What’s New

LMS Weekly Update: Course assistance and Brightspace training

Happy New Year from your LMS team, which is ready to assist faculty prepare for their Winter 2019 courses and to provide Brightspace training.

Anyone scheduled in Genesis to teach a Winter course will find it listed in “My Courses” in Brightspace under the 2019W tab. Faculty can use the course readiness checklist available here to ensure their course is ready for the new term. The checklist links to useful tip sheets about preparing content.

Training opportunities for Brightspace are readily available for faculty. These include one-hour sessions on grading learners, using quizzes, setting up grades, using TurnItIn, and using rubrics.

The three-hour Brightspace Essentials workshop is for returning faculty who have not yet completed any Brightspace training. New faculty are invited to complete training via the Part-Time Faculty Orientation program. Registration is through the PD registration system here.

Faculty can also book appointments for one-on-one support here or drop in to C123 Mondays to Thursdays from 8 a.m. – 8 p.m. and Fridays from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.

For more information about Brightspace at Algonquin College, call x2501 or email brightspace@algonquincollege.com

LMS Weekly Update: December new features for Brightspace and common solutions

As the Brightspace Support team encounters common technical questions, they will now be posted within a new Common Solutions section of the Brightspace Support website.

Refer to this page as well as the FAQ section regularly to see if your questions or concerns are already listed here.

https://www.algonquincollege.com/brightspace/common-solutions/

https://www.algonquincollege.com/brightspace/faqs/

 

Summary of new features — December release

As part of D2L’s continuous improvement model, Brightspace implements incremental enhancements each month to the Learning Management System.

By Dec. 21, you will notice the following changes within Brightspace:

Assignments

Changeable assignment and submission type

  • Modify existing assignments by changing assignment or submission types, without having to create a new one, if it has no learner submissions.

 

Learner name links directly to Evaluate Submission page

  • Access Evaluate Submissions by clicking on learner’s name on Submissions
  • Previously, clicking on learner’s name launched sending student an email; sending email to students still possible by clicking on box beside student name and clicking Email

 

Improved Grading Experience

  • You can click on submission’s file name to download
  • Markup Document button is now called Launch Turnitin
  • Publish and Save Draft buttons are more conveniently located; there is also an extra Next Student link

Discussions
Improved rubrics grading experience

  • Rubrics assessments and feedback automatically save as draft while updates are in progress
  • In draft state, rubrics will not be visible to learners until instructor clicks on Save & Publish
  • Feedback can be bulk published to all or select users
  • Published feedback for changes to the Total Score can be removed through a new feature called Retract Feedback. (Overall Score and Overall Feedback can be edited without retraction)
  • New grading pop-up window for easier grading contains all rubrics for the discussion, a list of all posts made by the student, and a place to enter Overall Feedback

Rubrics

Improved Creation Experience

  • Auto-save during creation and editing
  • Change rubric type and scoring method during creation
  • Re-order criterion via drag and drop (or keyboard)
  • Improved logic for points-based rubrics where new levels automatically follow existing point scoring sequences
  • Individual criterion cells in custom point rubrics dynamically scale when editing its out of value
  • Overall Score is visibly separated from rubric and displayed in its own section

Quizzes

Enhanced Written Response question type

  • Instructors can add initial text to Written Response questions

 

LMS Weekly Update: Brightspace assistance and training

Your LMS team is available to assist faculty with getting their grades ready for submission or to help them prepare for their Winter 2019 courses.

Anyone scheduled in Genesis to teach a Winter course will find it listed in “My Courses” in Brightspace under the 2019W tab. Faculty can use a course readiness checklist available here to ensure their course is ready for the new term. The checklist links to handy tip sheets about preparing content.

Training opportunities for Brightspace are readily available for faculty. These include one-hour focused sessions on grading learners, using quizzes, setting up grades, using TurnItIn, and using rubrics.

