Announcements

Below are the latest news and announcements from LSC-Online, as seen in the D2L Announcements widget. This page will be regularly updated, with the newest information at the top.

LSC-Online also provides other outlets of helpful information, including an email newsletter, a video newsletter, and an event calendar.

May D2L Update
Posted in D2L on May 24, 2025 8:00 AM

New Features

Groups – Export Group Enrollment

• Instructors can now export group enrollment data from the Groups tool for easier management of class organization and communication.
• A new [Export] button is available to download group data as a CSV file.
• Instructors can choose to export a specific group or all groups within a selected category.
• Export options includes:
  • Group category names
  • Group names
  • User enrollment information
  • Enrollment dates

Please refer to the Exporting Groups section from the Making Groups for Dual Credit Courses VTAC article for more info.

Pulse App – Recurring Events Now Visible

• Recurring events created in the Calendar tool now display in the Pulse mobile app.
• Ensures students can see all course-related events, including those that repeat weekly or monthly.
• Improves the accuracy and visibility of upcoming tasks and schedules in mobile view.

Quick Eval – Seamless Multi-Tool Navigation

• Quick Eval now allows instructors to navigate directly through submissions across different activity types.
• No longer requires returning to the Quick Eval homepage between each evaluation.
• Saves time when grading items from Assignments, Discussions, and Quizzes across multiple courses.

Please refer to the Use Faculty Quick Eval for Assessment VTAC article for more info.

Updated Features

Assignments – Bulk Retract Feedback

• Instructors can now retract assignment feedback in bulk from the Submissions page, making it easier to manage evaluations across multiple learners.
• Selective retraction: Check specific learners → [More Actions] → [Retract Feedback].
• Full retraction: [More Actions] → [Retract All] to remove feedback for all users at once.

Please refer to the Grade Assignment Submissions section on Retract Published Feedback VTAC article for more info.

Quizzes – Updated Submission Confirmation Page

• The student submission page has been visually updated for clarity and ease of use.
• The banner image has been replaced by a sleek Checkmark icon.

If you have questions about these updates or would like support using the new features, please email VTAC Support.

McGraw-Hill Integration Updates in D2L
Posted in D2L on May 16, 2025 3:35 PM

McGraw-Hill is consolidating its digital tools under a single D2L integration called McGraw Hill LTI 1.3. This unified integration now supports Connect, Go, and SIMnet.

New Changes

• You will now see a single option in D2L called [McGraw Hill LTI 1.3] for Connect, Go, and SIMnet.
  
  
• The legacy tools—McGraw Hill Go 1.3 and McGraw Hill SIMnet 1.3—will continue to function and remain available through the end of the Fall 2025 semester.
  
  
• ALEKS remains a separate tool for now and is not included under McGraw Hill LTI 1.3.

Next Steps for Faculty

• New Pairings: Please use the McGraw Hill LTI 1.3 option moving forward when adding Connect, Go, or SIMnet to your courses.
  
  
• Existing Pairings: If your current course is already paired using the old tools (e.g., Go or SIMnet), you can continue using them without disruption until December 2025.

How to Add McGraw-Hill Tools

1. Navigate to your D2L Content Module.
   
   
2. Select [Add Existing Activities] → [McGraw Hill LTI 1.3].
   
   
3. Choose the product you are using (e.g., Connect, SIMnet, or Go).

If you need further assistance, please contact VTAC at VTAC@lonestar.edu.

Roster Sync issue in D2L Merged Lecture/Lab Sections
Posted in D2L on May 16, 2025 10:34 AM

There is currently an ongoing issue in D2L affecting Merged Lecture/Lab Sections. When a lecture section is merged with its associated lab section in D2L, students enrolled in both who are later unenrolled from the course in iStar are not fully removed from D2L. 

Although these students are correctly unenrolled from both individual sections in D2L, they remain enrolled in the Course Offering (the overall course shell) due to a system error. 

NOTE: This issue ONLY affects Merged Lecture/Lab Sections where the student is enrolled in both components and is dropped from both at the same time. Other types of student unenrollments are not impacted. 

In the Classlist, affected students will still appear when viewing by User, but not when viewing by Sections—since the Reconcile Rosters Form removes users by section, it unfortunately cannot be used to remove students affected by this issue.

We are actively working with D2L to resolve the issue and will provide updates as they become available.

