Stop the Insanity! Learn to mange your online or face-to-face (F2F) classes with Excel, notes and other helpful hints. For instructors, but would work for students as well. Music and small visuals are stripped out. Content is 100% included.

1. Three Steps to organizing your
D2L classes: Excel, Notes and
D2l Options
Cherry Emerson © May 17, 2012

3. “Insanity: doing the same thing over
and over again and expecting different
results.” ALBERT EINSTEIN

4. Four classes sounded good!
$$$
Ah, not so fast grasshopper!
One 15 week ANT 101
One 10 Week ANT 101
One 10 week ANT 225
One 15 week ANT 225
No opening/closing dates were the same!

5. EXCEL SPREADSHEET COMBINING ALL CLASSES
AND ALL DATES FOR ALL ACTIVITIES
TOOLS AND SKILLS NEEDED
1. BASIC KNOWLEDGE OF EXCEL
2. PRINTOUT OF EACH CLASS SCHEDULE
3. ABILITY TO FORMAT COLUMNS (date, etc.)
4. ABILITY TO SORT BY DATE COLUMN
5. DOUBLE-CHECK AS CLASSES PROGRESS
6. MAKE ANY CORRECTIONS – IN FLOW

6. DATE CLASS OPEN CLOSE NEWS GRADE SUMARY
Sunday, February 26, 2012 101 C11 Mod 2 Dis YES YES
Sunday, February 26, 2012 101 C11 Mod 2 DB YES
Monday, February 27, 2012 101 C11 Mod 3 DB YES
Monday, February 27, 2012 101 C11 Mod 3 Dis YES
Monday, February 27, 2012 225 10WK Discuss 1 YES
Monday, February 27, 2012 225 10WK Orient DB YES
Sunday, March 04, 2012 225 C11 Discuss 4 YES YES
Sunday, March 04, 2012 225 C11 Discuss 4 YES YES
Sunday, March 04, 2012 225 C11 Dropbox 2 YES
Sunday, March 04, 2012 225 C12 Discuss 4 YES YES
Sunday, March 04, 2012 225 C12 Discuss 4 YES YES
Sunday, March 04, 2012 225 C12 Dropbox 2 YES
Sunday, March 04, 2012 225 10WK Discuss 1 YES
Sunday, March 04, 2012 225 10WK Orient DB YES YES
Monday, March 05, 2012 225 C11 Discuss 6 YES
Monday, March 05, 2012 225 C11 Discuss 7 YES
Monday, March 05, 2012 225 C11 Dropbox 4 YES
Monday, March 05, 2012 225 C12 Discuss 6 YES
Monday, March 05, 2012 225 C12 Discuss 7 YES
Monday, March 05, 2012 225 C12 Dropbox 4 YES
Monday, March 05, 2012 225 10WK Discuss 2 YES
Monday, March 05, 2012 225 10WK Discuss 3 YES
Monday, March 05, 2012 225 10WK Dropbox 1 YES

7. 1 BASIC SKILLS – OPEN/ENTER DATA/SAVE FILE
2 FORMAT COLUMNS (DATE/TEXT)
3 FREEZE TOP ROW – “VIEW”
(then choose “freeze top row”)
4 DATA SORT BY THE “DATE COLUMN”
5 (then choose “expand the selection )
6 SET YOUR PAGE BREAKS (if you want)
7 PRINT (landscape) preview/adjust as
necessary for you
8 IN EXCEL, the “HELP” may be upper right

8. 1 KEEP TRACK OF STUDENTS WHO ARE NOT DOING WORK [notes]
2 GRADE THEM FIRST IN DROPBOXES AND DISCUSSIONS [keeps flow
going]
3 UPDATE THEIR STATUS IN YOUR NOTES [use dates]
4 GRADE REMAINING SUBMISSIONS [more focused]
5 SEND EMAIL TO ALL “NO SUBMISSION” – DROPBOX
6 SEND EMAIL TO ALL “NO POSTS” – DISCUSSIONS IN GRADES
(hint: Set your grades to repeat names every two columns)
NO MORE POST-
ITS

9. INCREASE YOUR EFFICIENCY WITH D2L
OPTIONS
1. STREAMLINE YOUR DISCUSSIONS
2. USE THE “FLAG” IN DISCUSSIONS
3. “BOLD” YOUR FOLLOW-UP QUESTIONS
4. MARK “READ” WHEN YOU READ IT
5. SUMMARY: TITLE AND “PIN MESSAGE”
6. KEEP DISCUSSION “THREADED ”
7. GRADE DROPBOXES WHEN THEY COME IN
8. CREATE FOLDERS EMAIL FOLDERS

10. IT IS AS SIMPLE AS
1,2,3,4
1. Threaded View
2. Reading Style
3. Reply Setting OFF
4. SAVE

11.  1 IN F2F CLASSES – USE ATTENDANCE TOOL
 2 USE INTELLIGENT AGENT TOOL – track “in class”
 3 USE RUBRIC TOOL – standards / grading made
easy
 4 USE FAQs TOOL – amazing how much these help
 5 NEWS ITEMS – make it a habit – give them a
“carrot”
 6 USE LINKS TOOL – help them do their papers
better
 7 LOAD EXAMPLES –student‘s A work (name
off, ask permission)
 8 EMAILS – should be answered promptly – 48
hours maximum
 9 USE the Download to EXCEL option for GRADES
 10 USE the Download to EXCEL option for

12. Inquiries to : cherriethel.emerson@frontrange.edu

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A Emerson, Cherry. "Old Method of Tracking Classes." 2012. JPG file.
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