TAP Team Resource Guide

• Click on “Course Activities” which will open a menu.
• From the drop-down menu click “Assignments” (1 in fig.)

You will be brought to a new page titled Assignment Folders. Look for the correct title of the assignment you are trying to submit for this example we will click on “Test Assignment” (1 in fig.)

This will bring you to the assignment submission page. On this page you will click “Add a file” (1 in fig.) and a second display will pop up with several options for you to choose from. Depending on what your professor is assigning you the “Add a file” option might be named “Record Audio” or “Record Video".

Note: Usually when submitting a file send a .doc or Docx file type, unless stated differently from your professor. It’s a good rule of thumb to add your name to the file.

In the pop-up after selecting “Add a File” on your screen, you will see several options. For this example, we will be clicking on “My Computer” (1 in fig.) this will bring up you to an upload menu.

You should now see the upload menu with several options. Click on the “Upload” button ( 1 in fig.) after clicking on this a standard file view will appear.

Note: If you have the file folder open on your device you can simply drag the file into the dotted lines to begin the uploading process

In the standard file view (this view may vary based on the device your using), navigate through until you find your assignment file. Once you find you have two options on how to do this next step.

• Option 1: By double-clicking the file for this example we will be double clicking on “Language Resources” (1 in fig.) It will send you back to the upload menu.
• Option 2: You will click on the file for this example we will select “Language Resources”. Then you will go down a click on the “Open” (2 in fig.) button this will send you back to the upload menu.

Note: if you need to submit more than one file and they are in the same document folder display you can select more than one file by clicking the first file and holding the ctrl button on your keyboard and clicking on the second file if needed. This can only be used in Option 2.

The upload menu will display the title of the file you uploaded displayed in blue text at the bottom with the file size. If the wrong file is selected the wrong file you can click on the "X" "beside the file name, and this will remove it. If another file needs to be added, click on the “upload” button (1 in fig.) and it will take you back to the menu you saw in step 6. Now for the final steps click on the “Add” button (2 in fig.) and this popup will disappear returning you to the submission page you started with.

Make sure to double-check the instructions of the assignment and make sure you have selected the correct file before submitting it. In the comments section, you can type anything that might need your professor’s attention about your assignment. Once you are ready click the “Submit” button (1 in fig.) You want to make sure that everything is correct, and that you are ready to submit the assignment. Once you hit the button this will send the file(s) for the assignment and your professor might only allow one submission per assignment.

After submitting the assignment, it will bring you to a page showing all of the details of the assignment you just completed. Check again to see if everything is correct, if you missed a document, you could submit your file by clicking the “Upload More Files” button. If everything looks correct you can select the “Done” button (1 in fig.) this will return you to the Assignment folder.

When it’s time to take a quiz or test your professor makes it available for the class. You will usually receive a notification under “Updates” (2 in fig.) which you can find on the upper left-hand side of the page. This will show you a quiz or test available that you have not taken.The Calendar Events (3 in fig.) is also located on the right-hand side it will show you the due dates of any upcoming quizzes or test whether you have finished them or not.

To get to your quiz follow these quick steps.

• In the upper menu click on “Course Activities” and a drop-down menu will pop up.
• In the drop-down menu click on the text “Quizzes” (1 in fig.)

After selecting the “Quizzes” you will be brought to a page that looks similar to the image above. There are a couple of things to take note of. The due dates for the quizzes are posted between their title. In this example, Quiz 1 (1 in fig.) has a due date down below which you can see, while Quiz 2 (2 in fig.) has no due date. Depending on the professor the quiz can be taken an unlimited number of times ( 3 in fig.) or be only taken a certain amount of times ( 4 in fig.) For this example, we will be selecting Quiz 1.

Before beginning the quiz, you will see this page. You will receive information ( 1 in fig.) about the quiz, including any time restrictions, the number of attempts permitted, and the date on which the quiz will be unavailable. To proceed, press “Start Quiz” (2 in fig.)

Best of luck to you on your quizzes. On this page, there are several things to take note of.