If you encounter affected students, please email VTAC@lonestar.edu with their names, Student ID numbers, and the relevant course(s), and we will manually remove them from the D2L Course Offering. 

IntelliWriter Training Sessions for Faculty
Posted in D2L on May 7, 2025 3:19 PM

IntelliWriter is a virtual writing coach designed to improve writing in real-time across multiple disciplines and languages. We invite you to attend our upcoming training sessions to enhance your understanding of this tool and its key features. 

Faculty IntelliWriter Training Dates & Registration Links:

• Tuesday, May 13 | 11:00 AM CST → Register Here
• Thursday, May 15 | 2:30 PM CST → Register Here
• Friday, May 16 | 9:30 AM CST → Register Here

You can also find more information about Intelliwriter by checking out our Add Intelliwriter to your D2L Course VTAC article. For information about other upcoming training sessions, please visit the VTAC Event Calendar.

May Training Sessions
Posted in D2L on Apr 30, 2025 12:00 PM

There is a variety of training sessions happening this month. Here are just a few:

• 5/1 at 11am - Simple Syllabus
• 5/2 at 1pm - Simple Syllabus
• 5/6 at 8am - Making the Most of Turnitin's AI Report
• 5/15 at 10am - Getting Started with Camtasia
• 5/21 at 9:30am - Introduction to SoftChalk
• 5/28 at 2pm - Respondus LockDown Browser + Monitor

Be sure to check out the VTAC Event Calendar for more, as there are far too many to list here. It includes trainings by LSC faculty and staff, as well as the vendors themselves.

In Case You Missed It... Digital Digest Newsletter
Posted in D2L on Apr 28, 2025 12:01 AM

Our end-of-semester newsletter was recently sent out via email. If you haven't read it yet, here's another chance.

Topics included in this issue:

• Simple Syllabus
• The New Quiz Experience
• Semester Wrap Reminders
• AI Chatbot in VTAC/VLAC
• Course Tours Return
• D2L Course Purge in May
• Fusion Conference
• And more!

For previous issues, please visit the Newsletter Archive page in VTAC.

Meet the Ellis C. AI Chatbot for VTAC
Posted in D2L on Apr 22, 2025 1:50 PM

We’re excited to introduce Ellis C., the new AI-powered virtual assistant built into VTAC. It is trained on all articles available in VTAC and is designed to provide quick, accurate, and helpful answers to faculty questions. Ellis C. is still in its early stages and continues to improve through regular updates and faculty feedback. 

You can ask Ellis C. questions such as:

• How do I copy course content?
• How can I build an accessible course?
• Where do I enter final grades?

If the chatbot cannot find exactly what you’re looking for, it will prompt you to refine your question or use the VTAC search bar for more specific results. Please refer to the new Ellis C. Chatbot on VTAC article for more details.

Try it now by clicking the [Chat] icon in the lower right corner of the VTAC page.

Scheduled D2L Course Archive & Purge
Posted in D2L on Apr 22, 2025 12:01 AM

Starting on May 9^th, we will be archiving D2L courses and sandboxes that are at least one year past their end dates. This archive will include courses from Fall 2024 and prior.

If you need to regain access to an archived course, please go to VTAC Support and select the [Archive/Restore Courses] tool under Course Design. Here are instructions for using the tool.

If you restore an old course but don't see it in your My Courses list, click on the [View All Courses] link and use the search and/or sorting functions.

Also starting on May 9^th, all D2L courses from 2017 will be purged. The purge process will result in the complete deletion of course data.

This yearly process helps maintain system performance in D2L and is completed in accordance with Office of the General Counsel policy.

If you have 2017 course data that has not been backed up, please do so as soon as possible. You can either create a sandbox and copy the content to it or export your content to a .zip file.

The latest information and answers to common questions can be found on the D2L Course Purge page in VTAC.

April D2L Update
Posted in D2L on Apr 21, 2025 4:04 PM

The following D2L update will go live on Friday, April 25.

Assignments and Discussions – Bulk Feedback for Instructors

You can now provide bulk feedback to students in Assignments and Discussions, allowing you to add feedback to a group of students (A) or all of your students at once (B).

Grades - Access Quiz Feedback

This new feature allows students to quickly access quiz attempt feedback from the Grades page.

For information on other D2L-related topics, please search this VTAC knowledge base.

Feedback Wanted: Virtual Tutoring Services
Posted in D2L on Apr 4, 2025 10:00 AM

Faculty, we want your feedback!
If you have a few moments, please take a 2-question survey about virtual tutoring at Lone Star College.

