer | Updated
The Time Remaining clock in a quiz now displays seconds as well as minutes and hours to provide better
information to users taking a quiz. The clock also subtly flashes for the following times:
•
If a quiz is set for more than an hour long, the clock flashes when there are 10 minutes remaining.
•
If a quiz is set for less than an hour long, the clock flashes when there are 5 minutes remaining.
•
Regardless of the set timer, the clock flashes when there is 1 minute remaining.
If the quiz uses an unenforced time limit and displays a clock, the timer ticks upwards instead of downwards to
indicate how much time has been spent. ARIA alerts are also available for non-visual users.
The quiz countdown timer displaying hours, minutes, and seconds
Quizzes - Always Available status | Updated
Previously, the Quizzes tool communicated that a quiz was always available to users by including the word
"Always" on the Quiz List page. User testing revealed that this was confusing to instructors and students who
asked, "Always what?". The term "Always" is now made clearer by renaming it to "Always Available" in the
following Quiz areas:
•
Main quizzes list page
•
List of users granted special access in Quizzes
•
Main surveys list page
•
List of users granted special access in Surveys
Note: This item was also released in 10.3 SP12.
The language term "always" is now "Always Available"
D2L Learning Environment 10.4.3
Content - Additional Next and Previous buttons | New
Previously, users had to scroll back to the top of a topic page or open the side navigation panel to move to the next
topic when viewing course content and activities in the Content tool. Now, users can navigate more easily through
topics with the addition of Next and Previous icons above and below content.
Note: This item was also released in 10.3 SP12.
Next and Previous buttons are available above and below content
Content - Icons in the collapsible navigation panel | Updated
A series of usability changes were made to the collapsible navigation panel available when viewing topics in the
Content tool. These changes focused on removing confusion around whether the Next and Previous icons moved
between topics or modules. The new design makes it clear whether the Next and Previous icons move between
topics or modules when viewing content in the Content Viewer. This design is similar to the mini calendar month
iterators used in the Calendar and Homepages tools.
Note: This item was also released in 10.3 SP12.
New arrows in the collapsible navigation panel
Content - User interface improvements for topics | Updated
We updated the user interface for viewing content topics and activities with the goals of improving usability and
minimizing clutter. Previously, all information surrounding Activity Details, Learning Objectives, and Completion
Summary displayed on content topic pages as three stacked, collapsible areas. Now, these areas display as
separate tabs, improving discoverability of different areas, progressive disclosure of information, and aesthetics.
Activity Details, Learning Objectives, and Completion Summary display in tabs
Content - Welcome message for first time users | New
User testing has revealed that instructors who are not familiar with the Content tool have difficulty discovering the
first step to getting started with setting up their course content. For instructors and administrators accessing the
tool for the first time, the Table of Contents landing page now includes an informative message about importing
course material and creating modules.
Welcome message displayed to users navigating to Content for the first time
Dropbox - Workflow | Updated
We improved the workflow for deleting dropbox folders from the main Dropbox Folders page to align with
established web patterns. Instructors can now delete dropbox folders from their individual context menus or from
the More Actions button.
Delete a dropbox folder from its context menu
Grades - Workflow | Updated
We improved the workflow for saving pages in Grades to align with established web patterns. The Save and Close
button is now available in Grades.
New Save and Close button
HTML Editor - Auto-linking of URLs| Updated
We updated HTML Editor to support auto-linking of web addresses (URLs). Now, when users enter a URL in HTML
Editor, it will automatically convert to a link.
Note: This item was also released in 10.3 SP12.
Navbar and Minibar - Icons | Updated
The icons displayed in the minibar and navbar areas were updated to reflect design patterns used across Learning
Environment.
Quizzes - Quiz Restrictions tab | Updated
We reorganized the Timing section in the Restrictions tab that displays when creating and editing quizzes. Changes
include reorganizing the order of form fields and re-labelling form fields to be more descriptive and accurate.