• On the Top left are save boxes( 1 in fig.) for each answer. This can be useful in several ways you can manually save an answer here and check to see if you answered the question or to see if it has been saved.
• For answers you need to type in the answer D2L provides a spell-checker. To use this function, press the icon with an A and a checkmark underneath it.
• The “Submit Quiz “button (2 in fig.) will save and submit all your answers.

Note: Depending on your quiz, this page’s content will change. You may encounter these situations:

• Seeing no grade at all on the screen due to needing to be graded by the professor or the professor choosing to have this hidden.
• You might also see a partial grade due to the professor needing to grade short answers or essay questions.

Depending on your class your professor may want you to use the discussion board as a way to show class participation or to use it as an assignment. To get to the discussion board make sure you are on your class page. You will click on “Collaboration”(1 in fig.) and a dropdown menu will pop down, then you will go down and select the “Discussions” (2 in fig.) option and will be taken to the discussion page.

Once you reach this page there will be several things we will be addressing. For this example, we will be explaining what subscriptions are and the difference between forums and topics.

Subscriptions: These are usually topics you have commented on, it will automatically subscribe you to ones that you have created. Being subscribed will give you notifications on the D2L main page in your alerts, notifying you of any comments that your classmates or professors have made ( 1 in fig.).

Forums:Cover broad subjects and are higher in the tier than topics. You might see several topics beneath each forum. Depending on the professor you may have one for student discussions, general questions for the professor or students, or you might have your discussion posts in a single forum (2 in fig.). Basically it can be the title for smaller discussions Example: Math Chapter 1 and the Discussion Topics would be based on Chapter 1.

Topics: These are discussion topics , which are focused discussions based on the forum(category) that was created for that assigngment. Example: Forum title - English. Within that Forum is the discussion topic: Writing Crituque. You most likely make posts and reply to your classmates (3 in fig.) which can be used for critiques or whatever your professor assigns. In this example (shown in the image above) we will click on the “Test Topic” under Test Forum.

When you get to the Topic Page you will be directed to that page, where there will be several things to take note of, we will go more into detail here.

Subscriptions: When you post a thread or reply to someone else’s thread you are automatically subscribed to the threads and responses. This means you will get notifications in your alert’s icon on the main page. You can also click on the subscribe link (1 in fig.) which will subscribe or unsubscribe you from a thread.

Start a new Thread: To create a thread. In this example, we will click on “Start a New Thread” (2 in fig.) to add to this topic

Threads: Threads are the next step in the discussion tier it looks something like this (Forums > Topics > Threads) Depending on how the professor has the class set up students may be able to create a thread as well. The Threads are usually made for assignments to which students can make replies as part of that assignment (3 in fig.).

At the bottom of a thread box it will display useful information (4 in fig.) about the last post on each thread and when it was created and who created the post.

After clicking “Star a New thread” you will be taken to a new page where you will have a similar view as shown below.

Subscription Indicator: This will show if your subscribed or not to this post, you will be automatically subscribed to any post you create. If you want to disable this click “Subscribed” to toggle this option on or off.(1 in fig.)

Subject Bar: Like when creating an email, you will be able to make a title or a general idea of the post you will be creating. Usually, just the assignment title will work unless stated otherwise(2 in fig.).

Body: This is where you will type the response to the assignment. You will see standard text editing tools at the top of the box, there are also options to add pictures, links, and videos (3 in fig.).

Post: When you finished click on this button and the thread will appear for everyone to view (4 in fig.).

When you click on a thread link you will be brought to a page similar to the example image below.

• Title of the thread: is located on the top of the page (1 in fig.)
• Reply to thread: This will be located at the top and bottom of the page. Here you will be directed to a page where you will type your response.(2 in fig.)
• Who posted: To see who created the post or the time it was created look at these areas in the topic.(3 in fig.)
• Replying to topic responses: In the discussion section, you can also reply to certain comments by clicking on reply. Your professor may instruct you to reply to other students. Clicking on the "Reply to Thread" will to you to a reply response prompt.(4 in fig.)

When you click to reply to a thread you will be brought to a screen similar to the example image below. If you click on responding to a topic you will be brought to a similar page as when posting a new topic. There are some helpful things to know on the reply page.

