University of Wisconsin Stout | Wisconsin's Polytechnic University
Inspiring Innovation.
At UW-Stout, Wisconsin's Polytechnic University, we are inspiring innovation.
Inspiring Innovation.
At UW-Stout, Wisconsin's Polytechnic University, we are inspiring innovation.
The Frequently Asked Questions address common issues that UW-Stout faculty members have encountered. They are organized in the following tabs by the D2L tool to which they apply.
Note: The links on this page alternately show and hide the question answers.
How do I make my course "active" and change my course start/end dates?
Click here for instructions.
How do I have my course sections combined into a single D2L course?
You need to submit a "combine course sections" request at: http://www.uwstout.edu/lit/lts/learn/request.cfm
How do I request a change after my "combined sections" course has been set up?
Once your "combined sections" course has been set up, please don't submit another "combine course sections" request when changes are required. Email learn@uwstout.edu with the course name and the changes you wish to make.
If you want to change your Learn@UW-Stout (D2L) password, you will first need to request to have your email password changed (as both systems use the same password). Once your email password has been changed, it will automatically be updated in Learn@UW-Stout (D2L).
What are the recommended browsers for Learn@UW-Stout?
The table below contains a list of recommended web browsers for use with Learn@UW. Please note that the information below is from the Software Vendor, Desire2Learn. Alternative and newer versions of the listed browsers may or may not work properly with Learn@UW in certain cases, but there should be no expectation that they do.
Desire2Learn is no longer supporting Netscape or Mozilla.
Note: These are the minimum browser requirements needed for using Learn@UW-Stout.
| OS | Compatible Browsers | Recommended Browser |
|---|---|---|
| Windows |
|
|
| Mac OS X |
|
|
| Mobile web |
|
What is the size limit of downloading files from Locker and Dropbox?
There is a limit of 20MB when downloading files from the Locker and Dropbox. Attempts to download files larger than 20MB will result in either a message reading that the file has no data or an Internal Error (Error 500). For the Dropbox, D2L suggests avoiding zipping files if the resulting zipped file is larger than 20MB. It is better to download individual files instead. If the file is larger than 20 MB, at this time there aren't any other options within D2L to download the file.
What is the proper way to name files used in Learn@ UW-Stout?
Some special characters, besides letters and digits (A-Z, a-z, 0-9), are allowed in file and folder names. This applies to all tools in the Learn@UW-Stout (D2L) application where files and folders may be uploaded or created: for example, the Dropbox and Locker tools.
The following special characters are allowed in file and folder names:
! # $ % & ' ( ) + , - .
; = @ [ ] ^ _ ` { } ~
These special characters are NOT allowed in file and folder names:
" * / : < > ? \ |
Problems will likely arise if file or folder names contain any of these characters.
If you attempt to upload a file containing any of these characters, you will receive an appropriate message. You will then have to rename the file before you can successfully upload it.
Notes:
Learn@UW-Stout (D2L) course start dates are the same as listed in Access Stout. Therefore, the students won't have access to the course until the official start date unless an instructor requests otherwise. To request a change for the student access dates, please email your course title, semester being taught and preferred dates to learn@uwstout.edu.
The Learn@UW Known Issues List is a searchable list of issues that have been reported to the Learn@UW Utility. When you encounter a problem, you can check this list to see if others have had the same problem and if there's a workaround. If the issue isn't documented here, please notify us at learn@uwstout.edu and we'll either resolve the issue or open a case.
The Learn@UW Knowledge Base is another source that provides information on D2L issues along with help on how to perform common tasks.
Why aren't students showing up in my course Classlist?
Students are automatically enrolled into courses and the rosters are scheduled to be updated nightly. Therefore, your Classlist should be populated within a day or two after your "combined sections" course has been set up.
How do I enroll a Student, TA, PA, Instructor, etc., into my course?
Students are automatically enrolled and dropped from semester-based courses through an integration system. However, you may want to enroll another instructor or a program assistant in your course or add students to an ongoing course or workshop which is not semester-based. To add a participant:
What functions can be performed by people in different roles, e.g., TA, PA, Guest Instructor, etc.?
Each role has a different set of "permissions" or functions they are authorized to perform. To see what permissions have been assigned to a role, click on the associated link: Instructor, Student, Program Assistant, Teaching Assistant, Guest Instructor, Guest, or Role Comparison Matrix.
Do I have to fill out my profile for each course?
No, you only have one profile and it’s global, so it will show up in all of your courses.
Yes, Learn@UW-Stout course Classlists are scheduled to be updated on a nightly basis. You can see those students who withdrew by going to Classlist > Report. You'll see the withdrawals at bottom of screen.
How do I copy course content from a previous course to a new course?
Can I import a Blackboard course cartridge into my Learn@ UW-Stout course?
No. Please request that your publisher send you a BlackBoard archive zip file instead of a BlackBoard course cartridge. Learn@UW-Stout cannot import BlackBoard course cartridges directly.
Every time I try to open a document in D2L, a pop-up blocker appears.
