Zoom Classroom

DLE Weekly Update: Hiding Grades, DLE KB and Zoom Resources

Hiding Grades in Brightspace

We all know that hiding grades in Brightspace sometimes presents a challenge, as it depends on the type of gradebook columns. We NOW have a great video created by Tamara and Vanessa, explaining in details how to hide two types of gradebook columns: associated with a Brightspace activity (quiz, assignment or discussion) and columns without any associations.

Important: After following the steps outlined in this video, also make sure that your final calculated grade column is hidden, as students can access the grades for hidden columns by clicking on the small calculator icon, beside their percentage for the final calculated grade!

If you need to learn How to Hide the Final Calculated Grade column, this article shows you the steps you need to take.

Reminder: Digital Learning Environment Knowledge Base (DLEKB)

We would like to remind you to check our Digital Learning Environment Knowledge Base that contains more than 150 articles on various Brightspace tools. Please know that we read and welcome your feedback on these articles. Keep them coming and send us suggestions for new articles.

Zoom Resources

As many of you are teaching for the first time using Zoom, we have put together a list of Zoom resources that we hope you will find helpful. This video created by LTS provides a quick guide on almost everything you need to know about Zoom.

How do I schedule a Zoom meeting?

  1. You can schedule it from within your Brightspace course – ideal for when you give lectures to your students. After you schedule the meeting, the link to the new meeting will automatically show up in your students’ course calendar. They will have access to the meeting on the date and time you chose in the meeting’s settings. Note that your students won’t need to sign up for a Zoom account, as they will automatically have access to your Zoom classroom, as participants.
  2. Via the portal or the application, outside your Brightspace course, by signing into the Algonquin College Zoom Portal – recommended for small groups’ meetings, when the participants don’t have Brightspace accounts and/or you don’t want your students to join the meeting by mistake.

How do I set up my Zoom account?

When you first access Zoom Classroom from within your Brightspace course, your Zoom account is automatically created for you. If you don’t have a Brightspace course, but you need to schedule Zoom meetings, you will create the account via the Algonquin College Zoom portal.

How do I manage my Zoom recordings?

Read our KB article on How to manage your Zoom Recordings in Brightspace. Zoom recordings of sessions that are scheduled through Brightspace via Tools > Zoom Classroom, and saved to the cloud, are no longer automatically shared with students in the Brightspace course. Previously, a link to the recording would appear immediately for students via Tools > Zoom Classroom, under Cloud Recordings. This KB article explains How to Publish Zoom Cloud Recordings.

How do I deal with Zoom in Combined/Merged courses.

This article explains how to set up Zoom meetings in a Combined/Merged Course.

Zoom Breakout Rooms

If you are using breakout rooms in ZOOM when delivering your class lecture, and you would like to allow your students to choose the room they want to be in, please note that the “Let participants choose room” option is available to select during a ZOOM meeting, but 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.

DLE Weekly Update: Zoom Update and Brightspace Tips

Zoom recordings of sessions that are scheduled through Brightspace via Tools > Zoom Classroom, and saved to the cloud, will no longer be automatically shared with the students in your Brightspace course.

To find out more about this Zoom update and a few Brightspace tips, please read this article.

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: Brightspace Tips

Brightspace Tips – Answers to Common Questions this past Week

  • How do I link the Glossary into a content area? Go to Tools/Course Admin/Glossary and copy the URL that you see in the browser’s address bar. Then, navigate to the Content module where you would like to link the Glossary, click on Upload/Create button and choose Create a link from the drop down menu. Enter a title and paste the link to the Glossary.
  • When I am scheduling Zoom meetings in my combined/merged courses, the events show up in ALL students’ calendars. How do I restrict a Zoom calendar event to a specific course section? Go to your course calendar and find the Zoom occurrence you just created. Left click on it and select Edit. Scroll down to Attendees and change the drop down selection to the desired course section. Note that ALL students will still be able to join the meetings, by going to Tools/Zoom Classroom, but not having the notifications in their calendar, will make it easier for them to manage the upcoming events.
  • I am working with a combined course and I really need to make sure students are not seeing ALL Zoom meetings scheduled, by going to Tools/Zoom Classroom. How do I make sure only students from one particular course section view ONLY their own Zoom meeting link?
    • Set up a Zoom meeting outside Brightspace by going to the Algonquin Zoom Portal
    • Copy the link and password for the invitation to that Zoom meeting
    • Create a restricted announcement in your combined/merged course (that will be seen only by that particular section, and be sent as an email only to the students from the section)
    • OR create restricted course modules and upload an item that will contain only the Zoom link that you will be using for one particular section (for instance, you will create one module called Zoom 011, and include a link to their Zoom session, then Zoom 012, and include their own link, etc.
  • How can I offer my students extra help?
    • Remind your learners, who have accommodations, to let you know so that you can set up special access for them in quizzes, giving them extra time as required. Students can connect with CAL if they think they might be entitled to accommodations.
    • For your students who need help learning how to use Brightspace, please direct them to the Student Learning Centre – they are offering workshops next week.
    • Encourage your students to self-enroll in Success in Digital Environments. The link to this course is available to them on their Brightspace homepage.
  • Is there any way to start a Zoom classroom with pre-assigned break out rooms? Yes, but ONLY if students have Zoom accounts (through https://zoom.us), and they are logged into their account in order to be assigned to the breakout rooms correctly. Follow this instructions on pre-assigning participants to breakout rooms.
    Note: Students must use their Algonquin email address when they create the Zoom Basic accounts.
    Here are some recommendations to get your students in the habit of signing into Zoom:

