ESU D2L Student Support

The Brightspace homepage will be similar to the picture on to the left. At times, the layout may change but the basic elements are the same. At the top left corner of the page is the homepage icon. Selecting this icon from anywhere within Brightspace will bring the user back to this homepage. At the top right corner of the page is the user icon. Selecting this icon allows the user to set a user profile and settings for notifications. This is covered in more detail below. Below the ESU image are 3 important widgets though only 2 of them are visible in the image to the left. First is the MyCourses widget which is how users access courses in which they are enrolled. The News Item widget displays any global news for all D2L users. Below the News Item widget is the Support widget which gives users the same support information that is available on the homepage of this site. To get more information on these basic elements, scroll down this page or you can select the menu and choose a topic.

The My Courses widget lists all the "pinned" courses in which a user is enrolled. Users have the option to "pin" or "unpin" any course to their homepage. By default, when a user is enrolled into a course in D2L, that course is "pinned" to the homepage. This makes courses easily available as soon as the user logs into D2L. Over time, there may be so many previous and current courses on the homepage that it becomes confusing trying to find a course. Users can "unpin" any course and courses that are "unpinned" are not listed on the D2L homepage but still can be accessed using the course selector tool or the "View all Courses" tool.

Click the link here to watch a YouTube video on how to manage courses on the Brightspace homepage. Click to open video.

My Courses Widget


All Courses Tool (highlighted icon)

How to Access Profile Settings


Profile Settings Fields

Users can set their user profile by clicking on their name at the top right of the page and choosing Profile (see screenshot). You can set your profile picture and your contact information as well as your information regarding social networks, education, work, and any personal information your wish to share.

There are some limitations to what can be added to your profile:

• Recommended size for pictures is 100 by 100 pixels
• Maximum file size for pictures is 1MB
• File formats for pictures can be JPG, JPEG, PNG or GIF
• The picture you upload displays in all your courses in areas such as the Classlist and Discussions
• If you do not upload a picture, your initials will become your picture representation
• All text fields in the profile are limited to 4,000 characters each

Your can share a link to your profile with others from your "My Blog" page. The setting on the "My Blog" pages is "Show a link to your user profile from your blog."

Setting up user notifications allows the user to receive notifications from D2L when various events occur within D2L or the courses in which the user is enrolled. A user can be notified either by email or text message and choose what events they will be notified about. The Notifications page is accessed by selecting the user's name and then Notifications (see screenshot). Once the Notifications page is open, users can choose to enable either or both email or text message notifications by editing their Contact Methods.

Once either or both contact methods are chosen, the user can choose whether or not to receive a summary of notices as well as the frequency they will receive summary notices. Below the summary options is a partial list of actual notifications the user can receive either by SMS (text) or email. Selecting the box near the option enables that notification to be sent to the user.

If there is trouble with Notifications, contact D2L Phone Support at (866) 854-0013.

How to Access Notifications' Settings

How to Access Notifications' Settings


Notification Contact Methods