The three-hour Brightspace Essentials workshop is for returning faculty who have not yet completed any Brightspace training. New faculty are invited to complete training via the Part-Time Faculty Orientation program. Registration is through the PD registration system here.

Faculty can also book appointments for one-on-one support here or drop in to C123 Mondays to Thursdays from 8 a.m. – 8 p.m. and Fridays from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.

For more information about Brightspace at Algonquin College, call x2501 or email brightspace@algonquincollege.com

 

LMS Weekly Update: Downloading grades from Brightspace

The LMS team regularly provides tip sheets to ensure faculty members have easy access to information about commonly used functions in Brightspace.

Today’s guides focus on ACSIS Grade Entry and Special Access for Quizzes.

ACSIS Grade Entry

The ACSIS Grade Entry tip sheets are now hosted in Brightspace. The most significant change is in the process for downloading grades from the LMS.

  • To learn how to download your grades from Brightspace and upload them into ACSIS, check out the tip sheets in Brightspace Essentials (Faculty). To access them, go here.

Special Access

  • Do you need to create special accommodations, such as adding extra time on quizzes or other assessments for your learners? Check out the step-by-step guide here.

LMS Weekly Update: Brightspace enhancements for November

Every month, you will discover new features and fixes in Brightspace as your Learning Management System team and Brightspace creator D2L work to streamline your LMS experience.

Help us in our continuing efforts to tailor Brightspace to the needs of Algonquin College by filling out the recent faculty survey here. The survey closes Sunday at midnight.

Here are the changes to Brightspace for November.

QUIZZES: Quiz-taking will go full screen

Additional screen space for the quiz due to removal of unnecessary navigation.

ASSIGNMENTS: Anonymous marking

This was enabled in October. This month, enhancements include:

  1. a) Icon appears when features used on assignments
  2. b) Student names revealed after feedback is published
  3. c) Improved confirmation message with prompt to grade ungraded items or still publish all

ASSIGNMENTS: Evaluate submissions page displays in full screen

Additional screen space due to removal of navigational bar links.

ASSIGNMENTS: New submission types can be selected from Existing Activities

In October, On Paper and Observed assignment submission types were added.

VIDEO NOTES: Close captioning

Users can add files containing closed captions to their video notes. The captioned text displays when viewing the video note.

MY COURSES WIDGET: Visual update

Includes status badge to show inactive and closed states for courses. Also, hovering over notification items gives tooltip information.

QUIZ COPY — Sorting Error

  • Previously, copied quizzes were sorted in the destination course by their creation time. This caused quizzes that had been reorganized to not appear in the destination course correctly.
  • Now, copied quizzes in the destination course are organized as they were in the source course, as expected.

COURSE IMPORT — Start and End Date Errors

  • Previously, upon course import, start and end dates for grade items may not have imported properly.
  • Now, upon course import, the start and end dates for grade items import, as expected.

HOLISTIC RUBRICS — Rubric Visibility Setting Now Available

  • Previously, when creating a holistic rubric, the Rubric Visibility setting was unavailable.
  • Now, setting is available, as expected.

FYI: YouSeeU is rebranded as Bongo as of Oct. 23

 

 

 

LMS Weekly Update: Brightspace Surveys

You can play an important role in the continuing evolution of Brightspace at Algonquin College.

A survey was recently sent to all faculty — another survey was sent to students — asking for responses to 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.

One of the benefits of Brightspace is that it enjoys regular updates, a feature that makes it adaptable over time to ongoing changes in the needs of users. Help us in our efforts to tailor Brightspace to the needs of Algonquin College by filling out the faculty survey here.

It would be helpful if you would encourage your students to fill out their survey as well. The more feedback we receive, the better we’ll understand how Brightspace is working for the College community. Students can respond to their Brightspace survey here.