    • Inform students that they will need to create a Zoom account and log into Zoom to access future meetings.
    • Edit upcoming meetings so that Only authenticated users can access them (it’s a checkbox when editing the meeting).
    • Give students an extra 5-10 minutes to get into your next meeting – they will inevitably run into difficulties and some may not have created an account.
    • The main thing is the communication piece. We’d recommend something like this: “To join this session, please see the Getting Started section of this Library guide, to create a free Zoom Basic account using your college email address. Accounts will be used to make group work easier in each session. You will not be able to access future class meetings without a Zoom account.

Faculty PD Sessions

For help setting up and/or grading quizzes, or grading any other learner activities in Brightspace, sign up for the PD sessions offered by LTS.

Important: Combined/Merged Courses in Brightspace

When asking for combined courses, please take a few minutes to understand the options you have.

We Need your Help

When emailing us your requests, we would appreciate if you could ensure that all information relevant to your issue is provided. Please take a moment to read our How to get assistance page for the Dos and Don’ts of opening a case with us.

  • Please do not reply to closed cases. If you have a follow-up question, or if we have not completely answered this question, send a new email to brightspace@algonquincollege.com.
  • Do NOT CC Brightspace on emails sent to multiple people, as every reply creates a new case.
  • If you have already sent an email to us, please know that you are in the queue. We ask that you please don’t send a follow up email, as this generates another ticket in the queue.

 

LMS Weekly Update: Tips on Quizzes, Turnitin Assignments and ZOOM…

Tips on Quizzes, Turnitin Assignments and ZOOM…

Quizzes

Question: My exam contains sections of various type of quiz questions (multiple choice, written response and short answer). I need to shuffle the questions within each section, while keeping the order of the sections intact when students are taking the exam. How do I do this?

Answer: Our recommendation is to start by having your quiz questions organized in Sections, in the Question Library, for an easy work flow. Then follow these steps:

  • Go to Activities/Quizzes/New Quiz to begin creating your exam.
  • Click on the Add/Edit Questions button and then choose Import/Browse Question Library.
  • Select all the sections (they look like folders) you need to bring over to your exam and click Add.
  • Double click on the name of each Section and check off the Shuffle questions in this section option.
  • Note that you could display extra information that comes up before the questions contained in each section, by using the Section text. Ensure you don’t have the Hide Section Text from students option checked off
  • DO NOT check off the Shuffle questions at the quiz level option from the Properties tab.

Turnitin

Question: I have given my students feedback using the GradeMarks in a Turnitin Assignment, but the feedback is NOT visible to them.

Answer: Students view the Turnitin feedback by going to Activities/Assignments, then clicking on the Feedback (read/unread) in the Evaluation Status column for that particular assignment OR or by going to their Grades.

  • Note that the assignment needs to be visible to students (it does NOT have to be available) so that they can access the Feedback.
  • Ensure you have a grade entered for each submission in the Turnitin Feedback Studio where you used the QuickMarks for grading.
  • Make sure you have the grades published by going to the Activities/Assignments/View Submissions screen, select all users and then click on the Publish Feedback option.

ZOOM

Question: My students have group presentations and I have split them in breakout rooms. How do I make sure I have a recording of each breakout room?

Answer: Set up the ZOOM meeting to record on your computer and NOT in the cloud. You will need to have one student from each room record the breakout room session. You can designate one person in each Breakout Room to record locally and then share that file with you after the meeting. Multiple students can record locally if allowed by the host.

