D2L Changes in 2025

Two areas undergoing a design change in D2L

  1. A new "Nav bar" (Navigation Bar) menu in each course
  2. A "New Content Experience" in the "Content" menu

Reminder!

Review the info below for more details about the D2L design changes.

When will these D2L Design changes take effect?

New Nav Bar arrival: New Content Experience arrival:
After Summer Session II (approx. August 13th, 2025)

TBA - This change is still undergoing feature fixes, so we do not have a date of arrival yet.

  • However, faculty who would like to use this new experience in their courses NOW may do so.
  • Email kathleen.coate@normandale.edu for more info about how to request this.

Why are these changes happening?

  • The Minnesota State Learning Environment Committee has been working toward more consistency and accessibility of D2L across all 33 campuses.
  • Almost half of Minnesota State students are affiliated with more than 1 campus and would benefit from consistent navigation.
  • A simpler navigation of the online environment provides more digital accessibility for students and faculty.
  • More details of the committee's data research and process for making the recommendations can be found in the document attached to this article.

Change #1: Nav bar items and menus

Overview of the new Course Nav Bar:

Inside a course, the horizontal menu across the top of all pages (known as the "Nav bar") will feature only the most-used tools, and a simplified menu for "Other Tools" and "Resources."

Course Nav Bar from a Student view:

  • The Course nav bar starts with Content, which is the recommended navigation path for students to access all materials and links for the course.
  • The next 3 items (Assignments, Discussions, and Quizzes) are the main assessment tools, listed in alphabetical order.
  • The Grades item provides quick access for students and faculty to the gradebook.
  • The Other Tools and Resources menus will hold all the remaining tools that are still used but less common.

Content, Assignments, Discussions, Quizzes, Grades, Other Tools, Resources
 

Details of the Other Tools and Resources menu (as of 4.24.2025):

D2L Other Tools and Resources menu side by side
 

Course Nav Bar from an Instructor view:

  • For instructors, the nav bar is the same with the addition of a Course Tools menu.
  • Course Admin will be at the top of the list in the Course Tools menu for easy access to a variety of tools
  • The most commonly used tools for Course Admin will appear next in the Course Tools menu.

course tools menu at the far right of the nav bar

 

Details of the Course Tools menu:

course tools menu details

Change #2: New Content Experience

  • D2L's New Content Experience is a refreshed new look for the Table of Contents.
  • Instructor workflows for adding content are simplified.
  • Students see a cleaner layout of content that helps them navigate modules more easily.

screenshot of the new content experience

NOTE:

  • The basic functions and module structure of Content is not changing.
  • Content will not be disrupted when copying or importing content from another course or Zip file.
     

Some major differences between the old and the new Content experience:

Old (Current) Experience New Experience
Content is organized by "Modules" and "Submodules" Content is organized by "Units" and "Lessons"
The left-hand navigation is covered up when a user selects an item from the list of items that appear on the left-hand side. The left-hand navigation remains stable when a user selects an item from underneath the main heading.
Assessments that are linked inside a Module can only be graded by navigating to the tool itself or to the associated grade item. Assessments that are linked inside a Unit/Lesson can be reviewed and graded directly from the Content area.
All Modules have a uniformed, grey frame Each Unit/Lesson has a colored frame around it
Instructors use the "Upload/Create" or "Existing Activities" buttons to add content, and then select from a list of text-based options. Instructors use the "Add Existing" or "Create New" buttons to add content, with easy-to-understand icons in a cleaner layout.

NOTE: There are 3 main features that are missing from the "New Content Experience"

  1. Start and End dates on any content item will control whether or not the item is VISIBLE to students. 
    1. If a Start date has not come yet, or an End date has passed, students will no longer see the items at all.
    2. By comparison, in the current experience, items that are set to "Visible" are still seen by students outside of Start & End dates - students just can't click on the item.
    3. If the Content item links to an Assignment, Quiz, or Discussion, students can still access the item from the corresponding Nav Bar menu.
  2. The "Search" field that appears above the modules does not find items listed in a "Description" field.
  3. The Table of Contents does not have a "Bulk edit" option.

How these missing features will affect the release date:

  • Out of the 3 items listed above, the first one has the biggest impact between the old & new experience.
  • Minn State's plan is to release the New Content Experience as the default once #1 above is fixed.
  • The other two missing features are still significant, but probably won't delay the release.

When will these D2L Design changes take effect?

Nav Bar change New Content Experience
After Summer Session II (approx. August 13th, 2025) TBA

 

What can instructors do to explore these D2L design changes?

Questions?

Contact ctl@normandale.edu

 

 

 

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