BRIGHTSPACE TRANSITION FOR INSTRUCTORS: ADJUSTMENTS Phase
Brightspace is a web-based learning management system (LMS) created to support fully online and face-to-face courses. It is the official LMS use by The City University of New York campuses.
Once instructors review the previous content created in the Brightspace environment, they will proceed with the class's adjustment or adaptation.
List possible issues you found during the Recognition phase.
Review best practices for using Brightspace effectively, including tips for managing course materials, assignments, and communication tools.
The practice site navbar may appear different from the Brooklyn College courses navbar, and we will show how to identify the Brightspace function in both environments.
Include a Brightspace tour on the navigation bars to help instructors familiarize themselves with Brightspace's elemental functions. Explore the differences and similarities with Blackboard.
Demonstrate how to adjust Brightspace basic settings and functions.
Schedule one-hour workshops to focus on specific functions. Dedicate 30 minutes to topics and 30 minutes to Q&As. Offer both in-person and online options.
Schedule weekly Q&A sessions.
Reserve time to schedule one-on-one training with instructors as much as possible.
Present the Brooklyn College community with the names of the AIT and another support team working with each school and department and how to contact them. They will be free to schedule one-on-one sessions with instructors or group sessions with departments or schools.
Adapt the FAQs created for Phase No. 3 with more detailed information about the new settings and functionalities.
Our goal in this phase is for instructors to examine these and other potential changes, recognize and fix them.
Log in to Brightspace, and enter your CUNYFirst credentials, such as FIRST.LASTNAMEXX@login.cuny.edu, including your username and password. Once logged in, navigate to the Brightspace class and review each section below.
Please review the hyperlinks included in each topic. They offer essential explanations of how to fix the feature, and some may consist of video demonstrations.
ANNOUNCEMENTS: The last post is the first to show in the announcements list. You must reorder them and update the Start Date to reuse the announcements.
CONTENT: The Blackboard Syllabus, Course Documents, Assignments, Content Folders, and Learning Modules will be displayed in Brightspace under the Content tab. Each container retains the same title and organization within the Brightspace Table of Contents.
Bulk Edit Feature: Brightspace has bulk editing features that can save many hours of work. Below is information about where to find them and how to use them. It also gives a nice overview of all dates so you can check them quickly.
Functionalities: Brightspace content and modules will include all tools linked to them in the original Blackboard site, such as Discussions, Assignments, Turnitin Assignments, Quizzes, and Surveys. You will find them within the Exiting Activities dropdown button. To modify the settings for these tools, you must access the specific Brightspace tabs assigned to each of these functions: Assignments, Discussions, and Quizzes.
New Activities: You can also add new activities to each content area or module by pressing the Upload/Create a dropdown list within the Content. These links will redirect you to the desired function.
Third-party Content: Book publishers, including Cengage, McGraw Hill Connect, Pearson, and Wiley, need to be resynchronized. Other Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI) resources, such as YuJa, must be integrated. Turnitin assignments are functioning correctly and will not require any action from the instructor.
Links to Media Servers: Links to media files posted on Dropbox and other cloud servers may not work on Brightspace. You must post them on a media server like YuJa and share the files with the course again.
Activities Timeframes: It is crucial to check the Content and the Assessment timeframes to ensure that the information copied is activated and visible to students.
YouTube Videos: Previously embedded YouTube videos will function properly after being transferred. However, the Blackboard YouTube video mashup feature is no longer available in Brightspace. Instead, you can embed YouTube videos directly within the test editor using the Insert Stuff icon, which is accessible throughout the system.
BANNERS: They are not transferrable. Brightspace provides automatic Banners. It requires very few steps to change it.
PROFESSOR PROFILE: It would help if you recreated your Profile on the class homepage. It substitutes the Contact tool available on Blackboard.
DISCUSSIONS: Complex structures on the Discussion Board are not transferable to Brightspace. However, the forums are retained as topics, and the descriptions are mostly the same. The links between the content or modules and the Discussion will be functional. Usually, the necessary adjustments are simple.
GROUPS: The group shells created on Blackboard are not transferrable to the Brightspace Group section. However, the structure created for groups will appear in the Discussion within topics. You may remove them if you are not planning to use the group discussion.
ASSESSMENTS / QUIZZES: Most quizzes created on Blackboard will transfer to Brightspace without any issues. The only exception is the Random Block Questions, which do not transfer to Brightspace. However, all questions will remain in the Brightspace Quizzes Question Library. You can create a new random quiz using the Question Pool function, which is equivalent to the Random Block feature in Blackboard.
