Kennesaw State University is abandoning GeorgiaVIEW Vista for a new learning management system, Desire2Learn (D2L). Students gained access to D2L on January 7th and are expected to transition into the new system just as easily as they groggily transition into their first week of classes from winter break.

D2L promises features that are worth a week or two of trying to log into an outdated GeorgiaVIEW Vista. D2L hosts over 700 clients and over 8 million learners in higher education, K-12, healthcare, government, and corporate companies. The program will function similarly to the university’s previous learning management system, but the software claims to be more user-friendly which will allow for a heightened online learning experience.

Students can login to D2L by entering their Net ID and password at D2L.kennesaw.edu. Logging in will direct students to a homepage that displays links to each course’s individual home page. Course home pages contain easy to find tools pertaining to class content, discussions, assignment drop boxes, quizzes, and a course checklist.

If students are worried about being lost in a sea of new content, all they have to do is click on a course calendar that will show upcoming exams and projects or look at the ‘news’ box, a place where professors can post announcements for the entire class to read. Students can also edit their notifications so they can be sent an email or text massage whenever a new message is posted in a forum, news items are posted, or a dropbox folder end date is two days away. D2L is also compatible with Android and Apple.

While D2L is a widely used system, KSU is still preparing to help students out with the transition. The KSU Student Service Desk is offering in- person D2L workshops, D2L Mobile Device workshops, and online tutorials. Students are encouraged to call, email, and receive walk-in support.

The KSU Student HelpDesk is located in BB 475 and information on workshops can be found at http://its.kennesaw.edu/techoutreach/d2l/students.