Quizzes - Quiz timer | Updated
The Time Remaining clock in a quiz now displays seconds as well as minutes and hours to provide better
information to users taking a quiz. The clock also subtly flashes for the following times:
•
If a quiz is set for more than an hour long, the clock flashes when there are 10 minutes remaining.
•
If a quiz is set for less than an hour long, the clock flashes when there are 5 minutes remaining.
•
Regardless of the set timer, the clock flashes when there is 1 minute remaining.
If the quiz uses an unenforced time limit and displays a clock, the timer ticks upwards instead of downwards to
indicate how much time has been spent. ARIA alerts are also available for non-visual users.
The quiz countdown timer displaying hours, minutes, and seconds
Quizzes - Always Available status | Updated
Previously, the Quizzes tool communicated that a quiz was always available to users by including the word
"Always" on the Quiz List page. User testing revealed that this was confusing to instructors and students who
asked, "Always what?". The term "Always" is now made clearer by renaming it to "Always Available" in the
following Quiz areas:
•
Main quizzes list page
•
List of users granted special access in Quizzes
•
Main surveys list page
•
List of users granted special access in Surveys
Note: This item was also released in 10.3 SP12.
The language term "always" is now "Always Available"
D2L Learning Environment 10.4.5
Discussions - Reintroducing grid view | New
We reintegrated the grid view in the Discussions tool after receiving feedback from our users indicating that this
view is essential for easily identifying learner and instructor participation, unread content, new content, and
themes within Discussion topics.
Note: This item was also released in 10.3 SP13.
Grid view of a Discussions topic
Discussions - Enable grid view and access to grid view | New
Administrators can now enable grid view using the new configuration variable d2l.Tools.Discuss.EnableGridView
(Org) without needing to call D2L Support. This configuration variable is not enabled by default. When grid view is
disabled, users will not see the option to view topics using grid view, they will not be able to see grid view settings,
and all topics will display using reading view.
Administrators can control who sees the grid view setting using the role permission See Grid View. This role
permission is not selected by default for any role. This permission is dependent on also having the role permission
Access to Discussions selected.
Note: This item was also released in 10.3 SP13.
Discussions - Setting grid view as default | New
Users can now set their preference to use grid view as default instead of reading view when viewing topics in the
Discussions tool if they have the appropriate permissions. The ability to select grid view as their default view for
topics is now located in Account Settings as well as in the Discussions Settings area.
Previously, users did not have the ability to switch between views easily and had to edit their Discussions Settings
in order to switch views. Now, users can access discussion topics using either view, regardless of their default
settings, without needing to edit their Discussions settings. Both views of Discussions offer different strengths (for
example, an intuitive way to navigate threads is in reading view and a better assessing experience is in grid view)
and this new functionality allows users an easier method to switch views depending on what activity they want to
do.
For example, if a user selects grid view as their default view, but wants to view a topic using reading view, they can
select View Topic in Reading View from the context menu of the topic. Selecting View Topic or clicking on the
topic name will allow the user to view the topic using grid view.
Similarly, if a user selects reading view as their default view, but wants to assess a topic using grid view, they can
select View Topic in Grid View from the context menu of the topic they want to assess. They can also select View
Topic or click on the topic name to assess the topic using reading view.
Note: This item was also released in 10.3 SP13.
Ability to view topics in grid view while reading view is set as default
Discussions - Grid view settings | New
Users can customize their Discussions settings for using grid view. They have the ability to set whether they can
see descriptions for discussion topics and if posts appear as threaded or unthreaded, among other settings.
Grid view setting option
Discussions - Ratings in reading view are retained in grid view | New
You can now use the Up Vote/Down Vote rating scheme and Up Vote Only rating scheme in grid view, and the
scores will be retained when you switch views.
Note: This item was also released in 10.3 SP13.
D2L Learning Environment 10.4.6
Content - Add audio topics workflow | New
This change makes it easier to add audio topics to course content. It is now consistent with adding video topics.
Learners can now listen to audio topics without having to download them first.
This feature implements Product Ideas Exchange item D690.
