The News tool in D2L allows instructors to communicate updates, changes, and new information to students. News items appear in the News widget on the Course Homepage, the first page that students see when they enter the course. Students can subscribe to News updates through email notifications, text message notifications, or an RSS feed.
Note: The News widget displays the first 200-250 characters of a News item, so keep this in mind when prioritizing where information is placed within the News item.
Create a News Item
Manage news items through the News widget on the Course Homepage.
-
From the Course Homepage, go to the News widget.
- Select
Create Announcement.
- Enter a title in the "Headline" field.
- Enter the text of the news item in the "Content" field.
- Set a date and time for the news item to display in the "Availability" section:
- Set the start date and time in the "Start Date" section or select
Now to immediately release the news item.
- Uncheck the
Always show start date checkbox if students should not see the start date.
- Select
Remove news item based on end date and enter an end date to hide the news item from the student view after a certain date.
- To attach a file to the news item, select
Add a File under "Attachments" heading.
- Select
Publish when complete.
Change the Default Image
By default, the News widget will show a stock image with the preview of a news item, but this can be changed.
- Navigate to the News widget.
- If the item has already been posted, select the
news item.
Note: If the item has not been posted, follow the directions above to add a new news item, then skip to step 5.
- Select the
dropdown arrow next to the news item title.
- Select
Edit.
- Scroll to the bottom of the news item and use the cursor to select the spot to add the image.
Note: It is recommended to add the image at the bottom of the news item so students will see the body of the item first.
- Select the
camera icon to add an image [A].

- Select
My Computer to upload an image from the device or URL if the image has a link.
- Upload the image.
- Select
Add.
- If the image is not decorative, add a brief description of the image in the "Alt Text" field. If the image is decorative, select the
check box.
- The image will appear within the news item. Select
Update or
Publish to finalize.
Edit a News Item
- Select the
headline of the news item.
- Select the
dropdown arrow next to the headline.
- Select
Edit.
- Make any necessary changes.
- Select
Update. The revised news item will then appear on the Course Homepage in the News widget.
Delete a News Item
- Select the
headline of a news item.
- Select the
dropdown arrow next to the headline.
- Select
Delete.
- Select
Yes.
Use the Old Style News Widget
To use a News widget that shows every news item in full, without the preview, the active Course Homepage will need to be changed.
- Select
Edit Course in the course navigation bar.
- Select
Course Administration from the dropdown menu.
- Select
Homepages under the "Site Setup" heading.
- Select the
dropdown arrow under "Active Homepage".
- Select
Course Homepage w/ Old Style NEWS.
- Select
Apply.
NEXT STEPS
For information on viewing and managing the content for the Calendar, see Viewing the Calendar and
Adding Calendar Events. To modify the display settings or visual appearance of the News widget, see
Managing Widgets.