LMS Weekly Update: Automatically releasing grades

Are you clear about how you can control when students see their final grade? Today’s tips from your LMS team provide insights into your choices and how to produce the results you want in the clearest possible manner. Go here to read about the process.
More information about grades can be found in the Brightspace Essentials (Faculty) module. You can access the content here:

https://brightspace.algonquincollege.com/d2l/le/content/6832/Home

For any questions or concerns related to Brightspace, please reach out to brightspace@algonquincollege.com

LMS Weekly Update: Customer Service Matters

Mario Ramsay returned to Algonquin College in late summer after a one-year sabbatical in Canada’s Rockies and set out to become comfortable with the school’s new Learning Management System.

“At first, I heard a lot of horror stories about Brightspace,” says Ramsay, Chef Professor in the School of Hospitality & Tourism. “I said to myself, ‘OK, no problem.’ I like a challenge and I love puzzles. I went to the first session for faculty. The facilitator was great. Then I booked myself three more half-hour sessions with whoever was free, and I found I was getting the hang of it. Was I perfect? No, but I could make my way around.”

On his own time, he focused on one of his courses — menu planning, which required the most coordination in Brightspace — and worked to master every detail that matters in his classes. He uses announcements “so the students will know ‘This is the menu today, these are the expectations”; he does tests and quizzes online; he uses rubrics for marking, and much more.

User-added image

He knows how difficult it was for some people to transition from Blackboard to Brightspace. The heavy users in particular struggled. They had reached the stage they could use Blackboard with their eyes closed. Now they had to learn something new.

“It’s not always easy to change. But I look at it this way: it’s like driving a new car. The seating arrangement is different. Some things are in different places than they were before. But you will still get where you are going. Before Brightspace, it was like driving and always worrying when the muffler would fall off.”

Ramsay says the element that more than any other made learning Brightspace a pleasure was the LMS team. “The people working there — amazing! When I needed help with something, I went sometimes with an appointment, sometimes without an appointment. It didn’t matter who I dealt with, the attitude was always the same: ‘Can we help you?’ It wasn’t fake. I felt like I was in a five-star hotel where customer service is the most important thing.”

What makes Brightspace so valuable to Ramsay today is the trust factor. He knows it will work when he needs it, which was not always the case with the previous LMS. “I find it solid. I know it will be working when I need it. Is it perfect? No. Is it better? Yes. Do I have confidence in the team behind it? I do. I know they will support me. My hat’s off to them.”

Enhancements and Small Feature Changes – Brightspace Release for October

You may have noticed a few small changes to Brightspace, especially within the Assignments Tool. This is a result of the continuous release model in which D2L releases small changes each month as opposed to major system updates released periodically. Often these new features reflect ideas introduced and voted up in the Product Idea Exchange within the Brightspace Community. You can contribute to and “vote up” ideas by joining the community.

On Friday, Oct. 19, the following features and changes were introduced:

Auto-Save During Quiz Taking
Quiz responses are saved while students take their quiz.
New Assignment Types
In addition to the standard file submission, instructors can choose to have students submit text on paper, or through observed in-person submissions.
Anonymized Learner Names to Avoid Potential Grading Bias
Instructors can now create assignments in which student names are kept anonymous during the grading process.
Improvements to Rubrics

Grading with rubrics now offers an improved workflow and design that is optimized for use on mobile devices. These new features include:

  • Rubrics automatically save in a Draft state while instructor is making updates. While in a Draft state, the rubrics are not visible to students. Once published, students can see their feedback from Assignments, Content, Discussions, Grades, or Learner Progress.
  • Ability to assess rubrics individually or assess all rubrics in the same grading workflow
  • Separate rubric Total (e.g. what is automatically calculated and is populated in Grades) and Overall Score (e.g. is editable by the instructor) areas.

New Error Message for When an Activity Link is Broken
The message used to say: “Error: page not found”. Now, the message says: “Unavailable Quicklink”.

“Send to Binder”‘ Will Disappear as of November 1
Binder is an older application that D2L has been phasing out. As of November 1, the “Send to Binder” button will disappear.

