Posted on Friday, October 25th, 2019
Algonquin College Letter Grade Scheme correction
It has been brought to our attention this week that the Algonquin College Letter Grade scheme present on Brightspace was incorrect. By design, the Brightspace Grade Center does not round up percentage grades up, which caused some grades to be incorrectly displayed in Brightspace when the letter grade scheme was used to display the final grade. The grade scheme has now been fixed in Brightspace, and will round up correctly.
Note that this had no impact on official final grades – Students’ grades are correctly rounded up when using the College Letter Grade Calculator before entering grades in ACSIS.
Hiding Gradebook Columns
There are different types of gradebook columns in Brightspace, and each has a different way of hiding its content from student view.
- Hide Final Calculated Grade/Final Adjusted Grade columns – Click here for detailed instructions on how to hide these columns.
- Hide a gradebook column that it is NOT associated with any online activity (for instance, when you need to enter grades for participation) – While in Grades/Enter Grades view, click on the chevron for the title of the column and choose Edit. Click on the Restrictions tab and then on Hide from Users. You can also use dates to restrict the view of the grades for a limited amount of time.
- Hide a gradebook column associated with online activity (quiz/assignment/discussion) – As these activities are linked to gradebook columns, just hiding the columns in the gradebook won’t actually hide the grades from students. They still have the option to view their grades by going to the Activities menu and then to that particular activity, if that activity is still visible. Follow the steps from number 2., but also make sure you hide the quiz/assignment/ discussion, or have the grades set up as draft and not published.
Look out for more PD sessions on Brightspace Grades in the coming weeks.
Did you know?
As D2L is always improving the system through monthly system updates and system fixes, we are expecting that some of these current issues will soon be addressed. Meanwhile, please make sure you are aware of these issues:
- No Space in the name file – If you are trying to upload an image in one of quiz questions and you are getting an error message, make sure that there is no space in the file name.
- Rubric attached to a grade item is not updating the numerical grade – Users reported that when they were using a rubric attached to a grade item, the numerical grade was not being transferred from the rubric to the grades column, despite repeat attempts. Following investigation, the issue could only be replicated when the course was set to ‘Inactive’. The solution is to go to Course Offering Information (under Tools > Course Admin), set the course as Active, use the rubric to set the grade, and then if necessary, go back to Course Offering Information to make the course inactive again.
- Text pasted in a rubric (during editing of the rubric) appears as being saved, but actually the text is not being retained – Using “ctrl +shift+v” when pasting text during the creation or the editing of a rubric is to be avoid. Use “Ctrl +V, or just type the text directed into the rubric.
So You Think You Can Brightspace
Thank you for your interest in this contest! We received 15 submissions, and judging will take place next week. This will be followed by the announcement of the winning submission in early November, along with a showcase of the excellent work that was shared with us through the contest. Watch this space!
Posted on Friday, October 18th, 2019
In order to provide a more consistent experience, with the October system updates, there have been some great changes to the language, interface controls and workflows.
Changes in the Content Area
- The Published/Draft button in the top right corner of a module is now an visibility icon switch, indicating either Visible or Hidden.
- The Hide From Users and Make Visible to Users options are available in the context menu for individual content items
Changes around restrictions for Assignments, Quizzes, Grade Items and Discussions
- Date controls (start date, end date and due date*) are now consistently found on the Restrictions tab for each tool (*Discussions and Grade Items do not have due dates currently)
- A Hide from users checkbox is found on the Restrictions tab under each activity heading.
- In Quizzes, Discussions and Grades, you can now hide or show individual items by clicking the chevron next to an item.
- Quizzes and Grades can also be hidden in bulk from the More Actions button at the top of the page.
Note: Please note that none of these changes apply to Rubrics at this time.
Change in Gradebook
- The Grade All option accessed via the grade column chevron is now Enter Grades. This may affect your grading workflow, although if you are grading work that has been submitted via Brightspace , we would strongly recommend the Quick Eval grading workflow instead.
Intelligent Agents – Email attachments
- You can now add attachments to automated email messages when creating and editing intelligent agents. The intelligent agent email template contains an Attachments area that enables you to upload local files, select from available course files, or record audio. November release will allow users to embed images directly in Intelligent Agent emails.
Click here to learn how to use Intelligent Agents in Brightspace.
Did you know?
- Quiz feedback: as our LMS support team had helped many teachers set up quiz submission views over the past week, as there was the need for the students to review the results for their practice quizzes, you might want to learn how to do it. The default quiz settings show only the overall grade, and nothing else. In order to release more information to students (i.e. questions, correct/incorrect answers, class averages, etc.) you need to either edit the default submission view or set up an additional submission view.
Click here to learn how to set up submission views.
Posted on Friday, October 4th, 2019
Successful ELX Open House
ELX hosted its First Open House! It was a fun, interactive and educational event that brought over 60 College employees into our area. A huge THANK YOU to all departments and individuals who made this happen!
So You Think You Can Brightspace Auditions
The Learning and Teaching Services welcomes you to the first season of our college-wide contest “So You Think You Can Brightspace”.
