When it becomes unsafe to congregate in classrooms and lecture halls, students are left without a place to learn. In turn, this is where online learning comes into play. Throughout our recent times of adversity, virtual classrooms have become an inevitability. 

The convenience of online platforms, such as Google Classroom and D2L, are indisputable. They allow asynchronous classes to occur without a scheduled meeting time, a notion that, only a few decades ago, would have been inconceivable. 

 D2L, a program used by Oakton Community College, has proven to be wildly successful; it has 800 total employees across all of its locations, has generated $180.98 million in sales, and is used by over 1,000 colleges, universities, schools, and businesses around the world. 

“I like D2L because it helps me connect with my students, it helps me organize all the material, and it gives my students the ability to take initiative of their learning,” said Oakton educator Dr. Levi. 

Furthermore, they provide an admittedly convenient method of education for students who are working full-time, have obligations at home, or are parents. If an asynchronous student were to skip a lecture, they’d be able to rewatch it on D2L as opposed to missing it entirely. 

“D2L allows my students to access the learning materials and get what they need anytime,” said Levi. “They don’t always have to rely on me telling them what to do, and it gives them more freedom.” 

Despite all these conveniences, D2L is problematic below the surface. For many students, D2L has proven to be a cumbersome and confusing platform to use. 

“Students are unable access older announcements from their professor due to the format of the D2L page setup in the way that only the most recent announcements are accessible,” said Oakton student Chigis Enkhbayar. 

It is argued that the space isn’t efficiently utilized and that the controls are difficult to navigate; while the design is aesthetically pleasing to the eye, it isn’t the best utilization of the space given. 

“You can tell at the beginning of the semester that some teachers basically copied and pasted their D2L shells from the previous semester. This is obvious because test dates and due dates are inaccurate,” said Oakton student Nick Jordan. 

The demand for platforms such as D2L isn’t in question- however, wouldn’t it make sense to reformat such a popular online classroom? 

The topic of D2L’s efficacy has generated many different responses, both positive and negative; as society becomes increasingly avid at using technology, online mediums will become more and more common. Ultimately, their accessibility and design will make all the difference.