The new Video or Audio option
Copy Course Component - Improved workflow | Updated
We improved the workflow when you copy all components from a course into a new course. The navbar and
homepage from that course will now be active in the new course by default.
This feature implements Product Ideas Exchange item D169.
Previously, users had to know to go to navbar and Homepage tool to find and enable the elements they wanted to use
Discussions - Change default subscriptions to threads | Updated
Previously, the Subscribe to this thread check box was selected by default when a user created or replied to a
discussion post. With no control over how to limit notifications to discussions of interest, users potentially received
an abundance of notifications.
If an administrator disables default subscriptions to discussion threads, the Subscribe to this thread option is not
selected by default when users create discussion posts. Users can still select the Subscribe to this thread option if
they want to receive notifications on a particular thread. Users can also select When creating a new thread,
subscribe to the thread by default in their Discussions Settings to subscribe to all threads they create by default,
regardless of whether the configuration variable is enabled or not.
This feature implements Product Ideas Exchange item D370.
New Subscription Settings option in Discussions Settings page
Discussions - Bulk edit forums and topics | Updated
This change allows users to maintain forums and topics more efficiently by giving them the ability to delete
multiple items.
This feature implements Product Ideas Exchange item D308.
New check boxes in Delete Forums and Topics
Grades - Repositioned # per page drop-down list | Updated
We made the # per page drop-down list on the Enter Grades pages more discoverable for instructors by moving it
more to the left of the page. Previously, instructors frequently missed this control in large grade books because
discovery of it required left-to-right scrolling. Now, the option of increasing the amount of users displayed on the
page is more apparent for instructors, improving the page’s usability for large grade books.
This feature implements Product Ideas Exchange item D729.
# per page drop-down list shifted to the left
Multiple tools - Default sort by last name | Updated
All tools now lists learners by last name (A-Z) by default when they load, making the tool behaviour consistent
across the platform. This feature affects the following tools: Attendance, Classlist, Content Completion Summary,
Discussions, Dropbox bulk downloads, Email, Enroll Users, ePortfolio, Grades, Groups, Intelligent Agents, Manage
Sections, Online Rooms, Pager, Quizzes, Sections, and Survey.
This feature implements Product Ideas Exchange item D359.
Quizzes - Disable the Spell Checker in quizzes | Updated
If the Spell Checker is disabled in quizzes, plain text boxes without the HTML Editor now disable the browser’s Spell
Checker and answer boxes that allow the HTML Editor hide the HTML Editor's
Check Spelling option.
This feature implements Product Ideas Exchange item D364.
A long answer box with the HTML Editor correctly hides the Check Spelling option
Quizzes - Increased answer box size | Updated
Previously, long and short answers boxes in quizzes defaulted to 40 columns. Users indicated that these text boxes
were too small and they often had to manually re-adjust the answer boxes to a larger size.
Based on this feedback, we increased the short answer box to 60 columns and the long answer box to 80 columns.
This feature implements Product Ideas Exchange item D1861.
New default sizes of long and short answer boxes
Quizzes - Repositioned properties on the Assessment tab | Updated
We repositioned the Automatic Grade – Allow attempt to be set as graded immediately upon completion option
located in the Assessment tab when creating or editing a quiz. Previously, the positioning of this option caused
some users to miss it when configuring or editing quizzes.
Based on user feedback, we moved the option to the top of the page so that it is immediately noticeable and less
likely to be missed by users when configuring or editing quizzes.
This feature implements Product Ideas Exchange item D1503.
New Quizzes Assessment tab
D2L Learning Environment 10.4.7
Multiple - Restore "Now" button to legacy date selector | Updated
The Now button has been restored in date selectors in locations where it had been removed.
This feature implements Product Ideas Exchange item D1252.
Date selector before and after return of the Now button.
Navigation - Conditionally display custom navbar links based on role | Updated
A custom link, which only appears to users in navbars, can now be restricted to being visible to those with a
particular role in the current org unit. At the bottom of the updated Create Custom Link page is a new Availability
option called Limit to specific roles. Selecting this option displays a list of roles which the current user is allowed to
see. When one or more roles are set for a custom link, the link will be visible in the navbar to users in those roles.
