Feature/LMS
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Brightspace by D2L
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Create new/copy course solution for faculty
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Yes – copy tool for instructors
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Syllabus building tool
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Yes – upload file or use HTML editor
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WYSIWYG editor and HTML utility to author text
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Yes – includes insert objects such as videos
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Drag-and-drop solution for course content (quizzes, interactive media or activity, content rearranging
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Yes
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Multi-language support within instructor/student-generated content
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All ASCII character languages (western and European), almost 100% compatible with Unicode languages (e.g. Russian, Chinese, Japanese and Arabic).
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Languages supported
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Spanish (Latin American), Chinese (simplified and traditional), Japanese, Russian, Latin, German, Greek, Arabic (Saudi Arabian), English (UK and US), French (Canadian), Korean, Portuguese (Brazilian), Swedish, Turkish
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Globalization options (example: tools or template would change “gradebook” to appear in selected language)
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Yes
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Work offline mode/sync
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Yes – Binder and Assignment Grader
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Dedicated print function from any page in course
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Yes
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Browser lockdown (to prevent printing from pages)
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Third Party - Respondus
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Content repositories
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Yes
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Auto-saving features
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Yes – quiz tool auto-saves as learner moves from page to page
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Math equations and special characters supported
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Yes
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one-click/easy setup access to LTI (Youtube, publisher content, twitter, etc)
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Yes
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Link to content or tools using a visual editor
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Yes
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Selective release of course content based on users, groups, dates, course activity, grades, etc.
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Yes
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Style options for faculty to personalize look/feel (colors/styles)
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Yes – with set permissions
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SoftChalk integration
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Yes
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Google apps (drive) integration
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Yes
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Publisher content integration
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Yes – both deep integration and SSO with redirect code embedded in course
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TurnItIn integration
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Yes – integrated with Assignment tool
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Integration with polling system (i>clicker)
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Yes - through Top Hat Monocle, they offer attendance through an app or i>Clicker. Integration is through SSO.
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SCORM compliant content management tool
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Yes
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Multiple Class sections can be combined into one course (enrollments greater than 60)
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Yes – sections can be split into groups. No limit to number of enrollments.
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Ability to select pre-defined document templates when creating new documents within the course
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Yes - templates (defined styles) and wizard-like functionality (quiz and rubric building).
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Natively render documents (PDF, MS Office) within the platform without users having to download the files
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Yes – Supported file types for inline viewing include: Documents: .doc, .docx, .pdf, secure .pdfs, Google Drive™, PowerPoints®: .ppt, .pptx, .pps. Also, the document viewer includes full iPad® support (iOS 5+).
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Visual timeline of content progression or student progression through the content in the course
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Yes – Content Progress summary and User Progress tools
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Ability to create collapsible modules, sub-modules or topics/units
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Yes
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Drag-and-drop from desktop for uploading multiple files
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Yes
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Social networking integration
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User Profile allows for links to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google+. Twitter widget can be easily created for course or organizational homepages, too.
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Link to internal/external websites
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Yes – Also includes embedding Flickr, YouTube and Vimeo.
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Glossary (including images and links) tool
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Yes – in courses, created by instructors. Allows for text, links, images and embedded video. Import feature also available.
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Frequently Asked Questions tool
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Yes – for campus and/or course
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Users can bookmark content
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Yes – Bookmark icon is available in all course. Bookmarks can be accessed within Bookmarks area or widget.
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Platform requires Cookies
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Yes – expires upon logout/browser closing. Using session cookies that are time and session based, along with and unique randomized identifiers reduces
the event of session hi-jacking.
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Instructors can take on student role within the course
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Yes
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Scheduling utility that enables setting due dates/open/reveal availability from one central location
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Yes – Manage Dates tool for editing, viewing, offsetting date availability and setting the Calendar status of course content.
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Calendar/Schedule feature integrated with course tools (multiple viewing options: personal, course and institutional events available)
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Yes – instructors and learners can create, manage, view, print timeline of course events. Export to Outlook Google, iCal feeds and mobile devices
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Ability to set assignment due date independently from the assignment availability
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Yes
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Special access features for selected users with different assignment due dates than rest of the class
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Yes - D2L provides flexible options for special access for situations in which learners require additional time or alternate availability, without the need to create additional assignments
or assessments to accommodate this need.
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Email tool
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Yes – native tool OR send only/connected to external TCU mail (If TCU configures)
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Synchronous chat tool
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Yes - archives created/logged. General and personal chats available in chat Tool. Pager tool allows for instant messaging, free group conferencing, group collaboration and video chat.
