What’s New

The launch of Brightspace across Algonquin College is being celebrated with the introduction of a new website focused on all aspects of the school’s new Learning Management System.

Now live, the website (find it here) will become a one-stop shop for all things Brightspace, including:

• New features
• Upcoming training
• Support information
• Tips and tricks

“This will be a terrific resource for employees and students,” says John Dallas, Manager, Design and Delivery, Centre for Continuing and Online Learning. The site will develop and be enriched with new material regularly, he adds. “This is the initial site and it will grow with the needs of our College.”

Among the new features of the site, which replaces the LMS pages used to date to showcase Brightspace product updates and training information, is a link to the Product Idea Exchange (PIE). Overseen by D2L, creator of Brightspace, this is where Brightspace users around the world ask questions and exchange ideas about the LMS regarding proposals for future enhancements.

It’s an evolution of the web-based resources available for Brightspace, says Louisa Lambregts, Educational Technologist, Learning and Teaching Services. “This is Algonquin’s community space for Brightspace, where the LMS pages were a project site. As our collective knowledge about Brightspace increases, the site will share key tips and strategies.”

Employees and students can keep up to date about the latest Brightspace news by clicking on the What’s New tab. Training opportunities are available under the Employee Resources and Student Resources tabs. Find quick answers to common questions under the FAQ tab. In the process, become part of Algonquin College’s own Brightspace community.

A team of Brightspace Ambassadors is fanning out across Algonquin College this month to help students become familiar with Brightspace, the College’s Learning Management System (LMS).

All students can readily acquaint themselves with the LMS using the digital training course, the Brightspace Essentials (Student) course, inside their Brightspace accounts. This course provides students with tutorials and video content to help them learn every function of Brightspace.

There is even a quiz they can complete at the end that automatically enters them in a draw to win $50 on their AC card.

But if students are experiencing difficulties with aspects of the LMS, support is available from our team of student Brightspace Ambassadors, who will be positioned in select locations on campus to help their peers.

Ambassadors can assist by showing students how to log into their Brightspace and email accounts, navigate the core elements of Brightspace, and contact ITS Support if a larger problem persists.

The Ambassadors will be at the following locations:

Sept. 5-7 (9 a.m. – 5 p.m.)
J/N Link (near the School of Media & Design)
The DARE District, Second floor
The Fix Eatery (Second floor, ACCE building)

Sept. 10-14 and Sept. 17-21 (9 a.m. – 5 p.m.)
Across from the Campus Connections Bookstore
The DARE District, Second floor
The Fix Eatery (Second floor, ACCE building)

Throughout the Brightspace Ambassador program and beyond, the Student Learning Centre’s Learning Support Lab will also offer Brightspace assistance to Algonquin College students.

The Learning Support Lab offers all students individual and small-group coaching at no charge. Coaches provide support in the fundamentals of writing, English as a second language (ESL), computers, math and anatomy/physiology.

They also host a series of Brightspace support videos and other tutorials on their webpage. To find out more, please visit: https://algonquincollege.libguides.com/slc/learning-support

In addition to all these supports, the ITS Client Care employees provide drop-in support for all students.

For more information please visit: https://www.algonquincollege.com/lms/students/

Are your Brightspace courses ready for Fall 2018? Your Learning Management System team has prepared a checklist to help ensure everything is in place for a successful launch of the school year on Brightspace. Complete the checklist in the Brightspace Essentials (Faculty) course by clicking here:
https://brightspace.algonquincollege.com/d2l/le/content/6832/viewContent/1861359/View

Don’t have access to the course? Email us at brightspace@algonquincollege.com and we will add it to your account.

Need additional information? Drop-in Brightspace support is available from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday to Friday in the Employee Learning Exchange, C123, on the first floor of the DARE District.

Daily group training sessions are also available, and advanced training begins Sept. 5. To register, go to https://algonquincollege.com/lms/training

We have been listening to faculty and students at Algonquin College over the course of the summer and regularly updating Brightspace in response to your comments and inquiries.

The goal of the LMS team is to ensure Brightspace meets the needs of all College stakeholders. The feedback from early adopters in 13 Level 01 programs has been invaluable in this regard. By tweaking the interface in the weeks ahead to make it even more intuitive and efficient for users, we intend to optimize the experience of everyone using our Learning Management System.

For your information, a list of updates that we have made to Brightspace to optimize your experience will be continually refreshed here.

Meanwhile, our Brightspace training team has been expanded to meet the needs of faculty returning from their summer leave. For assistance, look for dedicated training personnel in bright orange polo shirts in the Employee Learning Exchange (ELX) on the first floor of the DARE District, C123.

The hours of operation are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday to Friday. Drop-in support is available, or employees can schedule coaching and training in advance by booking here or by telephoning (613) 727-4723, ex. 2501. Self-paced online training for faculty is also available here.

Daily group training sessions are also available. The schedule includes webinars, customized departmental sessions and open registration sessions for faculty at all three campuses. Advanced training begins September 5^th. To register, go here.
Training for students is available online through the Brightspace Essentials for Students course here.
Access Brightspace and other College systems while on campus using the ACSecure network.