Simple Syllabus Training
Posted in D2L on Apr 1, 2025 8:39 AM

Reclaim your time and streamline your course management with Simple Syllabus.

• Effortless Syllabus Creation: Say goodbye to formatting headaches! Build clear, consistent, and accessible syllabi in minutes with an intuitive template.
• Centralized Information: Keep everything in one place – course descriptions, learning objectives, grading policies, assignments, and more.
• Seamless Integration: Loads directly into D2L when published – no extra steps!
• Automatic Updates: Easily push revisions to all your courses with a single click.
• Enhance Accessibility: Ensure your syllabi meets accessibility standards effortlessly.

Choose the session that works best for you:

All training sessions will be recorded and made available in VTAC with additional training documents to follow.

April Training Sessions
Posted in D2L on Apr 1, 2025 12:01 AM

There is a variety of training sessions happening this month. Here are just a few:

• 4/1 at 10am - Q&A with D2L
• 4/4 at 9am - LSC Organization Development Summit
• 4/17 at 9:30am - SoftChalk: Quizzes and Score Center
• 4/22 at 12pm - Respondus 4 and the Test Bank Network
• 4/24 at 10am - Snagit: Hide Sensitive Information

Be sure to check out the VTAC Event Calendar for more, as there are far too many to list here. It includes trainings by LSC faculty and staff, as well as the vendors themselves. 

Happy Learning!

Request for Library Feedback
Posted in D2L on Mar 31, 2025 12:01 AM

LSC Libraries want to hear from you!

Please share your thoughts on the LSC Libraries Spring 2025 Survey.

March D2L Update
Posted in D2L on Mar 25, 2025 8:00 AM (Updated)

The following D2L update will go live on Friday, March 28.

New Quiz Evaluation Experience - Additional Question Types

The New Quiz Evaluation Experience—introduced in September 2024—initially supported a limited set of question types. This update expands support to additional question types:

• Arithmetic
• Matching
• Ordering
• Multi Short Answer
• Significant Figures

Important Note: The New Quiz Evaluation Experience will become the default starting May 12. After this date, the Classic Quiz Evaluation Experience will no longer be available.

Improvements to the Welcome Window

Clicking [Open Window] in the Welcome Window will now show the new Welcome Widget Setup window, which will provide answers to the following questions:

1. What content should I include?
2. How do I add content to this window?
3. When does this window appear?

Please refer to the updated Welcome Window VTAC article for more details.

Awards - New Issue Date Option for Manually Issued Awards

Instructors now have greater flexibility when issuing awards. A new Issue Date field in the Issue Award dialogue allows instructors to manually enter an award date, enabling backdating when needed.

For information on other D2L-related topics, please search this VTAC knowledge base.

RUOnline Conference - March 17
Posted in D2L on Mar 7, 2025 2:00 PM

The 16th Annual Rutgers Online Learning Conference is a premier event focused on the evolving online and hybrid education field. It provides a space for educators, administrators, and students to discuss and share insights on the latest trends and innovations in digital pedagogy.

When: Monday, March 17, 9 AM - 5 PM
Where: Virtual
Cost: FREE for LSC Faculty and Staff!

Register here: https://ruonlinecon.rutgers.edu/

• Select the INSTITUTION PASS ticket and apply promo code IPLS25 at checkout to zero out the fee.

All LSC Campuses are Closed for Spring Break
Posted in D2L on Mar 7, 2025 12:01 AM

All LSC campuses are closed for Spring Break on March 10-16, 2025.

RESOLVED: Respondus Monitor Outage
Posted in D2L on Mar 5, 2025 1:19 PM (Edited)

UPDATE: The incident has been RESOLVED.  

Original Message:

At this time, there is an issue with Respondus Monitor, as well as all Respondus Lockdown Browser service for Chromebook users. Users affected are experiencing slowness, or are unable to launch Respondus Monitor and/or Lockdown Browser for Chromebook. The Respondus Lockdown Browser Dashboard is also not loading for some users.

Respondus is currently working to troubleshoot the issue. We will provide additional updates from Respondus as they are made available. You can track the status of this issue here: https://status.respondus.com.

