Marquette is fortunate to have a great resource at its disposal called Desire2Learn. Its web page describes it as a "web-based tool which facilitates and supports online education." D2L is a useful tool when used properly; posting articles saves paper and printing costs, and posting course information is helpful for students who don't want to carry a stuffed book bag to the library.

D2L is also an advantageous way to keep students engaged in a class. Checking D2L weekly for updates makes many students feel more in touch with their courses and instructors. It helps teachers communicate with their students and even hosts a discussion board for more structured dialogue. D2L is truly a valuable resource for both teachers and students, so we cannot help but wonder why it so often goes unutilized.

Many teachers seem blithely oblivious to D2L's very existence, failing to post even the syllabus on the Web site, let alone utilize any of its other many features. We are not alone in our frustration over this. The Marquette Student Government Senate passed legislation last November unanimously recommending that all Marquette instructors be required to attend a D2L training session and at the very least post the syllabus on the course site. As far as we can see, however, this recommendation has gone ignored. The MUSG Senate estimated that only 63 percent of instructors use D2L even minimally. That means that about four in 10 professors do absolutely nothing with D2L.

O'Donnell Hall Senator Raveen Shah, a freshman in the College of Business Administration, and author of the bill, said D2L training is currently optional. In promotion of his bill said, "students aren't getting the full advantage of what is really a very useful resource."

We could not agree more. There have been 14 D2L training sessions scheduled for this semester alone. We do not think it is unreasonable to require educators to fit at least one of these in their schedule.

We children of the information age who are accustomed to having everything available at the click of a mouse are trying to be understanding of those from the previous generation who may be more technology averse. But instructors should meet us in the middle. D2L is a beneficial modern resource that all teachers and students have access to. Let's use it.