Academic Innovation Blog

Discussions – Enforce timely learner engagement with first post due dates | Updated

To ensure timely learner participation, instructors can now specify a due date for the first post in a discussion topic. This supports course pacing, institutional policies, and consistent expectations for learner engagement. This mirrors the behavior of Assignments and Quizzes, making the course experience more consistent and predictable.

Previously, instructors could not set due dates for initial discussion posts, which made it difficult to assess timely engagement or enforce deadlines. This update improves grading accuracy and simplifies compliance with participation policies.

The first post due date follows the same behavior as Assignments and Quizzes:

• Due dates must be between the start and end dates of the discussion topic. 
• Availability types (for example, Hidden, Visible with access restricted, Visible with submission restricted) are respected.

Additional improvements include:

• Calendar tool integration: The first post due date appears in the calendar.
• The due date will trigger a notification in Falcon Online and a push notification in the Pulse App two days before the due date.
• Grading: Discussion due dates support automatic-zero grading.
• Other enhancements:
• In Manage Dates, first post due dates are visible and editable.
• In the Discussion List, due dates appear next to each topic.
• In Quick Eval and Consistent Evaluation, first post due dates appear in evaluation workflows.
• In the Work to Do widget, due dates appear.

Figure: Instructor view of a discussion topic with a first post due date.

Figure: Learner view of a discussion topic with a first post due date from a content topic.

Note: Discussion due dates must fall within the topic's availability window to appear in the calendar and trigger notifications.

This feature implements the following PIE item:

•  D143 (Due Date for First Post for Discussions)

Media Library – Share folders using role-based collaborators | New

With this new capability, instructors can now add roles as collaborators to Media Library folders. When you assign a role—such as Instructor—as a collaborator, every user in that role, including those outside your course shell, will gain full access to the folder and can make changes to its contents.

Important: Full Edit Access Granted

• Granting access by role means all users in that role will have edit rights to the folder.
• Only assign roles as collaborators if you are absolutely certain that wide access is appropriate. Currently, we do not see a scenario where this is necessary.
• For more controlled sharing, use the adding individual users instead of entire roles.

Figure: Instructor view of the role-based collaborator setting in a Media Library folder.

Pulse – See due dates, start dates and end dates on Content | New

This enhancement brings due dates, start dates, and end dates, to content pages within the Falcon Online Pulse app. This functionality ensures a consistent experience between the Falcon Online and the Pulse app, helping learners manage deadlines and plan their workload directly within the app.

This new functionality brings the following capabilities:

• Due dates on units and content pages.
• Start and end dates.
• Only defined dates are shown, nothing is displayed for unset dates.
• When clicking the three-dot menu on a content item, learners can view the availability dates.
• These values are pulled directly from Falcon Online.

Previously, due dates, start dates, and end dates on content were only visible on the web platform.

Figure: The Start and End Date details dialog displays the full availability range for a content item when learners tap the three-dot menu.

Figure: In the Pulse app, learners can tap a content item in the Content tab to view its full due date and time.

Quizzes – Zero point quiz questions | New

Instructors can now assign 0 (zero) points to a quiz question to collect non-graded information, for example, feedback or personal input.

This feature eliminates the need for workarounds such as assigning 0.01 points or manually adjusting scores after submission. Instructors can enter zero points in the points field for any question type within the quiz, ensuring that these questions do not contribute to the quiz's total points. This feature is especially useful for gathering additional information from learners during a quiz or for implementing an "Honesty Code" question at the beginning of the quiz.

Previously, instructors were restricted from entering zero points for quiz questions.

Figure: Example of a quiz question displaying a statement on academic integrity with answer options for True and False, and the points field set to zero.

This feature implements the following PIE item:

• D706 (Quiz question with no points value)

This continuous delivery update is scheduled for December 26th. 

Please refer to the Falcon Online for Faculty InfoGuide for additional information on all the Falcon Online tools. 

