Getting Started
Desire2Learn Help Website:
Desire2Learn is the replacement for CULearn. Visit assett.colorado.edu/d2l for help with
Desire2Learn.
Request a CULearn Course
Instructors can request CULearn courses using the Faculty Course Toolkit available on
CUConnect. A request may also be submitted through OIT for Requesting a CULearn Course.
*Important Notice for Fall 2010 CULearn Course Requests*
Due to updates with the CUConnect portal, requests for CULearn courses for Fall 2010 will be
facilitated via a Web request form rather than through the Faculty Course Toolkit.
For additional information and a link to the Course Request Form, please visit:
http://oit.colorado.edu/services/teaching-learning-tools/culearn/help/getting-started/officialcourses
Attend a CULearn Workshop
Visit the OIT site for Faculty/Staff Hands-on Training Workshops to enroll in a workshop that
will introduce you to the features and functions of CULearn.
Access your CULearn Course
After OIT notifies you that it has created your CULearn course, you can log onto it by following
the OIT instructions for Accessing Your CULearn Courses
Preparing Your Course Materials for Upload to CULearn
CULearn accepts almost all file types for upload, but a more important consideration is whether
or not students have the same software programs you do that will allow them to open and view
your files.
Accessible File Types: For word processing and presentation files you can make your files more
accessible by re-saving them in one of the following formats before uploading to CULearn.
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HTML (Hypertext Markup Language): Many programs allow you to save documents and
presentations in basic HTML. Doing so will allow any student with a browser to access
your content. However, resaving files in this format will often change or remove layout
options. Also, some graphics may not display correctly or at all.
RTF (Rich Text Format): Nearly all word processing programs offer this option for saving
documents. Any word processing program can open an RTF document and much, if not
all, of your document layout will be maintained
PDF (Portable Document Format): This is probably the best format to use as it maintains
all layout options and can be easily viewed by students using Adobe’s free Acrobat
Reader
Mac Computers – Saving Files as PDF
Mac computers with OS 10 or higher have the built-in ability to save and email files as PDFs.
Follow the instructions for Saving a Document as a PDF File on Apple’s support site.
PC Computers – Saving Files as PDF
Most PC applications require additional software to save files as PDFs. Microsoft offers a free
plug-in for Office 2007, and Adobe offers a subscription-based online service. PC users may be
able to find a free PDF converter by going to Google and searching for “free save files as PDF.”
Setting Up Your CULearn Course
Choose Your Course Tools
When you first log onto your course, CULearn will ask you to select the course tools you want to
use. These course tools represent ways that you can allow students to interact with each other
and course content. You can read the tool descriptions and choose any of the tools that appeal
to you, however this tutorial addresses only the following tools:
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Syllabus
Folders
Learning Modules
Discussions
Assignments
Web Links
Do not feel locked into or limited by the tool selections you make on this screen. You can add or
remove tools at any time by following the OIT instructions for Selecting Course Tools. To get
started, consider selecting just the tools we will be exploring in this tutorial.
Terminology
Note that CULearn often refers to these tools as “content items” or “content links.” This is a bit
of a misnomer as it is easy to misread the word “content” in this instance as referring to course
materials. When reading the instructions in the following pages, keep in mind this translation:
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Content Item/Link: Usually refers to a tool such as a Discussion, Assessment, or
Assignment that you can add to your course and use to explore or interact with your
course materials
File: Refers to your course content, either in the form of an uploaded file or a web page.
Add Teaching Assistance’s and Section Designers
The teaching assistant and section designer roles are ways of allowing people to access your
course to help you maintain, run, and troubleshoot it. Review the OIT description of Teaching
Assistant and Section Designer Permissions to get an idea of what these roles can and cannot
do in your course. If you decide to add these roles to your course, follow the OIT tutorial
instructions for Adding Teaching Assistants and Section Designers.
Building A Course Materials Repository
Use the CULearn File Manager
In CULearn, the File Manager is your repository for all of the materials you want to use and
distribute to your students online. As you build and teach your course, you will be able to use
the materials you place in the File Manager as well as control when, how, and where in the
course students will see them. Students have no access to the File Manager.
