University of Central Oklahoma (UCO) uses Brightspace by D2L as their online learning platform. If you are a student of UCO, it is important for you to learn how to use this platform so that you will be able to access your course in Brightspace by D2L easily.
Preparing Your Computer for Brightspace by D2L
Before you start a course, you have to set your computer properly. You have to make sure that your browser can support D2L so that you can follow the course properly in Brightspace by D2L. In the list below, you are able to see a list of D2L supported web browsers. It may be a basic list and some courses may need specific browsers.
- Windows
- Microsoft Edge (the latest version)
- Firefox (the latest version)
- Chrome (the latest version)
- Mac OS X
- Firefox (the latest version)
- Safari (the latest version)
- Mobile Web
- iOS Safari (the latest version)
- Android (the latest version)
How to Log into D2L
If you want to access your courses in D2L, you are able to follow the steps below.
- First, you have to log in to UCONNECT.
- After that, you have to choose the My Courses tab.
- The next thing that you have to do is to choose the ‘Click Here To: Access Learn@UCO (Desire2Learn) link.
How to Access Your Courses at D2L
To be able to access your courses, of course you have to log in first. You can log in first by following the steps above. After you log in, then you can access your courses by looking at the My Courses section on the page and then choose the course name.
Online Learning at UCO
UCO offers a variety of online learning options to be able to fit your needs. There are fully online courses, hybrid courses or self-paced online courses. What are the differences among them?
Fully online courses are courses where the materials will be sent online. Those include assignments and exams and you do not need to visit the campus to complete the course. When you choose this course, Desire2Learn (D2L) will be used. It is the University of Central Oklahoma’s online course site where you can access course materials, complete assignments and communicate with your professor and other students. In Fully online courses, they follow a semester schedule and often they have weekly sections or learning modules, activities and assignments to complete.
How about hybrid courses? In this course, you will meet the traditional and the virtual or online classroom according to a predefined schedule. It means that there are face to face class time and there are also times where you have to complete your course work online without having to come to campus.
Now, what about Self-Paced Online Courses? These are available in blocks throughout each semester that start almost every two weeks. There are no assignment specific due dates, but it requires all course assignments to be submitted by the course end date. If you choose this course, you will have the same high quality learning experience which can be found in all UCO online. However, it is a more self-directed approach to learning that matches your needs. This program qualifies for most types of financial aid.
In the Self-Paced online course, you will work independently at your own pace. You will use D2L, UCO’s online learning software as your course hub where you are able to submit your assignments, check grades and communicate with your professor. As a student of this program, you are able to request an early grade for SPOC if a course is completed before the deadline.
Student Resources for Courses in D2L
In all courses, there should be the UCO Student Resources section. In this section, you will be able to find a lot of helpful tools that you will benefit from if you access the links such as D2L student tutorials including videos and guides.
How to View Your Course’s Content
When you take a fully online course, hybrid course or self-paced online course, you may wonder how to view your course’s content and materials. Usually, the majority of the course content can be found in the Content section in the D2L. In this section, there will be lesson materials, lectures, videos, assignments and other interactive course activities.
Same as your responsibility to attend a class lecture, accessing the course content in online courses is also a must. So, make sure that you do not skip your materials.
Email as A Communication Tool in D2L
To be able to have a successful fully online course, hybrid course or self-paced online course, there needs to be effective communication between you as a student and also your professor and also with the other students. In D2L, you are able to use an integrated email tool specific to each course to communicate with them.
The email feature that you can find in D2L has a function which is the same as a web based email service where you are able to read messages, compose and send messages, manage your email messages, and also customize your email account settings. You need to check the email system often in D2L because usually it is used to communicate course information. For your information, the email system in D2L is different from your @uco.edu.gmail account.
Discussions Feature in D2L
Another tool for communicating in D2L is the Discussions feature. This feature allows you to be able to communicate from anywhere and at any time in your online course. This feature can be used to share information and communicate with your instructor or other students. There, you are able to review, read, and respond to postings.
Same as email, it is also important for you to check Discussions often to keep connected in the course conversations.
How to Submit Dropbox Assignments
In D2L, there is a Dropbox feature where you will submit a lot of your assignments in fully online, hybrid or self-paced online courses. In a lot of cases, there are instructions in each Dropbox assignment link for completing and submitting assignments and how they will be graded. So, this feature is like a box where you have to drop off your assignment for your instructor to grade.