Faith Testerman
Coordinator IV - IT Instructional Resources
Faith.Testerman@DaytonaState.edu
IT Service Catalog

Quizzes – Zero point quiz questions | New

Announcements – Email a copy of an announcement to your Classlist | New

In response to multiple Product Idea Exchange (PIE) submissions, when Instructors create a new announcement in a Course Offering, they can now choose to send a copy to all users in their Classlist as an email, sent as if from the instructor themselves.

In the user interface for creating or editing an announcement, a new Send Email Copy checkbox now appears when an instructor creates or edits an announcement.

This feature implements the following Product Idea Exchange (PIE) items:

• D1923 (Email Notification Option when Creating New News Items)
• D3817 (Default email notification when publishing a news item)

When an instructor selects the new checkbox, the system emails the content of the announcement to all users in the Classlist on publishing.

Users who are not subscribed to receive a notification for announcements will also receive an email, ensuring that important information contained within the announcement is delivered to every learner.

For announcements scheduled to publish at a later date, clicking the Send Email Copy checkbox emails the copy to users in the Classlist at the time that the announcement is published.

Falcon Online – Progress bar for uploading files | New

With this release, Falcon Online improves visual consistency and accessibility by updating progress bar indicators across several tools. These improvements enhance support for screen readers and assistive technologies.

Visual indicators have been updated in the following areas:

• Quizzes – Add Existing Question
• Import Quiz Questions – Upload a file
• Generate Question – Choose a file to generate a question
• Content Uploader – Upload a file
• Manage Groups – Export progress bar
• Upload File (Content) – Upload a file

Figure: An example of the progress bar updating as a user adds a module to the Table of Contents in Falcon Online, indicating the step-by-step progress.

Grades – Bulk edit now supports excluding items from final grade | Updated

Instructors can now use the Exclude from Final column when bulk editing grade items in the Grades tool. Selecting this option excludes the grade item from the final grade calculation.

Previously, this setting was only available when editing individual grade items. This enhancement helps instructors manage large grade books more efficiently by allowing them to update multiple items at once.

Figure: In the Bulk Edit Items and Categories page, select Exclude from Final for each item to omit from the final grade.

This feature implements the following PIE items:

• D1773 (Bulk Edit Grade Item)
• D9984 (Course-level configuration to include/exclude grade from Final Grade)
• D8386 (Gradebook – Bulk edit)
• D8515 (Add a category in the bulk edit)

This continuous delivery update is scheduled for November 28th. 

Please refer to the Falcon Online for Faculty InfoGuide for additional information on all the Falcon Online tools.

Faith Testerman
Coordinator IV - IT Instructional Resources
Faith.Testerman@DaytonaState.edu
IT Service Catalog

Check out the practical strategies for creating an engaging and student-friendly syllabus shared by Eve Magoulas, Assistant Professor from the School of Health Careers, in the recent faculty workshop about Simple Syllabus. While the sections in a syllabus provide a strong foundation, Eve encouraged faculty to personalize their approach to better support students.

🧭 The Best Welcome

• Include a photo and a welcome message so students know who is leading the course.
• Add a welcome video and an orientation video to guide students through course navigation.
  • Break longer videos into smaller segments for easier viewing.

🧭 The Best Learning Outcomes

• Be clear and concise.
• Beyond listing Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs), include a plain-language section that explains what these outcomes mean in practice. This helps students connect academic goals to real-world skills. 

🧭 The Best Design

• Display a cover image of the textbook or course materials.
• Consistently use icons to bring attention to key points.
• Specify acceptable formats (hard copy or e-book) to ensure consistency.
• Highlight Falcon First Day textbook options when relevant.

🧭 Setting the Best Expectations

• Clearly outline student responsibilities and faculty commitments.
• Encourage students to:
  • Read feedback carefully.
  • Use discussion forums for questions.
  • Schedule meetings via the booking page.
• Provide contact details with boundaries (e.g., response times, emergency exceptions).
  • Develop your regular and substantive interaction (RSI) statement.

🧭 The Best Engagement Activities

• Syllabus Quizzes
  • Quizzes work well for asynchronous online courses.
• Scavenger Hunts
  • Scavenger hunts may be better suited for in-person group activities.

These are tips and tricks to help students navigate the syllabus and reduce the amount of questions. Using this guide, you can create a standout syllabus by incorporating visuals and videos, simplifying academic language, providing clear tech guidance, and including interactive activities to reinforce expectations.