Take a moment to look at the OIT tutorial of how to add a file CULearn – Create a New File.
Note that only ten items appear in the CULearn File Manager View at one time. If you upload
more than ten items into the file manager (as you are most likely to do), you will need to use
the controls at the bottom-right to browse for the materials you want.
Build a Folder Structure
Before you begin uploading files into the File Manager, think about how you might want to
organize your files. You can build a hierarchy of folders and sub-folders in the File Manager just
like you can on any computer. Once you build your structure you can then upload and sort
your files in a way that makes it easier for you to find them later. Since this is your own
personal organizational space,just use a filing system that makes sense to you.
Add a Folder
To add folders to the File Manager for organizing your materials, click Create Folder in the
menu bar, enter the title of the folder, and click OK. To create folders inside of folders, navigate
into the folder by clicking on it and then click Create Folder.
Rename a File a Folder
Click the drop-down arrow to the right of the folder and select Rename. Enter the new name in
the dialog box and click OK.
Move a Folder
Click the drop-down arrow to the right of the folder and select Move. Select the new location in
the folder list within the dialog box and click OK.
Delete a Folder
Click the drop-down arrow to the right of the folder and select Delete. Click OK in the dialog
box.
Uploading and Managing Your Course Materials
Upload Your Course Materials
Follow the OIT instructions for Uploading Your Course Files to the File Manager to place your
materials into this repository. You can add, delete, update, and modify your materials anytime
you want. You can also upload archived, compressed, or zipped folders so that you can move
multiple files to the File Manager at once.
Move Your Course Materials into Different Folders
If you upload a file into the wrong folder, change your mind about what folder you want a file
in, or if you originally did not use a folder structure but decide to implement one later, follow
these OIT instructions for Moving Your Course Files Around in the File Manager
Edit or Change Your Course Materials
Need to make a change to one of your course materials after uploading them? First make your
changes to the copy of the file on your hard drive. Then in CULearn’s File Manager, navigate to
the folder where the file resides and follow the same OIT instructions for Uploading Your
Course Files to the File Manager. A dialog box will prompt you to resolve a naming conflict,
which means CULearn wants to know if you intend to overwrite the existing file in File Manager
with the new, edited file. Choose the Replace Existing radio button and click OK. The file will
automatically be updated in any place you have used the file in the course.
Add Course Materials “On the Fly”
You don’t need to upload all of your files in advance, though it is a good practice. You can
upload files to CULearn at anytime and from anywhere in the course. The source files you
upload will still be placed in the File Manager regardless of where you upload or make them
available to students in the course.
Building Your CULearn Course
Course Home Page
The course home page is the first page students will see when they log on to your course. From
the Build tab you can access the course home page by clicking Course Content in Course Menu
on the left of your screen. Note that you can collapse the menu to see just icons or expand it to
see icons and text by clicking the hotlink on the menu’s vertical border. On this page you can
add any of the course tools below by clicking Add Content Link on the page menu bar at the top
of the window. (Remember that in CULearn, a “Content Link” usually refers to adding a Course
Tool to your course).
Generally the home page contains at least the following:
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Link to the syllabus created in the Syllabus tool
Folders, Learning Modules, or a combination of both for organizing and holding course
content
Course tools that you want to use to address that specific content, such as Discussions
or Assignments. These course tools may be inserted into Folders or Learning Modules,
as well
Follow the OIT instructions for Adding a Content Link to add a link to any of the course tools to
your course home page, folders, or learning modules.
Create a Syllabus
The Syllabus tool lets you make your syllabus available to students online. There are two ways
to create a syllabus in CULearn:
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Upload an existing file (saved in an accessible format)
Use the online syllabus creator tool (create a syllabus in html)
Whichever method you choose, you can follow the OIT instructions for Creating a Syllabus.
Instructions for adding content links for specific tools are below.
Organize Your Course Content
There are two basic Course Tools for organizing your content in CULearn. You can use these
tools either individually or in combination:
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Folders: Simple folders that mimic how you sort and store files on your personal
computer
Learning Modules: More robust textbook-like structure for arranging content such as
web pages, files, and links to other CULearn features into a linear progression
Additionally, there are two basic methods for organizing either Folders or Learning Modules:
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Chronologically: One folder or module for each week or other time period for the
course
Topically: One folder or module for each topic in the course
For either tool, method, or combination you choose, the instructions are below.