Note: Need to know how to set up your Zoom account and get familiarized with the security and privacy guidelines around hosting and recording meetings? Check the LTS’s Tools for Delivery website.

D2L Fusion 2020 – Virtual Event

D2L Fusion 2020 is starting on July 20th and it is FREE. This virtual Fusion conference will take place three consecutive days each month, from noon to 3:45 p.m., over a few months period.

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: Upcoming Changes on Appointments and Grading Final Exams

Update on the LMS Faculty Support

Message from Michel Marcheterre, Digital Learning Environment Strategist, about the Appointments Upcoming Changes.

As we settle in this new way of providing support, I’m happy to announce that our support team is growing. With the additional support specialists, it allows us to make some changes to the way we deliver support through appointments.

As of Monday, April 20th, 2020:

  • Appointments will be for 25 minutes maximum. Our extra capacity allows us to spend more time with you.
  • We still ask that you limit yourself to one appointment per day. If you require more time, our support specialist will, at the end of your appointment, establish a strategy to provide you the help you need.
  • We ask you to please cancel an appointment ASAP if you can’t make it.
  • When you book an appointment, you will not be able to select which support specialist helps you – the system will assign your appointment to the next available support specialist.

You can schedule an appointment by clicking here.

You can still get help by emailing brightspace@algonquincollege.com. When you email us, make sure to use descriptive subjects (avoid generic titles like “Help!”, “Problem” or “Brightspace”).

Common Quiz Questions Asked AFTER the Exam Week

 

  • My final exam has questions I need to manually grade. How do I grade them? Many quiz question types will be graded automatically, as long as you have provided the answer key. In some cases, you may need to manually grade a quiz. Here are the recommended steps.
  • I have students who claim they have completed the exam, but did not get to submit it. How do I see and grade their attempts? When a learner takes a quiz, but fails to submit it, Brightspace shows no submission or grade. The learner’s quiz becomes an “attempt in progress.” You can search for the attempt and then submit it by “impersonating” the learner so that the quiz can be graded.
  • Some of my students could not take the exam when it was scheduled for the entire class. How do I reopen the exam only for those students? You will need to use the Special Access options, from the Restrictions tab. Click here to learn how to do it.
  • What do I do if my students have completed the exam, but I don’t see their grades in the Gradebook? Go to Activities/Quizzes and edit the quiz. Check if you have a Grade item associated with the quiz, on the Assessment tab. If not, create one using the Add Grade Item link. In addition to this, make sure that the Allow automatic export to grades option is checked off.
  • I need to hide the Final Calculated grade column. How do I do it? Click here for details.
  • I need to hide the grades until I finish grading the exam for all students. What is the best way to do it? Make the quiz inactive (from Activities/Quizzes, edit the quiz and hide it from the Restrictions tab) AND hide the gradebook item, as well. Go to Grades/ Enter Grades view, click on the chevron for the title of the column and choose Edit. From the Restrictions tab check off the Hide from Users option.

GOOD to KNOW! Displaying how the final grade is calculated will actually give away the hidden grades. From Grades, click on the Settings option and then on the Org Unit Display Options tab. Make sure that the Display how final grade was calculated to users is not checked off.

  • My final exam is graded and students can view their grades, but now I would like my students to have access to the exam questions and their answers. The submission view settings determine how students see their completed quizzes. Click here to learn how to show quiz results using submission views.

Zoom Security Changes

As already advertised by ITS, two features will become Zoom defaults as of Monday, April 20th – Password Protection and Waiting Rooms. These settings apply to all meetings scheduled through Outlook, Brightspace, and the web portal. The password, which is auto-generated and will display when you are setting up the meeting, will be embedded in the Brightspace link to join the session, and does not need to be shared, as long as students access the session through Brightspace.

For all other questions or inquiries regarding these Zoom changes, please contact ITS at 613-727-4723 x5555 or 5555@algonquincollege.com.