🧭 Resources to Support Online Learners

• Share links to resources:
  • Create a course video on what to expect in online courses.
  • Pulse app for mobile access.
  • Help desk and Office 365 tools
• Address common tech issues by specifying file formats (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) to avoid upload problems.

Eve Magoulas, PhD
Assistant Professor 
Eve.Magoulas@daytonastate.edu
School of Health Careers

Ready to unlock the secrets to the Simple Syllabus? Click on the easy step-by-step guides for accessing syllabi in Falcon Online and importing content in Simple Syllabus.

Unlocking the Secrets to the Standout Syllabus Highlights

• Accessing Syllabi via Falcon Online (D2L): 

  • Step-by-step instructions included for new or returning faculty
  • Ability to search by instructor name or course

• Importing Content in Simple Syllabus: 

  • Can import from colleagues’ syllabi or previous terms 
  • Import process includes selecting what to import (e.g., welcome message) and avoiding incorrect instructor info.
    • Each semester, review instructor information, your welcome message, your course description, and student learning outcomes for accuracy.
    • Updates to each section. Save any changes for that section before moving on. If the option to submit your syllabus is missing, you may have a section that has not been saved. Scroll through the syllabus and check each section.
  • Certain sections (e.g., AI disclaimer, instructor info) cannot be modified
    • Generative AI disclaimer is always included.
    • Course descriptions and textbook sections are fixed but editable where allowed.
  • Finalize import by clicking the blue Finalize button and then Start Import

• Accessibility Features:

  • Accessibility checker available in Simple Syllabus
  • Provides suggestions for fixes and highlights issues
  • Include alt text for images. 

By following the guides, you’ll save time, avoid errors, and keep your Simple Syllabus polished and ready for your course in Falcon Online. If you need more information, check out the FAQs.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

🧭 Question: 

Where can I find resources for Simple Syllabus?

Answer: 

To learn more about Simple Syllabus and for step-by-step guides, please visit our Simple Syllabus Scribe Page. All scribes are available online, and you may download, print, and share these documents as needed.

🧭 Question: 

How can I edit my syllabi if Falcon Online course shells are not yet available?

Answer: 

There are four ways to access Simple Syllabus. Two of those ways involve Falcon Online. You may also use the "Syllabus" tile in Falcon Self-Service, or you may visit the Simple Syllabus website directly and log in using your DSC (@DaytonaState.Edu email) and password. For detailed steps related to accessing Simple Syllabus, please refer to the following Scribe: Accessing Simple Syllabus.

🧭 Question: 

What is the difference between sharing, importing, and replacing in Simple Syllabus?

Answer: 

In Simple Syllabus, “sharing” refers to creating a link to view content, but the content is not editable. “Importing” allows instructors to duplicate portions of their syllabi, or portions of a colleague’s syllabi onto a new document. “Replacing” allows instructors to copy and paste their assigned syllabi onto a new document.

🧭 Question: 

What do I do if I get an error in simple syllabus stating there is no matching account?

Answer: 

Sometimes that means you need to be added into the simple syllabus for access. If you do see that, reach out to Alexis Ruiz and provide your employee ID number, and she can get you added in.

🧭 Question: 

When can I sync?

Answer: 

Open up your syllabi, double-check that section. Once the Falcon Online course shells are generated, there's a feature on there to sync.

🧭 Question: 

How do I know if my syllabus meets accessibility standards?

Answer: 

If you are editing, you would see the little blue person icon. If it has an even smaller, darker blue circle on it, there's an issue. To fix any issues:

• Click the blue person icon. 
• The Accessibility Checker window opens with details of any accessibility issues. 

Alexis Ruiz
Senior Business Analyst 
Alexis.Ruiz@daytonastate.edu
Academic Services

Creator+/H5P – New content picker in Authoring tools menu | New

To enhance visibility, discoverability, and usability, instructors now have direct access to H5P content types through a new picker in the Authoring Tools menu.

Selecting H5P Interactives from the menu now opens a modal dialog in Falcon Online, allowing instructors to filter, search, and select H5P content types more efficiently.