If you'd like to fix your pop-up blocker problems, please follow the steps below to keep Internet Explorer from blocking your Learn@UW-Stout pop-ups:
Did you already try the above and still have your content blocked? Following the steps below should fix it once and for all:
There is a problem viewing some non-HTML files on computers with Windows XP, Service Pack 2 using Internet Explorer (IE), but there is a way to resolve it:
Now you should be able to log into Learn@UW-Stout, go to your course and try to view a Word document, PowerPoint, or PDF file. You should get a pop-up box asking if you want to open or save the file. Open it and your PowerPoint should appear.
Note: It is recommended that you always have IE ask before opening a file for security reasons.
I can't see my HTML page or Home page that I created in Learn@UW-Stout.
Is the file extension correct (should be .htm or .html)? You can check this in Content > Manage Files. Also, make sure you are not using any of the following illegal characters within your filenames: " * / : < > ? \ |
I can't see my HTML pages that I uploaded into Learn@ UW-Stout.
Check the HTML code for missing closing tags (like missing or tags). To view HTML code, go into Content > Manage Content and click Edit Topic (pencil icon in right column) next to the page you can't see. Click the Edit HTML Source icon in the lower left corner of the rich text editor just above the Cancel button. Edit the code in the pop-up window and click the Update button. Finally, click the Save button.
Why do my chats appear in all my courses?
Personal chats appear in all courses because they are associated with your username instead of a specific course. General chats are course specific.
I'm using Safari and when I click the Compose button in a discussion, nothing happens.
Safari has a pop-up blocker that's either on or off; it can't be set per site like other browsers. Turn off the pop-up blocker in the Safari menu to compose a discussion message. Firefox 3 is the recommended browser on a Mac.
When I return to a discussion, the messages I've already read are marked unread.
There has been an issue in some classes with discussion messages reverting to an "unread" state after leaving the discussion. Students and instructors can't tell which messages are new and which they've already reviewed. While D2L is trying to locate the cause of this issue, it has been noted it appears to be occurring with the Internet Explorer7 (IE7) browser, but not with Firefox.
If you're having this problem, you can refer to our Word document on this subject, which includes Firefox download and set up issues.
No, the Feedback is stored in the Dropbox online, so the students need to go into the Dropbox in order to see the Feedback.
My students aren't receiving my email.
Both students and instructors have been experiencing sporadic delays when sending emails to the "entire" class through Learn@UW-Stout (D2L) which sometimes results in mail not being delivered. Until the issue has been resolved, the workaround is to use Stout mail to send emails to the "entire" class. Here's how:
This should get your message to the class without delay.
What are the email attachment limits in Learn@UW-Stout?
There is a 10MB limit for email attachments sent from Learn@ UW-Stout. Also, the following file types cannot be sent as attachments: .asa, .asax, .ascx, .ashx, .asmx, .aspx, .axd, .bat, .cdx, .cer, .com, .config, .cs, .dll, .exe, .idc, .ini, .java, .jsl, .licx, .rem, .resources, .resx, .shtm, .shtml, .soap, .stm, .vb, .vbproj, .vjsproj, .vsdisco, and .webinfo.
Is there a limit on sending emails to a large number of recipients?
Yes, there is a 4100-character limit in each of the D2L email form's "to:", "cc:", and "bcc:" fields. This means you can email approximately 250 recipients at once, depending upon the lengths of the email addresses. If your class is larger than this, you may need to email groups rather than the whole Classlist at once.
How do I change my Course Grading System to the Weighted System (rather than the Points System)?
To change to the Weighted System, go into Grades then either select Grades Settings > Calculation Options or use the Setup Wizard.
If I have multiple sections in my course, can I view the grades by section?
Yes. Simply, go into Grades, select "Groups" in the View By box and select the "section number" in the Groups box.
How do I enter an extra credit item?
For detailed instructions, please review our related document.
Keep a hard copy on files with your department for three years.
Why does my Gradebook display fewer users per page when I switch to Spreadsheet View?
There is a relationship between the number of grade items displayed and the number of users per page. If you have a lot of grade items, you will be able to display fewer users.
If you have categories of items in which you don't need to see the individual items for a time, you can collapse the category to a single column by clicking the minus (-) in front of the category name. This may allow you to view more users per page since you are viewing fewer grade items.
D2L has identified this as a “usability issue” and they are currently working on a solution. In the meantime, here is a workaround:
How do I reset a quiz attempt?
What do I do if students have taken a quiz, but their grades haven't been recorded in the gradebook?
All students' grades will now appear in the gradebook.
The problem occurs because certain features of D2L are incompatible with Internet Explorer 7 (IE7). However, it is possible to get around this problem. The student having difficulty should follow these steps:
*You can also add D2L to your Trusted Sites zone and then change this setting for Trusted Sites.
How do I print a test with questions only or with an answer key?
For detailed instructions, review our Directions... PDF document.
I get an HTML 500 error when I try to look at quiz statistics.
You may have a null score on a quiz attempt.
Yes, you can grade by question. View the steps in a written tutorial [PDF]
Can you make changes to a survey once students have starting taking it?
Yes you can. However, once you make a change to a survey, D2L will create another version of the survey. Therefore, you will then have two versions of the survey and the data in your report will not be aggregate. We recommend that you don't make changes to your survey once you make it available.
Can I change a question in a survey?
If you change a question in a survey in a course, all response data for that question are erased. However, response data for unchanged questions remain intact.
Note: Adding new or reordering existing survey questions does not cause any existing data to be erased.