The Desire2Learn FUSION conference has come to an end, and we have returned to campus with a lot of business cards and a wealth of knowledge aimed at positively impacting the D2L experience for our users. During the conference, Desire2Learn Inc. presented an abundance of information regarding current tools and features, along with introductions to upcoming releases. Additionally, the conference environment enabled us to network and collaborate with various universities to learn about how they are using their learning management system (LMS).
Community Involvement.
- Communication: We plan to increase our communications to campus about current activities and upcoming plans. Users can expect more frequent updates via social media, D2L news, and the academic technology blog.
- Workshops: We plan to re-implement programs to help instructors utilize D2L to its full potential. In the coming months, we hope to work directly with OU’s instructors to gain insight on the areas where more information is needed.
- Student emphasis: Until now, student involvement in OU D2L decisions has been limited. The conference reinforced how important student input is for a successful system.
Network, network, network.
- FUSION ensured multiple opportunities were available (and encouraged) to meet administrators from other universities and to discuss their uses of D2L. Team competitions implemented a point system for using social media to connect with peers and discuss the happenings of the conference. Microsoft and IBM sponsored social events such as a Padres game and sunset cruise to enable face-to-face conversations and even deeper dialogues. We plan to use the connections we made at the conference to collaborate with other Universities in order to improve D2L on our campus.
Upcoming Enhancements.
- Version 10: The upcoming version of D2L places an emphasis on usability and simplicity. We were able to see and play with a number of the new features that will be released in our next major campus upgrade. Be prepared for a major redesign that will enable a more simplistic approach to utilizing courses in D2L. We will be using our new ideas as well as community involvement to prepare the campus for this major change.
- Binder application: This one is for the students! D2L Inc. has developed a tablet application that enables students to read and annotate content items on-the-go. The application is so new that we were only able to preview screenshots, but hope to bring more information once we have it!
We were excited and thrilled to be able to attend FUSION12. We hope to use the knowledge and best practices that we gained to continue to improve our processes here at OU. We always welcome student and instructor feedback at learn@ou.edu.