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Synchronous web conferencing tool with chat, whiteboard, audio/video conferencing
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Wiggio is provided (real-time, text based, video-based collaboration, desktop sharing, file sharing, whiteboarding, private messaging, groups, etc. but does not have meeting playback. If recording/playback is needed, can integrate with third-party tool, such as Adobe Connect, Blackboard collaborate and WebEx.
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Announcement/news feed within a course
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Yes – Audience is completely configurable to distribute to course, group in course, all users. News widget can be set up at campus or course level.
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Dashboard solution such as activity feed, either within the system home page, user course list or within the courses themselves
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Yes – configurable at campus level to aggregate content from across the platform
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Opt-in notification options for system and course notifications (news, due dates, grades, etc.) via SMS, email, RSS feed, in-course/platform.
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Yes
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Multiple modes for instructors to communicate, even if students have disabled one or more modes of notification options
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Yes – email, posts within course (discussion, homepage news item, etc.)
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Threaded discussion tool linked to the gradebook
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Yes
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Threaded discussion features: paste from word, text formatting, linking, embedding video, audio/video creation, inserting images and quoting
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Yes – paste from word, text formatting, linking, embedding video, audio/video creation, inserting images and quoting
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All users can view number of unread discussion posts, total posts, and views
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Yes – user progress dashboard and within topics.
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Notifications can be set to link directly to the post that prompted the notification
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Yes
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Submission to a centralized area such as a submission tool (dropbox)
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Yes
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Professors can allow/prohibit repeated submissions of an assignment
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Yes – Professors can set to allow/prohibit repeated submissions of an assignment. Instructors control how many submissions students can make to a Assignment folder.
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Professors can extend availability to accommodate students who may need longer time to complete assignments
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Yes - Instructors can extend availability of assignments for specific users, without having to a create a separate assignment for students who require extra time.
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Instructors can evaluate and annotate submitted attachments in the user’s software of choice
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Yes – or use in-line document viewer (annotate action is offered, then stored as attachment).
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Instructor can give feedback to students, including edited copies of student work, text, audio, or video feedback, without having to navigate away from the document viewer
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Yes
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Journal tool linked to the gradebook
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Yes – via Locker tool. Locker allows them to upload files or create new files. Learners can
also leverage the Blog tool to create private or public journal items. Note that blogs cannot be graded.
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Class web links feature (both students and instructors can add to shared website repository)
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Yes - User links widget can be added to a course homepage allowing faculty and students to contribute useful links that are shared.
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Document sharing location (both students and instructors can add to shared document repository)
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Yes – via Discussion posts, group locker tool (for class or sub-groups within the class), Via Wiggio, and D2L ePortfolio.
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Download/history count in document sharing location
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Yes - In the Learning Repository
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Blog tool
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Yes – The Blog tool provides an environment for communication, reflection, critical thinking, and long-form response. Learners can read peers’ blogs, leave comments, share posts, and maintain a list of favorite blogs. If a blog is made public, it can be shared via Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn®, and Google+™. Blog tool is not connected to gradebook.
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Polling tool
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With Wiggio, instructor can poll class during meeting. Also, through Top Hat Monocle, attendance/polling through app or iClicker can be done
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Wiki tool
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Third-party integration (such as MediaWiki)
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Third-party synchronous communication tool integration
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Integration Pack for Synchronous Communication Tools available
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Assign/earn digital badges
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Yes
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Gamification (other than badges) within the course or platform
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Yes
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ePortfolio tool
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Yes
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Group creation tool
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Yes – Self Enroll by Students or Manual Enroll by instructor
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Options for students to self-enroll in groups
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Yes
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Ability for instructors to share content and/or assignments with specific groups within the course
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Yes
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Team and class collaboration such as group workspaces, randomized grouping, and updates of groups when new enrollments occur
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Yes
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Submission of group assignments allowed
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Yes
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Private threaded discussions for groups
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Yes
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Multimedia embedding tool to embed YouTube, images from the web, embed code provided by 3rd parties, such as Prezi
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Yes – “Insert Stuff” button accepts Flash, video, audio, etc. Also embed content from Flickr, YouTube and Vimeo
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Multimedia (audio/video) recording directly in the course for faculty and students
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Record and attach audio and video files. Uploading previously created audio/video is also available.
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Customized content titles and descriptions associated with recorded content
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Yes
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FERPA-compliant gradebook tool
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Yes
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Ability to grade groups separately in gradebook (example 1: one person submits one assignment for the group and instructor gives one grade/comments that are pushed to all group members; Example 2: multiple sections in shared shell, gradebook separated by section)
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Yes
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Gradebook import/export tool
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Yes
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Gradebook final grade export into PeopleSoft
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Yes either automatically (timed script) or a button that faculty push to submit grades when ready.