New Limit to specific roles check box
Content - Viewing PDF documents within the Content | New
When using the Content, you can now view PDF documents inline. Previously, PDF documents were converted into
images for inline rendering. This feature is controlled by the new org level
d2l.Tools.DocumentViewers.CustomPdfRendererEnabled configuration variable and is turned on by default.
In addition, this feature supports:
•
searching, text selection, and hyperlinks
•
full screen mode
•
language display (controlled by D2L Learning Environment locale settings with translations supported by
Mozilla)
•
user friendly error messages and stack traces published to the JavaScript console for troubleshooting
•
disabled download features to ensure D2L Learning Environment download permissions are enforced
Searching and text selection in PDFs
Discussions - Assess a learner's contributions from within a thread | New
Instructors can now assess all discussion contributions for a thread from a new context menu item: "Assess
student". This opens the topic scoring window with the learner's contributions and a field to grade them.
This feature implements Product Ideas Exchange items D1489 and D970.
Context menu for Assess Student in Discussions.
Grades - Identify Hidden Final Grades | Updated
Previously, when Final Grades were released to students, an open eye icon ( ) displayed in the Final Adjusted
Grade column of the Enter Grades page. Instructor feedback indicated that a clearer prompt would help
instructors realize when final grades had not been released yet.
Now, a closed eye icon (
) displays in the Final Adjusted Grade column beside unreleased final grades and an
updated open eye icon (
) displays in the Final Adjusted Grade column beside released final grades.
This feature implements Product Ideas Exchange item D174.
New Final Grades icons
D2L Learning Environment 10.4.9
Copy Course Components - Default activation of homepage and navbar | Updated
When copying components from a past course, the active homepage and navbar from the past course are now
automatically set as active in the new course.
This feature implements Product Ideas Exchange item D169.
Intelligent Agents - Ability to enable and disable agents in bulk | New
The Agent List page now has Enable and Disable options, allowing users to easily manage these settings in bulk
and update an agent's status without having to first access the Edit Agent page.
This feature implements Product Ideas Exchange items D974, D1127, and D1160.
Enable and Disable options available on the Agent List page
Quizzes - Ability to preview random question sections | Updated
D2L improved the process for previewing random question sections so that it is easier. Now, users just need to
access the Edit Quiz page for the quiz with random sections they want to view and click the section name in the
Quiz Questions area to review all random questions assigned to the quiz.
Clickable random question section
D2L Learning Environment 10.4.10
Manage Files - Improvements to unzipping large files | Updated
When a user unzips a large file in the Manage Files area for a course, a message now notifies them that the
operation is happening in the background and that they will be notified when it is complete. This allows the user to
perform other tasks while waiting for the operation to complete.
A message indicating that the file is unzipping in the background
When the file successfully unzips, a notification appears in the minibar. Clicking the notification takes the user back
to the Manage Files area in the course.
The notification that appears in the minibar when a file is successfully unzipped
Previously, unzipping a large file was unsuccessful, requiring that the user watch the operation time out after
approximately two minutes.
Note: This item was also released in 10.3 SP18.
D2L Learning Environment 10.4.11
Manage Dates: Ability to view LTI content topics in Manage Dates | New
LTI linked content topics now appear in the Manage Dates tool, to allow users to manage the availability dates of
all content topics in one central location. Previously, LTI content topics could only be managed individually within
the Content tool and the Calendar tool.
An LTI-linked topic appears in the Content tool
The topic appears in Manage Dates
D2L Learning Environment 10.4.12
Discussions - Assess learners from a thread | Updated
The Assess Student context menu item is now available for the reading view in the discussion thread context menu
on the Thread List (View Topic) page in Discussions. This change improves workflow experience by saving users a
click from the previous workflow, which required users to click on a thread before assessing a learner.
This feature implements PIE item D1489 and D970.
The context menu gives instructors the ability to assess a learner's contributions from the thread list