LMS Weekly Update: Quiz Questions, Update on Zoom Recordings and 2020 Spring/Summer Courses

Question of the Week – Quizzes in Brightspace

We have made a summary of our documentation on quizzes, hoping that this will provide you with a quicker answer before you set up an appointment with one of our LMS Faculty Support Team members:

  • Quiz documentation that exists in the Essentials for Faculty course in Brightspace – Find detailed instructions on how to create a quiz, how to import questions from the Test/Quiz Question Generator into a section in the Question Library, and available options for shuffling quiz questions. Also, you might find useful the step-by-step instructions on how to reset a quiz attempt, and how to submit an attempt in progress by impersonating the student.
  • All you need to know about Brightspace Quizzes (from a previous LMS Weekly Update) – Learn about the recommended workflow to create quizzes, find short answers to common questions (how to create a practice quiz, regrade students’ submissions, or how to hide the grades and print a quiz).
  • Ways to provide Quiz Feedback to your learners (from a previous LMS Weekly Update) – There are multiple ways of providing quiz feedback to your students, and also different ways of accessing the feedback. Learn about the overall, attempt or question type of feedback.

Q. While taking an exam, if the screen freezes, or there is a short moment of no Internet connection, how will my students and I deal with this situation?

A. Once the problem is fixed, students will need to login again to Brightspace, access your course and click on the exam link. They will be allowed to continue the exam from where they left off, as answers are automatically saved, but the quiz timing will still go on while the student is out of the quiz. If they won’t be able to continue that quiz attempt, in an “one attempt” quiz situation, they will need to contact you, the teacher, and you will need to reset the attempt.

Update to ZOOM – Where to Save the Recordings

We now have additional storage in the Zoom Cloud and are recommending that you save your recordings there – if done through the Zoom Classroom in Brightspace, the link will appear automatically and your students will have access to the recording from the Zoom Classroom, under the Tools menu. If your Zoom Meeting was hosted outside Brightspace and your need to share the link with the recording with your students, you may post it under the course Content or include it in a Brightspace Announcement.

Check the Zoom Security and Privacy Guidelines for Faculty Members file for recommendations on how to configure your Zoom account, how to conduct a meeting, and how to record and share online class sessions.

2020 Spring/Summer Course Shells NOW Available in Brightspace

2020 Spring/Summer course shells have been created and made available in Brightspace. In addition to the answers provided below, you might want to also check out the Brightspace Course Readiness Checklist in the Brightspace Essentials course.

Common questions at the beginning of the semester:

  • I don’t see my 2020 Spring/Summer course(s) when I login to Brightspace. First, make sure that you click on the 2020 Spring/Summer label in the My Courses widget. If no course displays there, then check ACSIS and/or with your support officer to ensure your course(s) are assigned to you. Email us at brightspace@algonquincollege.com if you still don’t see them listed after 48 hours.
  • How do I perform a Course Copy? Click here for details on how to copy the entire course content or just selected areas of the course.

GOOD TO KNOW! Existing announcements are sent as emails during a complete course copy

If you are performing a complete course copy after May 12th, when the Spring/Summer 2020 courses will automatically become available to students, be aware that all the announcements that are getting copied over into the new course will also automatically be sent as emails to all the students enrolled in your new course, as expected with announcements in Brightspace.

To avoid this, you could make the course temporarily inactive (Tools/Course Admin/Course Offering Information) for the duration of the course copy, or use the Select Components button when doing the Course Copy and exclude the announcements from the list of course components to copy.

  • How do I add a user to my course? Students are automatically added to your courses, but you might want to add another teacher to your course and this is how you do it.

GOOD TO KNOW! There are times when you need to add other teachers to your courses, with the intention to have them do a course copy to their courses, but you would like to make sure that your course content does not get altered by mistake. Instead of adding them with the instructor role, please use the new course copier role. Don’t forget to remove them from the course once the copy is completed.

  • I copied the wrong course! How do I delete the content and perform the course copy again? Click here for information on how to delete the course content and also the course activities and gradebook columns.
  • I have access to a course as an instructor, but I would like to have the course removed from my list of courses. What should I do?

Option 1: If you also see this course on your list of courses in ACSIS, first you need to talk to your department and make sure you have not been assigned by mistake to that course in Genesis. Then you can remove yourself from the course, using the Classlist option, from the Tools menu. Click on the checkbox beside your name and choose Unenrol.

Option 2: If you have been added by another fellow instructor, just remove yourself from that course. No need to email our LMS support.

  • I am teaching multiple sections of the same course and I would like an easy way to manage the common content. When teaching multiple sections of the same course, combining those sections into one shell might save you some time.

Option 1: Combine your course sections into an EXISTING course shell – For instance, if you teach 20S_ABC000_010 and 20S_ABC000_020, the 020 section will be merged into the 010. The 010 section will be renamed 20S_ABC0000_010_020 or 20S_ABC0000_AllSections. You and your students will have access only to one course section. Note that, if you already have content in both sections, merging them will ONLY transfer the student enrollment and not the content. It is recommended to ask for a merged course before the course start date.

