What you need to know about the D2L email function
There are a number of features of D2L email that you need to adjust before you can use them successfully. number of features of the D2L email function. Two of these features are especially important for you, and in addition there’s a couple of caveats that you need to pay attention to.
1. Settings
When you click on Email on the main D2L navigation bar, you should click on “Settings” and then make sure that you check the box next to “Show external email addresses in the Address Book” and hit Save. Please note that each person in a course – instructor or student – who wishes to use the Email function must check this setting individually. When the instructor makes this change, it doesn’t apply to anyone else in the class.
You should also make sure that in the Settings area, you check the little box to tell D2L to always send you a copy of emails that you have sent -- otherwise you will never see them again!2. Address Book (Choosing Recipients)
After you click on Email on the main D2L navigation bar, you will need to tell D2L who is to receive this message by clicking on the Address Book.
-- Step 1:
To send an e-mail to the entire class, you will then click on the top empty “checkbox” (Select All Rows), which is just above the students’ names and just below the search box.
To send to specific users, you can click the empty “checkbox” (Select Row), which is next to the specific names of the students to which you would like to include as recipients.
To send an e-mail to a course group, do NOT use the Email function. Instead, use the Classlist to email groups smaller than your entire classlist. Just go to the Classlist, then click on the Groups tab. Switch the Group Type in the dropdown box to display the groups you want to see (e.g., discussion groups). You can then click on the underlined Group name on the left -- Group 1, Sec 601, whatever -- and send an email to everyone in that group.
-- Step 2:
Then, you will click one of the links -- To Cc Bcc. These links are just above the list of students’ names and just below the search box, to the right of the top check box. The links are Blue and Underlined. By clicking on this link, you are indicating to D2L in which recipient box you would like the addresses to be inserted. Once you click on the link -- To Cc Bcc -- D2L will process your request (be patient) and insert the names into the appropriate recipient box.
-- Step 3:
Then, click on the “Add Recipients” button on the lower right side of the Address Book popup screen to return to your Compose Message screen. Continue to compose your message and click “Send” when finished.
If you receive an error that reads “Please select one or more of the recipients and then click on one of the To, Cc, and Bcc links…,” this means that you either haven’t completed Step 1 and checked the students’ names that are receiving the e-mail, or you haven’t completed Step 2 and clicked one of the links, To Cc Bcc.
3. Caveats
Important!
When you check the box to place a checkmark next to everyone’s name for a mass mailing, you are only sending the email to the students on that particular screen. You may have to increase the number of names displayed (you can display up to 200 names), or else move forward to additional screens in the Address Book in order to send an email to your whole class.
Important!
If you add email addresses manually at any point, you need to place a semi-colon between email addresses, since D2L will not recognize a comma as a separator.