Use Folders to Organize Course Content
The steps for creating a Folder are similar to those for creating a folder in the File Manager. In
fact, if you need to change the name, delete, or move a Folder, you can refer to the instructions
for Building a Course Materials Repository in addition to the instructions below. When
following the OIT instructions for Creating a Folder, note that you do not have to have a file or
tool on your course home page to move or add it to your new folder. You can click on the folder
to navigate into that folder and add files or tools from there.
You can add the following to your folder:
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Files
Course Tools (Content Links)
Files: Adding files to a Folder is the same as adding files to a Learning Module. Follow the OIT
instructions for Adding a File. Whenever you add a file to your course, you will be prompted by
the Get Files dialog box to choose a location for accessing the file. You will have three options:
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My Files: Personal files that you have uploaded to CULearn but not to a course. You are
usually not prompted to upload files to this location as the default location is Class Files.
Class Files: Course materials you have either uploaded to the CULearn File Manager as
part of building your course materials repository or that you have uploaded “on the fly”
while building your course.
My Computer: Course materials that are on your personal computer. Note that
whenever you select a file on your personal computer, that file will automatically be
uploaded to the File Manager. After you have uploaded a file once, you should go to
Class Files whenever you want to reuse that file in another location in the course. You
do not need to upload the file again.
Course Tools: If you want to add a tool such as Discussions or Assignments to a folder, follow
the OIT instructions for adding links to course tools using Add Content Link.
Order Folders: If you want to change the order of folders on your course home page, click the
drop-down menu next to a folder and click the appropriate Move arrow. If you want to change
the layout of folders on your home page, use the OIT instructions for Customizing the Page
Layout.
Use Learning Modules to Organize Course Content
It might be helpful to think of Learning Modules as lessons in a print or online textbook as they
allow you to arrange content and files in a specific order. Learning Modules are a little more
complex to use than Folders as they are designed to:
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Direct students through a linear progression of course materials
Incorporate more advanced tracking and grading features
This tutorial will not address these more advanced features of Learning Modules. Follow the
OIT instructions for Creating Learning Modules.
You can add the following to your learning modules:
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Course Content Web pages
Files
Course Tools (Content Links)
Course Content Web Pages: The primary content of learning modules should be web pages that
hold content and files that you want students to progress through in a specific manner. You can
build these pages using the OIT instructions for Creating HTML files in Learning Modules. Note
that CULearn refers to the practice of creating web pages in Learning Modules as “creating a
file,” which is a bit of a misnomer.
Files: Adding files to a Learning Module is the same as adding files to Folders. Follow the OIT
instructions for Adding a File. Whenever you add a file to your course, you will be prompted by
the Get Files dialog box to choose a location for accessing the file. You will have three options:
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My Files: Personal files that you have uploaded to CULearn but not to a course. You are
usually not prompted to upload files to this location as the default location is Class Files.
Class Files: Course materials you have either uploaded to the CULearn File Manager as
part of building your course materials repository or that you have uploaded “on the fly”
while building your course.
My Computer: Course materials that are on your personal computer. Note that
whenever you select a file on your personal computer, that file will automatically be
uploaded to the File Manager. After you have uploaded that file once, you should go to
Class Files whenever you want to reuse that file in another location in the course. You
do not need to upload the file again.
Note that if you add a file at the front of a learning module, students will be prompted to
download that file before seeing any of your content. It is a good practice to add an HTML page
to the front of any learning module that introduces the module before moving into any files for
download. An even better practice is to insert a download link for the file into a web page.
Course Tools: If you want to add a tool such as Discussions or Assignments to a folder, follow
the OIT instructions for Adding Content Links.
Order Learning Modules: After you create your learning modules you may decide that you
want to change their order or add Headings to help organize the content. Follow the OIT
instructions for Organizing Learning Modules to organize the flow of the module to your liking.