RUBRICS: Review the Rubrics transferred from Blackboard will show in Brightspace associated with the assessments.
MORE / CUNY DEMO STUDENT: Access the "Viewing as Learner" and "CUNY Student Demo" functions to ensure all content appears as it should.
Our goal in this phase is for instructors to examine these and other potential changes, recognize and fix them.
Here are the resources available for each of the faculty workshops and training sessions. To access it, please click the hyperlinks in each section.
ADJUSTMENT PHASE: BRIGHTSPACE WORKSHOP SERIES
Session 1: Familiarizing Yourself with Brightspace Communication Tools
- ANNOUNCEMENTS -
More Actions button
Reusing Your Announcements: Learn how to Reorder your announcements for better visibility.
Reviewing the Notifications: Email updates, Summary of Activities, Instant Notifications.
Title’s Dropdown Options
Edit: Changing the Announcement Start Date: Discover how to modify the date when an announcement becomes active.
- Attachments: Adding an Audio Announcement: Find out how to include audio in your announcements.
- Additional Release Conditions: Explore how to add specific conditions to allow students to get the announcement.
Pinning Announcements: Pin essential announcements to the top for easy access.
Dismissing Widgets: Learn how to remove announcements from the widget view.
- MESSAGES / EMAIL -
Accessing the messages through the message icon: Locate the icon at the top of the page within the minibar to manage messages.
Use the Address Book and the search box to find the person you want to include in the message. Select if you will send the message to that person or include him in the conversation so that the receiver can see who else was included in the message. Be careful when selecting the person; you can send the message to the wrong person.
Viewing Sent Messages: Instructors and students can access a record of their messages.
Students have also access to the people from the class in the Address Book.
- CLASSLIST -
Using the Classlist to send messages: Understand how to use the Classlist for communication purposes. This option allows you to communicate with students easily. However, messages sent through the Classlist are sent as BCC (blind carbon copy), meaning each student will not see the other recipients' email addresses.
View groups in the Classlist: Press the dropdown list on the View by box to select the Group option, then click the Apply button. You will see each Group and its members in the Group box. In the Classlist, you can select the names of the groups you want to communicate with. However, going to the Group tab to send group emails is better.
- GROUPS -
Sending group emails within the group section
Navigate to "View Categories" to select the Group.
Select the dropdown list next to the group hyperlink to select the email option.
Content Part 1: Managing the Class Content Efficiently.
Content Part 2: Working with Existing Activities.
Reorganizing and Reusing Assessments.
Adjusting Brightspace Interactive Tools.
Balancing the grades and reviewing the grade assignments Grades.
Viewing Course Material from the Student Perspective.
COURSE SHELLS CREATION SCHEDULE
Course shells for the upcoming semester are created based on the following schedule (subject to adjustment for maintenance):
Upcoming Summer semester: Starting 1st Wednesday of April
Upcoming Spring semester: Starting 1st Wednesday of November
Upcoming Fall semester: Starting 1st Wednesday of June
FEBRUARY 18 - April 8, 2025
All sessions 1:00–2:00 p.m.
Mastering Brightspace Communication Tools
Learn how to effectively manage communication tools in Brightspace, including announcements and messages, to enhance student engagement and streamline course updates.
Managing Course Content Efficiently, Content, Part 1
This workshop introduces the Bulk Edit feature and the Upload and Create section, allowing users to efficiently manage multiple items. Participants will learn to edit modules, topics, and dates simultaneously, saving time and effort.
Explore how to incorporate existing activities into modules and sub-modules while linking them to assignments, quizzes, and discussions. This session also covers integrating key learning tools (LTIs) such as book publishers, Turnitin, and Zoom.
Discover how to use the Bulk Edit tool to modify assignment titles, dates, and categories, as well as how to manage quizzes by adjusting names, categories, and attempt limits. This session also includes accessing the Quiz Library, reordering content, and utilizing Lockdown Browser.
Learn how to efficiently manage discussions, threads, and topics, as well as adjust blogs and groups within Brightspace. This session ensures a seamless transition from Blackboard while improving the organization of interactive course elements.
Understand how to configure grade settings, review, and manage grade assignments, and organize assessments effectively. Explore best practices for grading essay questions and familiarize yourself with Brooklyn College’s grading schemes.
Experiencing Course Material from a Student’s Perspective
Use the CUNY Demo Student and Learner features to view the course as a student. Evaluate accessibility by reviewing course content, navigation, and functionality to ensure a smooth student experience before making the course available.