“Audition” for your opportunity to win a prize along with public recognition of your hard work and success by completing the entry form using this link. We are calling on all professors (full-time, part-time, or sessional) to showcase their Brightspace skills so that we may find Algonquin College’s best Brightspace course(s). Entries will be judged by a panel including LTS, faculty, and a student representative. Submissions are due Tuesday, October 15th, 2019 at 4 p.m.
Time-savers in Brightspace
The new September addition to the the QuickEval Tool, “Activities View”, proves to be a huge time-saver for instructors. Activities view displays indicators to show the progress on submissions, progress on evaluations, and progress on publishing feedback to learners. It also includes links to the evaluation page, submission page, and a publish all action. When you click on any new submission in this view (i.e. new post, new submission, new attempt) it allows you from there to scroll through all new submissions in that screen, in the top right corner, rather than having to click ‘Back to Quick Eval’ each time (this doesn’t appear when using the Submissions view).
Posted on Thursday, September 26th, 2019
Reminder: First ELX Open House: October 1st, 11:30 to 3:00, in C123
We are very excited to announce our first event showcasing the resources available in the Employee Learning Exchange space (C123), on Tuesday, Oct. 1st, from 11:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Staff and faculty will have the opportunity to tour the space, take part in our activities, demonstrations, ask questions and, most importantly, enjoy conversation, light refreshments and coffee.
Removing Users from your Course
Did you know that you can remove other users from your course and even yourself?
You can do this via Tools > Classlist for any course in which you are an instructor. Check the user you need to unenroll and then click on the Unenroll button. Please note that student enrollments are managed by GeneSiS – if students are enrolled in your course via GeneSiS and you try to unenroll them in Brightspace, they will be automatically re-added the next day.
Product Idea Exchange
Brightspace runs on a continuous delivery model, with monthly updates and improvements. The next couple of months will see major improvements to the grading workflow via Quick Eval, as well as more consistency in language and navigation across tools. The majority of these monthly improvements are in direct response to community submissions to the Product Idea Exchange. Check out our page to see the suggestions that we are currently following, and use the Essentials discussion forum to suggest new submissions or existing ideas that we should follow.
Brightspace Support Hours
Brightspace Support is available from 8:00 a.m to 7:00 p.m., Monday to Thursday, and 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Friday. Employees can book an appointment here, walk in to C123, call 613-727-4723 ext. 6943, or email brightspace@algonquincollege.com for support.
Brightspace PD sessions
Next week, we will be offering three workshops on how to configure your grade book and enter grades. You can find details about this in the PD Registration System. We’ll also be delivering some custom training via Zoom, as requested by a program chair. For further details on training and how to request custom sessions, please visit our website.
Posted on Friday, September 20th, 2019
First ELX Open House: October 1st, 11:30 to 3:00, in C123
We are very excited to announce our first event showcasing the resources available in the Employee Learning Exchange space (C123), on Tuesday, Oct. 1st, from 11:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Staff and faculty will have the opportunity to tour the space, take part in our activities, demonstrations, ask questions and, most importantly, enjoy conversation, light refreshments and coffee.
How do YOU prefer to keep INFORMED?
As Brightspace gets updated every single month, and new features and improvements are installed, it is important for us to have an efficient way to deliver the news to you, in a format that really works for you. Please help us help you keep updated with the latest news on Brightspace improvements by taking this short survey.
Improvements introduced by the September Release
- Assignments/Discussions – Grades entered in Assignments/Discussions and Grade Book are now synchronized – When you will enter a grade for an assignment submission/discussion in the standard or spreadsheet view of Grade Book, the grade will now appear with the submission in Assignments and Discussions tool. Previously, grades entered in the Assignment/Discussion tools were passed on to Grade Book; however, grades for assignment submissions/discussions entered in Grade Book were not passed to the Assignments and Discussions tools. This change ensures data consistency between Assignments/Discussions and Grade Book.
- Activities View added to the QuickEval Tool: Activities view displays indicators to show the progress on submissions, progress on evaluations, and progress on publishing feedback to learners. It also includes links to the evaluation page, submission page, and a publish all action.
- Release condition for topic completion : The Completed content topic is a new release condition that is met when a user completes a content topic.
Posted on Friday, September 6th, 2019
Can I view my course as a learner?
Brightspace allows you to view your course content as a leaner. But, for a 100% learner view, instead of switching to “View as Learner” or the use of a student persona (manual student account that we create when requested, we now have a more elegant solution. Go to your course, Tools/Classlist/Add Participants/Add existing users and search for Test Student. Under role, make sure you select the TestStudent role. Once the student is added, you will be able to impersonate it and view your course as your students see it.
Note: As many other instructors will use this test student, please be aware of the fact that, once you enroll it in your course, any instructor that will impersonate the test student will be able to view your course content as a learner. It is recommended to un-enroll once you check your course.
Is my quiz/assignment linked to the grades?
A quick way to spot which activities (quizzes, assignments, discussions, etc) have gradebook columns associated is to look for the Grade Item icon beside the title of the activity, under the Activities menu, on the course nav bar.