LMS Weekly Update: Brightspace Ambassadors prepare for next challenge

The success of the Brightspace implementation this semester can be measured in part in the small number of students still seeking help, says Justin McCaffrey, LMS project coordinator in charge of the Brightspace Ambassadors program.

“We are dealing with around 12 to 13 students a week in person and via email, McCaffrey says. “Students know how to use the program for the most part — they picked it up really quickly — and support levels are good when people have questions.”

McCaffrey’s role in the implementation process was to put together the Ambassadors program, which placed trained volunteers on campus to help students with the new Brightspace Learning Management System. Originally, around 100 people said they were interested in participating. Thirty-three showed up for Brightspace training and 30 worked shifts.

“A conversion rate of about 30 per cent is amazingly good,” McCaffrey says, “and I have to say they were a really dedicated group. I couldn’t be happier with how good my key students were. I’ve worked with students for seven or eight years, and it’s a good message to send when you give them some responsibility and let them run with it. They flourish. You see how people grow and it’s just awesome.”

User-added image
Justin McCaffrey, LMS project coordinator in charge of the Brightspace Ambassadors program

 

McCaffrey balances his time between his duties as the Brightspace LMS project coordinator in charge of the Ambassadors program and studies in project management.

“I’m a project management student managing a project. Things I’m learning in class we’re actually going through here. I said I wanted to give my students experiential learning but I’m actually getting it myself. It’s turned out really well.”
While continuing to work with the current crew of volunteers and sitting in on some shifts at the Ambassadors desk in Student Central, McCaffrey is already thinking ahead to January. There will be a new influx of students needing training in Brightspace and he will need to assemble another group of Ambassadors. Eighteen of the fall volunteers have expressed eagerness to return.

He canvassed the fall volunteers for their thoughts about gaps in the initial training and what will be needed for the new term. A knowledge base is being assembled for future volunteers by ITS student Kevin Perkins, who is working with McCaffrey, comprising data about virtually everything the Ambassadors encountered in their sessions with students this fall.

How does McCaffrey feel about redeploying the Ambassadors on campus in January? “I don’t want to be overconfident, but I think January will be the cherry on top of the process we accomplished this term. By the end of week three in September, it looked good, and with our new knowledge base to add to the Brightspace Essentials course, we’ll have even more to work with. It’s never easy in customer service, but we’ll be as prepared as we can be.”

Brightspace Ambassadors are available to offer LMS help for students in Student Central (Lower Level, DARE District) Monday to Thursday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. through Dec. 13.

Faculty members are encouraged to add their voices to a discussion about the revised Learning Management System Policy (AA42) in C122 on Friday, Oct. 19 at noon. Lunch is provided. Learn more and register for the event here.

LMS Weekly Update: Brightspace Ambassadors program extended

Strong interest in the initial Brightspace Ambassadors student support program in the first three weeks of Fall 2018 has led to support being extended through Dec. 13.
To date, the Ambassadors have helped over 1,300 of their peers navigate the Brightspace Learning Management System in person. Online, the program served more than 2,000 students who completed the Brightspace Essentials Students course.
The Ambassadors trained in class and online to acquire the knowledge and skills required to help their peers with Brightspace. They maintained a presence at several events and training dates on campus including AC Start, Ambassador Training Sessions, Ambassador Virtual Training Sessions (Pembroke), Student Navigators, Campus Village and various program orientations.
The Ambassadors will continue to provide support to students at the Woodroffe campus as follows:

Oct. 1 – Dec. 13
Monday to Thursday
10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Student Central (Lower Level, DARE District)

For more information please visit: https://www.algonquincollege.com/brightspace/students/
In addition to in-person help, a series of Brightspace support videos and other tutorials are available. To find out more, go to: https://algonquincollege.libguides.com/slc/learning-support

Look for Brightspace tips Fridays at https://www.algonquincollege.com/brightspace/news-archive/