Use Discussions
Discussions can enhance a course by allowing students and instructors to engage in dialogues
about course content. You can create as many topic-specific Discussions as you want on the
course home page as well as in Folders and Learning Modules. For example, you might create a
separate discussion for each week, topic, and sub-topic in your course. You may also elect to
use Blogs and Journals, which fall under the same heading as Discussions.
To use the Discussions tool:
1. Click Discussions in the Course Tools panel.
2. Click Create Topic.
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Note: You can also organize your Discussions into Categories by creating categories here
or later when you set up the discussion.
3. Select the radio button to create a Threaded Topic, Blog Topic, or Journal Topic.
4. Enter a title and description as well as choose any options for Grading, Peer Review, or Topic
Behavior Options.
Click Save.
You don’t have to create your Discussions in advance, either. When you create a Folder or
Learning Module you will have the option of adding existing Discussions or creating new ones
using the Adding Content Links function.
Use Assignments
The Assignments tool is useful in that it helps track distribution and submission of assignments
and automatically creates a column in the Grade Book for the assignment. Any grades and
comments you enter in the Assignments tool will also appear in the Grade Book.
Create an Assignment: Follow the OIT instructions for Creating Assignments.
You don’t have to create your Assignments in advance, either. Just like when creating Folders or
Learning Modules, you will have the option of adding existing Assignments or creating new
ones using the Adding Content Links function.
Edit an Assignment: If you need to make changes to an assignment after you have created or
released it, follow the OIT instructions for Editing Assignments. Editing an assignment changes
the text of the assignment but does not delete any previous student submissions, grades, or
comments.
Grade an Assignment: After students have submitted their assignments, you can review and
grade them using the OIT instructions for Grading Assignments. At this point you can choose to
return the assignment to the student for further editing, save the assignment for further review
and editing, or input a grade for the student and return the assignment. To get a better idea of
how the process works, you can also view the OIT video Grading Assignments.
Use Web Links
Web links allow you to link to external web pages so that you can refer students to those pages
for reading or review.
Add Web Links: Follow the OIT instructions for Adding a Content Link and choose the Web Links
option. If you have already added a web page, you can select that page in the dialog box and
click Add Selected. Otherwise click Create Web Link and fill out the form. Be sure to place a
check in Open in a new browser window so that clicking on the link will not take students out
of CULearn. You can add the Web Links tool to your Course Home Page, Folder, or Learning
Module.
You don’t have to create your Web Links in advance, either. When you create a Folder or
Learning Module you will have the option of adding existing web links or creating new ones
using the Adding Content Links function.
Order Web Links: If you want to change the order of web links, click the drop-down menu next
to a folder and click the appropriate Move arrow. If you want to change the layout of web links,
use the ITS instructions for Customizing the Page Layout.
Grading Using The CULearn Gradebook
Why Use the CULearn Gradebook?
If you are thinking about using the CULearn Grade Book tool, view the video Five Reasons to
Use CULearn for Grading to get an overview of the benefits of using the tool. You can take a
primer in basic navigation of the grade book by following the OIT instructions for Navigating the
Grade Book.
Enter Grades Manually
The discussion of the Assignments tool above briefly addressed one aspect of using the
CULearn Grade Book. For a more in-depth discussion, refer to the OIT instructions for Entering
Grades in the Grade Book
Importing and Exporting Grades
If you like to keep track of grades in your own Excel spreadsheet, have TAC grades from
scanned tests to import into CULearn, or want to export the grades from CULearn for uploading
into Web Grading, follow the OIT instructions below:
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Import Grades from Personal Excel Spreadsheets
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Export Grades into Excel Spreadsheets
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Import Grades from TAC Scanned Test
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Export Grades for Web Grading
Managing the Grade Book
If you need to make adjustments to the grade book or add columns, follow the ITS instructions
below:
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Managing the Grade Book
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Creating Grade Book Columns
Customizing, Enhancing, and Maintaining Your CULearn
Course
This tutorial addressed only CULearn’s major features and functions. For instructions on more advanced topics like
creating and using groups, building assessments, or enabling the SafeAssign plagiarism prevention service, refer to
the ITS CULearn Faculty Support Site