March Training Sessions
Posted in D2L on Mar 3, 2025 10:30 AM

There is a variety of training sessions happening this month. Here are just a few:

• 3/6 at 10am - SoftChalk: Presentation Learning Activities
• 3/12 at 12pm - D2L Accessibility in Higher Education
• 3/18 at 9am - Turnitin: Interpreting the Similarity Report
• 3/20 at 10am - Getting Started with Snagit
• 3/25 at 11am - Respondus Lockdown Browser + Monitor

Be sure to check out the VTAC Event Calendar for more, as there are far too many to list here. It includes trainings by LSC faculty and staff, as well as the vendors themselves.

February D2L Update
Posted in D2L on Feb 28, 2025 9:00 AM

Quizzes - Filter Quiz Statistic by Section or Group

As of February 28, instructors can now filter quiz statistics by Sections or Groups in D2L. This update allows for more precise analysis of student performance in large courses with multiple sections or instructors. This change also streamlines assessment analysis and helps instructors tailor their teaching strategies more effectively.

• A new View By dropdown lets instructors select Sections or Groups when viewing quiz statistics.
• The selected filter applies to all three tabs: User Stats, Question Stats, and Question Details.

For information on other D2L-related topics, please search this VTAC knowledge base.

WriteVue Webinar hosted by Intelliwriter
Posted in D2L on Feb 17, 2025 8:54 AM

Join Vantage (Intelliwriter) as they host a webinar for faculty.

The WriteVue Webinar Series-Episode 1-Empowering Young Writers: Evidence-Based Strategies for K-12 Educators

Join Dr. Lori Severino for an engaging webinar on practical strategies to develop writing skills across grade levels and diverse student populations.

Drawing on her extensive experience and research in structured literacy, the session will explore evidence-based methods to scaffold instruction, address the unique needs of diverse learners, and implement effective interventions for students with learning disabilities.

Participants will gain actionable insights and tools to empower all students to become confident, capable writers. This webinar is essential for educators looking to enhance their instructional practices and promote equitable learning outcomes in writing.

Register for the Webinar:

Wed, Feb 26, 2025 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM (UTC-05:00) Eastern Time (US & Canada)

RESOLVED: OTS Services Unavailable - Potential VTAC Form Issues
Posted in D2L on Feb 11, 2025 8:47 AM (Edited)

Update: This issue has been RESOLVED.

Original Message:

OTS is currently investigating an issue that is causing several of their applications to be unavailable this morning (OTS sent an email out this morning, please see it for more details). As a result of that issue, the VTAC Self-Service Forms may also be affected, and may be intermittently unavailable.

IntelliWriter Training Sessions for Faculty
Posted in D2L on Feb 6, 2025 2:09 PM

IntelliWriter is a virtual writing coach designed to improve writing in real-time across multiple disciplines and languages. We invite you to attend our upcoming training sessions to enhance your understanding of this tool and its key features. 

Short-Notice Training Alert: We understand this is short notice, but we have a faculty training session scheduled for February 7 at 12 PM (CST). If you’re available, we encourage you to join us.

Faculty IntelliWriter Training Dates & Registration Links:

• February 07 | 12 PM CST → Register Here
• February 21 | 12 PM CST → Register Here

We appreciate your flexibility and hope to see you at one of these sessions. For information about other upcoming training sessions, please visit the VTAC Event Calendar.

January D2L Update
Posted in D2L on Jan 28, 2025 2:59 PM

This January update for D2L went live on January 23rd.

Important information regarding the update:

Creator+ Navigation Changes

• The navigation to access Creator+ in the HTML Editor has changed. Now Creator+ can be found by clicking the Authoring Tools icon.
• Clicking the icon will open a menu with all three Creator+ options, Insert Element, Insert Practice, and Layouts.
  

For information on other D2L-related topics, please search this VTAC knowledge base.

Pearson Outage - RESOLVED
Posted in D2L on Jan 27, 2025 4:10 PM (Edited)

UPDATE: The incident has been RESOLVED.  

Original Message:

Pearson is currently experiencing technical issues impacting course access via Third-Party Integration with various LMS, including D2L Brightspace.  Faculty and students may experience a delay or various error messages, such as '503 Service Unavailable' error when attempting to access their course. Technical teams at Pearson are working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible. Please refer to https://support.pearson.com/getsupport/s/ for more info.

Campus Closures - January 21st & 22nd
Posted in D2L on Jan 21, 2025 11:01 AM

Due to College closure, all classes – including online classes – have been canceled for Tuesday, January 21, 2025, and Wednesday, January 22, 2025. All LSC properties will be closed. LSC expects to reopen for normal hours and resume classes on Thursday, January 23, 2025.

