The Assignments Tool

DLE Weekly Update: Turnitin, PIE and Email Address for Brightspace Support

Turnitin in Brightspace

Turnitin is an originality checking and plagiarism prevention service that checks your student papers for citation mistakes or inappropriate copying. Through the integration with Brightspace and the use of a Brightspace Assignment, Turnitin allows you to check for plagiarism using the Originality Check tool, and also to provide feedback and in-line comments on student assignments using the GradeMark tool.

The Originality Check tool helps you identify the plagiarism by automatically comparing your student submissions to an online database of original content. Originality Reports are made available to you and your students (if you choose to), highlighting key areas, and showing a breakdown of matching sources, with direct links to the matching content.

The Grade Mark tool allows you to make comments on student submissions, offering you unique features, such as pre-written comments (QuickMarks).

Turnitin can be used as both a plagiarism tool and an educational tool, as it helps students understand the proper use of quotation marks, how to cite sources properly, and how to paraphrase.

Helpful articles/videos on Turnitin:

Note: Subscribe to Turnitin updates if you would like to be notified by email when there is a Turnitin service disruption.

Product Idea Exchange (PIE)

The Product Idea Exchange (PIE) allows you to share your ideas for improvement and vote for those you would like to see developed. To contribute to PIE, visit the Product Idea Exchange website.

If you would like to see a list of current PIE Items that have been up-voted by you, and also the items that the committee previously voted up and were implemented by D2L, check our LMS Website.

Note: To access and up-vote PIE items, you will first need to register to be part of the Brightspace Community here: https://community.brightspace.com/SelfRegistration.

Reminder – The ONLY Email Address for Brightspace Support

We would like to remind you that Faculty and Staff should be using only the brightspace@algonquincollege.com address when asking for Brightspace Support. In order to make sure that your email reaches us, and we provide the help you need, please take a moment to delete all other emails that contain the word brightspace from your address book. Note that, when emailing the correct email address for Brightspace Support, you will receive an automatic reply with your case number.

DLE Weekly Update: November News, Brightspace Tips and Grade Entry in ACSIS

New great feature introduced by the November release: Retake incorrect questions in subsequent attempts

This feature introduces a new option for Quizzes Attempt settings that allows students to only retake their incorrectly answered questions from previous quiz attempts. When you edit a Brightspace quiz (Activities/Quizzes), the new option is available for you to select from the Assessment tab. Each learner only sees the questions they had previously answered incorrectly in the same order as the initial attempt (including quizzes with random sections and random questions).

Brightspace Tips

Are you marking your students’ assignments anonymously?

Anonymous Marking is a tool in Brightspace which allows you to mark your students Assignment submissions without knowing the identity of the student. In case you are using Anonymous Marking, note it is not possible to publish individual evaluations. To maintain anonymity, all evaluations have to be published at the same time using the Publish All Feedback button. When marking, the first step is to save the grades/feedback as a draft (select Save Draft to save), and then go back to Activities/Assignments/View Submissions page and click on the Publish All Feedback button.

Do you need to copy ONLY the final exam (or any other quiz) from one course to another?

Use the Select Components button when you perform a course copy and select only the Quizzes option, followed by Selected Quizzes, and then the quiz you wish to copy. If your quiz is created as a random quiz with questions from the Question Library, make sure you also copy that particular section from the Question Library, by selecting the Question Library option, along with the Quizzes one. By doing this, you will make sure that you will have that Question Library section in the destination course, for usage in other quizzes.

Preparing a CSV (Excel) File for Uploading Grades into ACSIS

At the end of each semester, you are asked to upload the final grades for your students to ACSIS. This article provides you with step-by-step instructions describing how to prepare a .csv (Excel) file from the gradebook in Brightspace in preparation for submitting/uploading grades to ACSIS.

Does your course contain TechSmith Relay videos?

The TechSmith web server will be shut down on December 31, 2020. Any content not retrieved by this date will no longer be available to users.
You may have inherited a Brightspace course that contains TechSmith Relay presentations, created by you or another faculty member (past or present). The URL will typically contain “replay.algonquincollege.com” and will also indicate the username of the original creator, e.g. “replay.algonquincollege.com/replay/kershar/…” For more information, and the steps that you should take to address this, please take a look at this myAC post.

DLE Weekly Update: The Assignment Preview in Brightspace

Do you know that you could preview a Brightspace Assignment as a learner?