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Dedicated option to add extra credit to the final grade within the gradebook
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Yes - Instructors can add bonus points or extra credit
on top of a final grade.
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Drop lowest grade from sub-set of grades as indicated by instructor
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Yes
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Instructor can select manner in which grades are displayed (letter, weighted percentage, points)
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Yes
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Notification to students of returned assignments, and comments/feedback
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Yes - In the Updates widget available on the course homepage users are notified about returned assignments and unread feedback.
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Grading options for assignments to be excluded from calculations
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Yes
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Grading utility allows you to weigh, combine, and summarize other scores
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Yes
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Instructor offline grading options
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Yes – either export to spreadsheet application or use D2L Assignment grader
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Instructors can restore inadvertent gradebook item deletions without having to log an incident with the help desk
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Yes
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Support for grading large classes (200 or greater)
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Yes
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Rubrics tool (builder, importer, assessment)
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Yes - Instructors can use rubrics to manually or automatically evaluate student performance on activities linked to competencies and learning objectives conducted through a variety of course tools including the Quizzes tool, the Assignments tool, the Grades tool, the Discussions tool, and D2L ePortfolio items.
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Automatic transfer of grades and comments from rubrics to gradebook and comment area – visible to students
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Yes - supports holistic and
analytic rubrics with a virtually unlimited number of achievement levels.
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Third-party integration to gradebook (iGrader, publisher content, etc)
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Yes – iclicker/igrader
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Attendance and/or participation tool
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Yes – two tools. Attendance tool and Seating Chart tool.
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User activity
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Yes
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Exam/Quiz tool
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Yes – Arithmetic, Fill-in-the-blanks, Long Answer, Matching,
Multiple Choice, Multi-Select, Multi-Short Answer, Ordering, Short Answer, Significant
Figures, True or False
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Question builder for quiz/exam tool
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Yes
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Import utility for quiz/exam questions
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Yes – IMS QTI format, delimited files (text, spreadsheet, csv, etc) and Respondus
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Exam security addressed with features built into platform
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Yes – password protection (Passwords are 40 or 128 bit
encryption and SSL enabled), timeframe, randomization of questions and answers, timed test, restrict by location (IP address), test pools, Full logging of start time, finish time, and IP address of every participant.
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Allowance for extra time granted for quizzes/exams (accommodations)
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Yes - From the Restrictions tab instructors can create special access for specific users.
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Display quiz/exam grade with/without questions options
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Yes
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Multi-take quiz/exams
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Yes
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Auto-grading options for quiz/exams
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Yes – except long answer/essay questions
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Variety of customizations for quiz/exam which allow for robust test design, randomized questions from multiple pools, limited time and date of access
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Yes
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Exam statistics for a course or instructor in the shell, drilling down to question level statistics
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Yes
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Utility for managing and reporting Learning Outcomes
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Yes – Competencies tool
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Campus/departmental learning outcomes repository
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Yes
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Learning outcomes tracking capability integrated with the assessment tools
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Yes
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Learning outcomes artifact storage integrated with assessment tools
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Yes
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Native adaptive learning component, which all instructors to determine gaps in learner’s skill set, and address these accordingly
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Yes – LeaP learning engine uses language processing and analytics to determine gaps in a learner’s skill set and then provides tools, content, and techniques to address those gaps.
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Adaptive learning solution does not call for additional hardware to be acquired by TCU
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Correct
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Platform allows for instructors to use a variety of content types in adaptive learning solution
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Yes
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Adaptive learning solution allows instructors to influence the recommendations made by the tool
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Yes
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Customized user profiles
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Yes
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System-wide roles (course editor, admin, TA student, staff,) that may be adjusted to provide specific privileges
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Yes
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Unlimited custom user roles with granular permission rights as defined by TCU
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Yes
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TCU can configure features/tools campus wide
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Yes
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Test campus for admins to review new features prior to adoption
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Yes
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SSO via campus portal AND a separate branded gateway
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Yes
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Early notification alerts to instructors for students who have not logged in or are falling behind
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Yes – Intelligent Agents tool, includes both manual and automated monitoring and responses.
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Localization without code modification (time zones)
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Yes, user and system defaults. Admin can set defaults for pages and courses.
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Mobile options
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Mobile web (iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Blackberry), Assignment Grader (iPad), Binder (iPad, Android, Windows 8), ePortfolio Mobile)
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Instructor grading/authoring mobile app/solution
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Yes - Assignment Grader and Mobile Web
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Instructors can grade and add free-hand notes, mark-ups, strikethroughs and audio commentary directly to student submission from a tablet device.
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This functionality is supported through D2L Assignment Grader (iPad only): Instructors can grade and leave feedback (text, audio, video) using the app.
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