Previously, instructors selected H5P Interactives from the Creator+ Page menu options. This opened the H5P content management screen, where instructors had to select Add content to access the list of H5P Interactives, then choose a content type to begin creating.

Figure: Creator+ Page editor showcasing available options for creating and managing H5P interactive content.

Figure: The H5P interface displays a list of available interactive activities, including options like Fill in the Blanks, Crossword, Dictation, and more.

Homepage Widget Expansion Pack – Instagram, LinkedIn, and email links supported in the Single Profile widget | Updated

This release enhances the Single Profile widget to support additional social media options: Instagram, LinkedIn, and email.

In Edit mode, users can configure three new input fields in the footer of the Single Profile widget form. Each field includes a label, an icon, and a placeholder. Input validation ensures proper formatting for URLs and email addresses, and the form cannot be saved if an invalid value is entered.

When a user clicks a social media icon, the link opens in a new browser tab, or for email, in the user’s default email client.

Icons display in the widget footer only if their corresponding links are provided. When all available links are included, icons automatically adjust to span one, two, or three rows, depending on the widget’s width.

Figure: The Single Profile widget showing options to connect with additional social media platforms.

Homepage Widget Expansion Pack – Improved Completion Reporting in Content Navigator Widget | Updated

To improve consistency across Falcon Online tools and ensure accurate learner progress tracking, the Content Navigator widget now determines module completion using topic completion status.

Previously, the widget relied on a topic’s visited state and did not recognize manual completions. Manual completion topics are marked complete in the Content tool and now display accurately in the widget. This behavior aligns with completion tracking in the Content tool.

Assignments — Annotation availability awareness enhancements in assignment creation | New

Annotations are only supported for File and File or Text Assignment Types. They are not supported for Text, Observed, or On Paper Assignment types. In response to requests from instructors for clearer indicators of which types of assignments support Annotations, we’ve enhanced the assignment creation experience with better tool tips, visual cues, and on-screen guidance.

New informational tool tip

To make it easier for instructors to understand what the Annotations tool does and which types of assignments you can use it with, a new informational tool tip now appears beside the existing Annotations check box in the interface for creating assignments.

When you hover over the new information ( ? ) button, a tool tip displays Annotation Tools help.

Figure: New Annotation Tools help tool tip.

Clicking the information ( ? ) button opens a pop-up window that explains what the Annotations tool does, and which types of assignments you can use it with. The text in the new window is as follows:

Figure: New Annotation Tools informational pop-up window.

Clear visual indicators make it easy to identify which assignment types support Annotations

To make it easier to immediately understand whether you can use Annotations on an assignment, the Annotations check box now appears disabled (grayed out) for non-file type assignments, such as Text, Observed, or On Paper assignments.

Figure: Visual cues indicate when Annotation Tools are not available for an assignment type.

Guidance for non-file Assignment types

When you cannot enable Annotations for an assignment because the type is Text, On paper, or Observed in person, hovering over the Annotations check box displays the following message:

Figure: New on-screen guidance shows when Annotation settings are locked because the assignment type is not File or File or Text.

Guidance displayed for assignments after submissions are received

When you cannot enable Annotations for an assignment because learners already made submissions while the setting was disabled, hovering over the Annotations check box displays the following message:

Figure: New on-screen guidance shows when Annotation settings are locked because learners made submissions for the assignment while Annotations were disabled.

Assignments — Improved assignment type selection interface | Updated

An improvement in usability makes it easier to select the correct assignment type when you create an assignment.

Previous behavior

Previously, instructors used radio buttons to specify whether an assignment was for a Group or an Individual.

New drop-down menu for selecting Assignment type

A new drop-down menu for selecting the Assignment Type modernizes the interface and lays the groundwork for future enhancements to the Assignments tool.

Figure: New drop-down menu with Individual Assignment Type selected.

Grades – Comments and Assessments column always visible to learners | Updated

Learners can now always see the Comments and Assessments column in Grades, ensuring that feedback and links to assessments are consistently visible. The column is no longer conditionally displayed, supporting additional links from tools such as Rubrics, Assignments, and Quizzes.