The Assignment Preview allows an instructor to submit and view their assignments as a learner, whenever there is the need to double check the assignments’ settings. You can simulate a student uploading a file to an assignment, grade it as the instructor, and also test your grading rubric, if you have linked one to the assignment.

Read the Assignment Preview in Brightspace KB Article for detailed information on how to use it.

Note: If you are interested in learning how to preview a quiz as a learner, read the View Content as a Learner: Preview a Quiz article.

Want to know more about the Assignments tool in Brightspace?

DLE Weekly Update: More Brightspace Tips


Brightspace Tips – Answers to Common Questions this past Week

 

  • Q: I would like to create an assignment that allows students to offer feedback to each other’s work. Can I do this in Brightspace?
    A:     This article describes how to create and set up a PeerMark Assignment in Brightspace.
  • Q: I am trying to upload a new ZOOM recording to Brightspace and it looks like the existing Zoom recording gets replaced by the new one. What am I doing wrong?
    A:     We recommend that ZOOM recordings be stored in the cloud. If for some reason you need to save the recordings to your computer before uploading them to Brightspace, you must rename the videos on your computer prior to uploading. If you don’t, as by default all videos have the same name (Zoom_0), each new video will overwrite the previous one you loaded to your course. There will be nothing that can be done to restore previous videos.
  • Q: I am using breakout room in ZOOM when delivering my class lecture, but I would like to allow my students to choose the room they want to be in. Is there a ZOOM option to allow me to do this?
    A    : The “Let participants choose room” option is NOW available to select during a ZOOM meeting, ONLY for the versions 5.3 or newer. Update your software from your Zoom app or from your profile under the Algonquin College Zoom portal.
  • Q: Some of my students can not access their group assignment. Is there any easy way to view the groups’ enrollment at once?
    A:     On the “Manage Group” page, from the contextual menu for the group category, choose “Enroll Users”. The next screen will display all your students on one page, and the groups they belong to. This view will help you quickly identify students who are not part of any group. Click here for more tips on Groups. Make sure you use Replace Strings in the announcement for a personalized message.
  • Q: Can I post an announcement visible ONLY to the students who have not submitted yet to an assignment?
    A:     When creating your course announcement, under “Additional Release Conditions”, click on the “Create and Attach” button. Select the “No submission to folder” menu option, and then choose the assignment. The announcement will be visible ONLY to the students who have not submitted and it will also be sent as an email ONLY to those students.
  • Q: How can I add closed captions to My Mediasite presentations?
    A:     Closed captions are provided by a third party and you have to request closed captions by using the steps described in the My Mediasite FAQ page, on the LTS website.

Reminder: New Assignment Create and Edit Experience

The June Brightspace release introduced a new assignment create and edit experience, available across all your courses, on an opt-in/opt-out basis. Eventually, this new assignment version will automatically be turned on for all of you.

  • Access here the Knowledge Base article for instructions on how to turn it off or on.
  • Read this article if you need to create an assignment in your course and you are not clear about all the assignment options.

So You Think You Can Brightspace

Are you doing something exciting or engaging with Brightspace (or other integrated technologies)? Are you willing to share your ideas with other faculty members? If so, please consider participating in the AC Expo: Rockin’ the Remote Classroom during the midterm break week, October 26th – 28th.

 

LMS Weekly Update: Summer News

Reminder: Turnitin Mappings to be reset on August 21, 2020

Please take a moment today to schedule a reminder for yourself to export the content you wish to keep before August 21st, 2020. If you have any questions or need assistance, please email brightspace@algonquincollege.com, with the subject line “Turnitin Export”.

Instructions on How to Export/Import your QuickMarks and Rubrics:

Reminder: New Assignment Create and Edit Experience

The June Brightspace release introduced a new assignment create and edit experience, available across all your courses, on an opt-in/opt-out basis.

  • Access here the Knowledge Base article for instructions on how to turn it off or on.
  • Access here the Knowledge Base article for on overview of the benefits and limitations of the new assignment experience in its current state.

The Release Conditions option will be added next week, followed by the Special Access next month.

Pinned Tab in the My Courses Widget

Any courses pinned, using the waffle icon, will now show on the Pinned tab in the My Courses widget, allowing you to more easily navigate to your most frequent courses.

New Evolve Link for Elsevier

We are happy to inform you that content acquired through Elsevier can now be added to the LMS by using the Evolve link External Learning Tool. You can add this link by navigating to your Course Content > Existing Activities > External Learning Tool and choosing the Evolve link from the list, or by following the instructions that came with the content you purchased from Elsevier.