For questions regarding your class, contact your instructor or visit https://www.lonestar.edu/weather. For questions regarding registration, schedule changes, etc., please visit our Academic Advising webpage by clicking here. For additional helpful resources, click here. 

Stay Safe and Warm! 

Reminder: D2L Email Has Been Retired
Posted in D2L on Jan 15, 2025 1:33 PM

Reminder: D2L Brightspace Email has been replaced by Microsoft 365 (Outlook)

D2L Brightspace email has been replaced by the Microsoft 365 email integration, which hosts the LSC Employee Email domain (@lonestar.edu) and LSC Student Email domain (@my.lonestar.edu). You will no longer be seeing the envelope icon on D2L.

D2L Brightspace Email Retirement

• The D2L Brightspace email service has retired on December 18, 2024.
• You are no longer able to access D2L emails through this platform, including your old sent and received emails.
• Emails sent via the Classlist or Intelligent Agents will continue to work.
• Because D2L will no longer have a Sent Folder, we recommend having D2L send copies of your outgoing emails to your LSC email.

Microsoft 365 Widget in D2L

• You can already access your Lone Star College email, calendar, and OneDrive directly from D2L using the Microsoft 365.
• The widget can be found on the main D2L homepage and the homepages of your courses.
• If you are accessing the widget for the first time, and you are receiving an Internal Error here, log into your LSC Outlook account on the same browser. This will pair the widget with your course, and will only need to be done once.
• Learn more about using the Microsoft 365 widget.
  

For more information about the upcoming changes, see the FAQ page in VTAC.

Second Chance: Digital Digest Newsletter
Posted in D2L on Jan 15, 2025 12:01 AM

Our start-of-semester newsletter was recently sent out via email. If you haven't read it yet, here's another chance.

Topics included in this issue:

• Automatic Zero Grading
• D2L Email Transition Complete
• Semester Start Reminders
• AI Detection Returns
• Design in the Evening
• Online Proctoring Options
• And more!

Want to see some of these topics in action? Watch our video newsletter!

For previous issues, please visit the Newsletter Archive page in VTAC.

Turnitin Scheduled Maintenance
Posted in D2L on Jan 13, 2025 12:01 AM

Turnitin will be conducting necessary maintenance on Saturday, January 18th, from 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM CST.

During this time, all Turnitin services (including the D2L Turnitin integration) will be unavailable. Assignments should not be submitted to Turnitin or Turnitin-enabled assignment folders in D2L during this time frame.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

Video Newsletter - Spring 2025
Posted in D2L on Jan 7, 2025 8:00 AM

The Online Update is a video newsletter produced every major semester by Lone Star College.

Here are the topics in the Spring 2025 Episode:

• Creator+ Practices with Lumi AI
• Auto Zero for Missing Submissions
• New Quiz Evaluation Experience
• Rubrics in Quiz Questions
• Microsoft 365 Email Transition
• Faculty Support Options
• And more...

For more information about these topics, search this VTAC knowledge base. You can also read our corresponding email newsletter for additional updates.

Spring 2025 Semester Start
Posted in D2L on Jan 6, 2025 12:02 AM

Welcome to the Spring 2025 Semester!

To get started in your D2L course, please explore the following resources:

D2L Semester Start Checklist: This checklist will assist you in making a smooth start in your D2L courses and includes topics like copying content and merging course sections. You can find it at the following link: D2L Semester Start Instructor Checklist.

Visit the VTAC Knowledge Base: This site contains guides to help you work with your new D2L course. You can find it at the following link: VTAC Knowledge Base.

D2L resources for students can be found at this link: Virtual Learning Assistance Center.

Extended Support Hours: January 11
Posted in D2L on Jan 2, 2025 8:00 AM

VTAC is offering extended support hours on Saturday, Jan. 11^th from 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. The VTAC team will be providing ticket support and a virtual open lab to assist faculty with D2L, supported technologies, and course design.

The virtual open lab can be accessed through this link.

Tickets for D2L related questions/issues can be submitted by emailing VTAC@LoneStar.edu.

OTS is available 6 a.m. to midnight for technology questions.

For other support opportunities, please refer to the VTAC Event Calendar.

Previous announcements have been archived on other pages:

• 2024
• 2023
• 2022
• 2021