• Reply to Thread: It will bring up a box for you to type in your response to the topic you selected.(1 in fig.)
• Filter Option: You can choose to filter your view, you can choose to view all posts, posts you haven’t read, and posts you have flagged. The dropdown menu opens when you click the small grey arrow. (2 in fig.)
• Sort Replies: Selecting the dropdown menu will allow you to further sort replies with several categories, such as alphabetically by author, alphabetically by subject, and the time it was posted.( 3 in fig.)
Subscribe: There will be a box for you to select if you wish to subscribe to this thread.(4 in fig.)

When attending Lone Star College as a student you will have two different email addresses that will be similar but used for different situations.

Main Student email: Which look like this (your username) @my.lonestar.edu, which you will log in through Microsoft outlook or Microsoft 365. You can send and receive emails to almost any email address and view this on a computer or download the outlook app to view them on your phone.

D2L student email: It Will look like this (your username) @d2l.lonestar.edu, this email is used only on the D2L website. You can only send messages and emails to D2L email addresses.

Once you’ve selected your course you will have a view like the image above. If you receive a message you may receive notifications in two different locations.

• At the top of the page at the message icon there will be an orange icon on top of it telling you there are unread messages u if you click on the icon it will display your unread messages and give you the option to send an instant message or send an email.( 1 in fig.)
• On the right-hand side of the website in the updates section(2 in fig.) it will also notify you about any unread emails. If you click on the link it will take you to your email inbox

The D2L inbox is like many other email services provided. You will easily be able to identify a new message by the boded test of the subject line and a small envelope icon on the right-hand side of it located in the middle. On the left-hand side of the web page, there is a folder list view organized into categories which we will go into further detail about.

• Inbox: This is where the emails you have been sent are delivered and where you can view and read them. Unread messages are indicated in parenthesis. Example: Inbox (2)
• Sent Mail: This displays emails that you have sent to either another student or professor.
• Drafts: Emails that you have started to type out and left unfinished to come back to at a later time.
• Trash: These are emails that you have sent or received, and you chose to delete them from your inbox, drafts, or sent folder.
• Address Book: A directory of email addresses of students and professors that are enrolled or teaching the course you’re a part of, this directory is automatically created for you for ease of communicating with professors and classmates.

The steps three and five we will be showing how to proceed from this screen. Composing an email( 1 in fig.) will be covered in step 3. Reading an email(2 in fig.) will be covered in step 5.

Clicking on the “Compose” you will have a window pop up on your screen similar to the one shown in the image above. When composing an email, it’s the same thing you see in other popular email services. In the body section, you will have your text editing tools in the upper bar of the body section. You can insert images there as well as links.

Attachments: If you need to attach a file to your message you can do so by clicking the “upload” button.( 3 in fig.) You can also drag files into the dotted area from your computer.

To make sending emails easier address book is automatically updated for those who share a class with you. In this example, we will be clicking on the “Address Book” button (2 in fig.) to go more into detail in step 4. Once you are finished composing your email hit the Send button (1 in fig.) which is located at the top of the bottom. If you need more time to work on your email you can click “Save as Draft”.

The address book helps make it easier to contact classmates and professors whose email addresses you may not know. Just remember that this will only be sent to their D2L email.You can sort the names alphabetically to make it easier to search whom you’re looking for; it will also display if they are a student or a faculty/professor.

• To attach a contact to the message you are composting you will:
  • Click on the highlighted word “To” (1 in fig.) the screen may be unresponsive for a few seconds as it loads.
  • On the left side click on the box( 2 in fig.) of the person(s) you wish to send an email to.
  • Double check you have selected whom you want to send the email to, it will be listed in the “To:” box under recipients. Once you have confirmed click on “Add Recipients” (3 in fig.) and the email you are composing will be sent to them.
  If you need an expanded view ( 4 in fig.) of your address box click and drag from the icon on the bottom right of the popup screen, where you can adjust the box to the desired shape and size and release the mouse click when completed.  

  You will be back on the compose an email page when the address book closes. In the composing page in the section for To, you should be able to see the name and email addresses of those you wish to email.