Why can’t I delete my gradebook column?
Brightspace does not allow you to remove grade columns that are already associated with an activity. The right order is to remove the activity and then go back to Grades and remove the column.
How can I learn more about Brightspace?
- Brightspace Essentials course – now includes an open forum in which you can discuss ideas and problems with other faculty.
- Sign up for PD sessions – look out for new sessions on Zoom Classroom, and how to update your student grades, in the next few weeks.
What are the required elements for my Brightspace course?
All courses must include an accurate and up to date Course Outline (as found in the course navbar) and CSI, a faculty contact information page and regularly updated student grades. Look out for an infographic next week providing more details on this, and read the full policy here.
Posted on Friday, August 30th, 2019
We Need Your Help
The Brightspace Support team are receiving an extremely high number of support requests (emails, phone calls, walk ins and appointments), and therefore the response time will be increased. 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. Also, please check the Brightspace Essentials course for step by step instructions, or ask a colleague professor to share their Brightspace knowledge with you, as you can perform many of the necessary actions as a course instructor.
Important Links for Beginning of the Semester
Combined Courses
Before asking us to combine courses, please read about the 2 possible ways that we can combine the courses for you and include your preference in your request. It makes it easier and quicker for us, if you already know which option works for you.
Brightspace Support Hours
Brightspace Support is available from 8:00 a.m to 8:00 p.m., Monday to Thursday, and 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Friday. Employees can book an appointment here, walk in to C123, call 613-727-472 ext. 6943, or email brightspace@algonquincollege.com for support.
Posted on Friday, August 23rd, 2019
This week we are bringing two important improvements to Brightspace: a new Course Outlines menu item, that will offer you and your students direct access to your course outlines file in COMMS, and a new Zoom Virtual Classroom tool, that will enrich the teaching and learning.
Course Outline
Next time when you login to Brightspace, you will see a new Course Outlines menu item. This improvement comes in response to student feedback regarding consistency in the last Brightspace Satisfaction survey, and it will also help faculty with one of the required elements of Brightspace courses as per the new LMS policy, AA42.
Important: If you’ve already copied content from an older course, please make sure that the file under the Course Information module displays the current course outline.
Zoom Virtual Classroom
In addition to the existing Virtual Classroom tool that Brightspace offers, we have integrated Zoom classroom. Zoom is a video conferencing program that allows for multiple participants, audio and video sharing, screen sharing, breakout rooms, working on a whiteboard and recording. This new tool is now accessible from your course Tools menu.
Brightspace Training
Brightspace Training is available for new and returning faculty starting next week. We are offering a Refresher session, recapping some of the basic functionality of Brightspace, and a Beyond Essentials session for those looking to expand and enhance their use of the LMS. Register for these sessions, and look out for future sessions (including Zoom training), on the PD Registration System.
Need a custom training session? Get in touch with Rob Kershaw from Learning and Teaching Services (kershar@algonquincollege.com).
Spring Satisfaction Survey
Thank you to all faculty members who participated in the latest Brightspace Satisfaction Survey. Congratulations to Thomas Bradley, who was selected at random as the recipient of a $25 Connections gift card for participating.
Satisfaction rates continue to increase as faculty become more familiar with the system’s features, but the qualitative feedback received from faculty and students made it clear that there are still challenges to be addressed – some through our training and support, and some through the work of D2L’s product development team. Please keep an eye on our Common Solutions page, and check out the Product Idea Exchange page for opportunities to add your voice to the Brightspace Community in order to effect change.
Posted on Friday, August 16th, 2019
The August system updates to Brightspace bring improvements to the Quiz and Email Tools.
Updated Quiz Builder Experience
The Quiz Builder introduces a new workflow for adding, editing, reordering, and deleting quiz content in the Quiz Tool. It will save you time by streamlining the screens and work flows for building and arranging quiz content. You can use the new Quiz Builder experience by clicking Add/Edit Questions on the quiz Properties tab when creating or editing a quiz.
When you start adding questions to a quiz, you will be presented with two options:
- Add: allows you to create new quiz questions, sections or question pools
- Import: used to bring in questions from your Question Library or to upload a file with your questions.
Click here to learn how to create a quiz.
Add Images to Emails
When composing an email, now you have the option to select Insert Image to add pictures. Once you insert an image in the body of an email, it will display within the email for the recipient, but it will also be attached to the email. Click here to review how to send an email to your entire class.
Internet Explorer NO longer Supported
Starting January 2020, you can no longer access Brightspace using Microsoft Internet Explorer. When you attempt to login to Brightspace using IE, an unsupported page, with links to download supported browsers, will appear.
New Brightspace Support Hours
Beginning August 19th, Brightspace Support will be available from 8:00 a.m to 8:00 p.m., Monday to Thursday, and 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Friday. Employees can book an appointment here, walk in to C123, call 613-727-472 ext. 6943, or email brightspace@algonquincollege.com for support.
Posted on Friday, August 2nd, 2019
You can play an important role in the continuing evolution of Brightspace at Algonquin College – and win a $25 Connections Gift Card doing so.
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.