A word on External Publishers and Brightspace

If you are looking to acquire content from an external publisher that offers an integration with Brightspace, please contact us before purchasing your content. Each publisher has to go through a security vetting process before their integration can be deployed. If you purchase content before contacting us, you run the risk of not being able to deploy the content that you already paid for. Vetting a new integration and deploying it to Brightspace can typically take a few months.

Brightspace Satisfaction Survey

The Brightspace satisfaction survey is coming, but it’s also changing. Since the response rate of the previous survey was very low, we are looking at ways to simplify the survey and boost the response rate. This survey is for you and will be used to make Brightspace and the Brightspace support better. I am interested in hearing from you: What would you like to see in this survey? How can we make you want to provide feedback? Is there a better way to get your feedback and comments on Brightspace than the survey model? I am open to anything – please let me know by emailing me at marchem@algonquincollege.com

Digital Learning Environment Knowledge Base (DLEKB)

Do you have a quick Brightspace question and support is closed? We have recently launched our knowledge base providing you with articles based on your most frequently asked questions.
This knowledge base does not replace our support team, who is still available to provide the assistance you require through brightspace@algonquincollege.com. Our goal for this is to augment our ability to easily get you what you need, when you need it.

Faculty PD

LTS will be offering several Brightspace sessions in the next couple of weeks.

 

LMS Weekly Update: Last chance for Brightspace Refresher until August!

Brightspace Refresher – 2 more PD sessions offered on July 6th and 7th

Need some tips and reminders on how to use Brightspace effectively? Get a refresher on how to upload and organize content, how to communicate with your learners, how to create and deploy assessment activities and how to configure the grades page for you and your students. Register for the sessions offered by LTS, by visiting their Faculty PD offerings.

Reminder: New Assignment Create and Edit Experience

The June Brightspace release includes a new assignment create and edit experience. This will be available to faculty immediately across all courses, on an opt-in/opt-out basis, providing an early opportunity to test and provide feedback ahead of the summer vacation.

  • Access here the Knowledge Base article for instructions on how to turn it off or on.
  • Access here the Knowledge Base article for on overview of the benefits and limitations of the new assignment experience in its current state.

Reminder: Turnitin Mappings to be reset on August 21, 2020

Please take a moment today to schedule a reminder for yourself to export the content you wish to keep before August 21st, 2020. If you have any questions or need assistance, please email brightspace@algonquincollege.com, with the subject line “Turnitin Export”.

Instructions on How to Export/Import your QuickMarks and Rubrics:

LMS Weekly Update: March 30

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Updates and Resources

Algonquin College main Coronavirus page

For all Algonquin College Coronavirus resources, including a student online learning kit, FAQs, online services, the latest updates and more, visit our Coronavirus Information page.

LTS Academic Continuity page

The purpose of this resource is to provide faculty with support for the alternative delivery of course material. This is not a directive; it is a collection of resources for alternative delivery of content and methods of assessment.

Brightspace Updates

Brightspace Support

Open a case by Email: Brightspace@algonquincollege.com
Please use a descriptive subject line when emailing us. Avoid subjects like “Help!” or “Brightspace question”.
We reply to cases during our business hours; Monday to Friday from 8am to 5pm.

There is no phone or in person support during the Coronavirus pandemic.
Use the appointment booking form for a desktop sharing session or to be called at a specific time.
Because of the high volume of bookings, we ask that you limit yourself to booking one session per day and respect the session duration (15 minutes).

Most asked Brightspace questions

Recalculating the final grade when exempting a grade

It has been my understanding that if an assignment is exempted (a course now out of a possible 85% – weighted grades) then the proper grade percentage has to be calculated manually, meaning that the weighted total column shows a percentage out of 85, but not 100. Can you please confirm whether manual calculations will be necessary and/or whether those who download final grades into ACSIS will have to take any additional steps?

Here’s the answer from Tamara:

I’ve created a short video in response to your question. If you change the way in which your grade book is displayed (from “Drop ungraded items” to “Treat ungraded items as 0”), Brightspace will perform the calculation (from 85% to 100% for you).

File size limit upload for assignments

The limit is 1GB per file. This limit cannot be changed. However, there is no limit to the number of files a Learner can attach to a submission, provided the Instructor has setup the Assignment to accept multiple files.