This update supports future enhancements that add information to learner feedback in Grades.

Previously, the column only appeared when a grade item included feedback.

Figure: Comments and Assessments column now appears consistently to learners in Grades.

Media Library – Improved Media Library to help better organize and manage your course assets| Updated

This release introduces several new features to improve the capabilities of the Media Library and allow users to have a wider variety of assets that can be reused in their courses.

These improvements include:

• Add Images, Office Documents, PDFs, and SCORM packages directly to Media Library for re-use across your courses.
• Use Media Library’s new Manage Versions menu to upload and manage a new version of your asset.
• Create folders to better organize your assets by type, subject, or however you’d like.
• Share a folder with another user by adding them to a folder as a collaborator.

The following file types can be uploaded to Media Library:

• Video: .mp4, .avi, .f4v, .flv, .m4v, .mov, .webm, .wmv, and the ability to optimize for streaming (2GB max and up to 720p output)
• Audio: .mp3, .m4a, .ogg, .wav, .wma (1GB max)
• Document: .doc, .docx, .odt, .xls, .xlsx, .rtf, .pdf, .ppt, .pptx, .pps, .ppsx, .odp
• Image: .jpg, .jpeg, .png
• Course Package: .zip (SCORM Only)
• 

Figure: Create Folder window in Media Library with options to save or cancel.

Quizzes – Hide Quiz Question Points | Updated

 Instructors can now hide the point value for quiz questions to ensure learners focus on all questions equally, without the risk of inferring the number of correct answers based on point value. This feature is particularly useful in scenarios like employee training and association quizzes.

The new feature helps with the following:

• Avoiding Hints in Multi-Select and Written Response Questions. Hiding point values prevents learners from guessing the number of expected answers based on the score, promoting a more consistent effort across all question types.
• Diagnostic Assessments. This option is beneficial for assessments like subject knowledge audits or start-of-term baseline knowledge checks, where the purpose is to gauge understanding rather than focus on scoring.
• Encouraging Equal Effort Across Questions. By hiding point values, learners are less likely to prioritize certain questions over others based on points. Hiding point values ensures a balanced effort and enables the inclusion of control or bonus questions without indicating their significance.

A new option is available within the Timing & Display section when creating or editing a quiz.

Figure: From the Edit Quiz page, under Timing & Display, select Hide question point values to prevent learners from seeing individual question scores.

This feature implements the following PIE items:

• D2934 (Hide point value of quiz questions)
• D10418 (Option to hide point value of quiz questions and show linked Learning Outcomes)

Previously, point values for quiz questions were always visible to learners.

Quizzes – Improved visibility for insufficient question pools | Updated

With this release, instructors can now see a status indicator when a question pool has insufficient questions, allowing them to resolve the issue before learners begin a quiz attempt.

If a quiz attempts to draw more questions than are available in a question pool (for example, 12 questions requested but only 10 available), the interface now displays a warning indicator.

This update adds visual warnings in the following areas:

• The Grading view: If learners have already completed a quiz containing an affected pool, messaging displays in the grading evaluation experience.
• 

Figure: When grading a quiz, an error message appears indicating the question pool is exhausted.

• The Manage Quizzes page: A status indicator flags quizzes with insufficient question pools.
• 

Figure: In the Manage Quizzes tab, a red warning icon appears beside a quiz name. Instructors can review quiz settings to resolve the issue.

• The Edit Quiz page (Quiz Builder): A warning icon appears directly on the affected question pool.
• 

Figure: The Edit Quiz page displays a Question Pool with an error state, labeled Invalid Question Pool.

• The Course Import and Course Copy workflows: Validation now prevents importing or copying pools with an insufficient number of questions.

Previously, no visual indicators identified when question pools contained too few questions, and these could be imported or copied without warning.

This continuous delivery update is scheduled for October 24th. 

Please refer to the Falcon Online for Faculty InfoGuide for additional information on all the Falcon Online tools. 

Faith Testerman
Coordinator IV - IT Instructional Resources
Faith.Testerman@DaytonaState.edu
IT Service Catalog