Option 2: Combine your course sections into a NEW course shell (the way we used to combine them in Blackboard). A new 20S_ABC0000_010_020 or 20S_ABC0000_AllSections course shell will be created for you. Note that this option would work when multiple course sections are taught by multiple teachers. Students and teachers will have access to the combined course, at the same time with the individual section(s).

Send an email to brightspace@algonquincollege.com if you would like us to combine your courses and please include your preference in the request. Please make sure you give us the complete course code (include section numbers, too), the option you would like us to use when we combine them (into an existing shell or into a new one – read here details on this), and also if you would still need to keep the individual sections available to you and students.

 

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: ZOOM Classroom, Online Brightspace Support and Academic Continuity Resources

Most Asked Questions on ZOOM Classroom tool

  • How many ways are there for setting up a Zoom meeting? You have three ways to schedule a Zoom meeting.
    • From within a course in Brightspace – ideal for when you give lectures to your students. Go to your Brightspace course and access the Zoom Classroom link from under the Tools menu. After you schedule the meeting, the link to the new meeting will automatically show up in your students’ course calendar. They will have access to the meeting on the date and time you chose in the meeting’s settings. Note that your students won’t need to sign up for a Zoom account, as they will automatically have access to your Zoom classroom, as participants.
    • Through the website, outside your Brightspace course, by signing into the Algonquin College Zoom Portal – recommended for small groups’ meetings, when the participants don’t have Brightspace accounts and/or you don’t want your students to join the meeting by mistake. Also, you may choose to use this Zoom portal for your open office hours, specially when you need all your students, from multiple classes, to have access to this room.
    • Using the ZOOM app on your smart phone
  • How do I share my screen? Click on the Share icon, down at the bottom of the screen. You may share your desktop (or choose which desktop, if you have more than one), share a whiteboard that allows you and your students to collaborate, or share one specific app (which you should have it open before you start your Zoom meeting). If you have all the info you need to share with your students in one app (Power Point, World, Excel, etc), then sharing an app instead of the desktop, will avoid the notifications that you usually get from other applications (new emails, new chat messages, etc) to pop up while sharing. But if you need to switch from an application, to a video and then to a website, etc, then Desktop sharing is the way to go. Watch this video for more details on running Zoom and screen sharing.
  • How do I add a virtual background? For those days when your office does not look the best, but you need to turn on your camera while giving your lectures using Zoom, once you have the meeting open, click on the chevron beside the Start Video icon and select the Choose a Virtual Background link. Use one of the existing images, or upload your personal ones, by clicking on Add Image. Click here for more information on setting a different background.
  • How do I record my lecture and make it available on Brightspace? We recommend opening your own Zoom meeting – find your personal meeting ID by logging in to your own Zoom account. Under the Profile menu, you will find your Personal Meeting ID .
    • Start your session by going to Host a meeting menu, on the right hand side, up at the top. You can start the meeting with video ON, OFF, or only screen sharing. We may choose to bookmark this address for easy access, next time when you need to record. The link will look like this: https://algonquincollege.zoom.us/s/YourOwnMeetingID.
    • Test your microphone and video settings.
    • Decide if you need to share your desktop or only one application. Open only the websites or the applications you need to share, before you start sharing and recording.
    • Don’t forget to click on the Record button. We recommend that you record on your computer. This video shows you how to record the meeting and also how to access the files with the recordings (under Documents/Zoom folder on your computer)
    • Make the recordings available to your students – We are waiting on guidance for best practices – Please check the LMS Weekly Update website in the next few days.
  • How do I use breakout rooms? Watch this video for details on this.

Online Faculty Brightspace Support Hours

Please know that you can still book 15 -minutes appointments with one of our Brightspace Faculty Support Team members by using this link. The appointments will take place using a ZOOM meeting or the Desktop Sharing in Teams. You will be sent by email a link to the ZOOM room where the session will take place, closer to the beginning of the appointment. Otherwise, please use the link included in the appointment confirmation email. Note that we are providing support Monday to Friday, from 9:00 am to 7:00 pm.

Multiple Ways to find Answers to some of your Brightspace Questions

Academic Continuity resources

LTS encourages you to check out their Academic Continuity resources, in particular the Teaching Remotely page, which includes teaching guidance and links to the recommended tools for delivery, one of which is Brightspace.