In other words, if an Assignment is setup to accept multiple files, a Learner could upload multiple files totaling over 1GB, as long as each of these individual files are less than 1GB in size.

I need help with Zoom!

LTS has developed a great set of guides and checklists for Zoom on their Tools for Delivery page.

LMS Weekly Update: Most Useful LMS Weekly Updates

Successful Brightspace Symposium

Thank you to everyone who attended this event, in person or online. The goal of the event was to create visions for effective teaching and learning in Brightspace, by showcasing faculty successes and highlighting additional features and integrations in the system. The winners of the So You Think You Can Brightspace contest were among the presenters, alongside a live Zoom demonstration and a fantastic student panel. The entire event was live-streamed via Zoom, one of the two sponsors for the day alongside D2L. You can watch a rerun of the day here, via YouTube.

Most Useful LMS Weekly Updates

As many of you are going back to tips on different Brightspace tools published in previous LMS weekly updates, we have summarized the most common and important ones in this week’s update.

Quizzes

Gradebook

Discussions

Surveys

Intelligent Agents

Assignments

General

Please email us at pietram@algonquincollege.com if you would like to see news on other Brightspace tools.

 

LMS Weekly Update: Satisfaction Survey, PD sessions and the Assignment Tool

Satisfaction Survey

We would like to have your responses to a few simple questions about the Learning Management System. By responding to the survey, which should take less than five minutes of your time, you can help the LMS team understand how satisfied you are with Brightspace, which elements are most useful to you in your work, and which features you feel can be improved. By completing the survey, you will be entered into a draw for a $25 gift card for Connections. Access the survey from here.

PD Sessions

There will be a couple of Brightspace PD sessions on offer most weeks for the rest of the semester, starting next week with some Beyond Brightspace Essentials sessions. Check out the latest offerings in the Professional Development Registration System.

TEN Things about the Brightspace Assignment Tool

This week we have answers to your questions on the Assignment tool, in addition to the documentation that exists in the Essentials for Faculty course in Brightspace that is available to all instructors:

  1. How do I create an assignment? Click here for step by step instructions.
  2. Why do I see my course Assignments under the Activities menu on the nav bar, but not under the Content area? Once in a while we see a bit of confusion about the area where you should make your assignments accessible for your students. Regardless of the way you create your assignments, they will ALWAYS exist under the Activities menu on the course nav bar. There is nothing wrong with directing your students to access the assignments from the Activities menu, but sometimes, depending on how your course is structured, your might want to make them available under one particular module, under the Content area. This is when you will be using the Existing Activities/Assignments to create a link to the existing assignments.

    Important!     Removing the link from the Content area and choosing the second option on the confirmation pop-up screen, will delete your assignment from your course.
  3. I need to allow some of my students alternate time restrictions, due dates, etc. How do I do this? You can accomplish this by using the Special access option from within the Assignments properties screen.
  4. How do I grade an assignment using a Pass/Fail scheme? An assignment can be associated only with the numeric or selectbox types of grade columns, allowing you to grade using numeric or letter grades. For a Pass or Fail grade, ensure that you use a selectbox type of grade column at the same time with a Pass/Fail Grade Sheme.
  5. Can I make annotations when grading assignments? Assignment submissions will automatically load with the Annotation Tool bar withing the Evaluation Submission Screen.
  6. I have different points possible for the assignment and for the grade column. What do I do?
    • If there are no submissions for the assignment, you only need to edit the associated column from Grades/Manage Grades and adjust the points.
    • If you already have graded the assignment, once you edit the grade column and change the points, the existing grades won’t get automatically adjusted. You will need to go to Activities/Assignments/View Submissions and Update the grade for each student (the same screen you use when you first graded the assignment and published the grades).
  7. I deleted an assignment by mistake! To recover deleted assignments go to Activities/Assignments/More Actions/Event Log. The deleted assignment will have a Restore button available.
  8. Need to grade assignment files offline? You have the option to download all the assignments files in a zip file, grade them, save the files, create a new zip file and upload all the graded files as a package file. Go to Activities/Assignments/View Submission and then the Submissions tab. Select all submissions and click Download. When you are ready to upload them, from the same screen, click on the Add Feedback Files tab and upload the zip file.
  9. Grade Sync – When you enter a grade for an assignment submission in the standard or spreadsheet view of GradeBook, the grade will appear with the submission in the Assignment tool.
  10. How do I check students’ assignments for plagiarism? When you create an assignment you have the option to enable Turnitin. Click here to learn how to do this.