Brightspace Help

Do you know your way around your Grades, feedback, and course progress in Brightspace?

• Select the Grades tab at the top of your courses to view your marks on assessments.
• Receive text or email notifications when a grade is released or updated – select your name on the top right corner in Brightspace, and choose Notifications. Select which items you’d like to receive notifications for, and choose Email or SMS, or both!
• To view feedback on an assignment, if available, choose the Assignments option in the Activities drop-down at the top of your course. Choose the appropriate assignment to see any feedback provided!
• Check your progress in the course by selecting the Progress tab at the top of your course, and choose Class Progress.

Remember – if you have any questions about your course material, grades, or feedback, contact your professor!

Did you know Brightspace has a quick-access calendar feature to help you?

• Log into Brightspace, and select the Calendar button at the top to see your assessment due dates for all of your courses in the current term.
• Select a course and open it – select the Calendar button at the top to see your assessment due dates for THAT course!

Assessment due date organization tips…

• Check your CSI for each course and verify upcoming due dates.
• Check your course calendars and assessment due dates in Brightspace to ensure you’re prepared!
• Check-in with your professor on upcoming assessment due dates and requirements for clarification – asking questions early helps in your academic success!

Remember – if you have any questions about your assessment due dates or details, contact your professor!

Did you know you can check not only your course grades but your course progress? This is great information to know going into final exams!

• In your course, select Grades at the top.
• This will show you what you scored on each of your assessments.
• Remember your final assessment (exam, test, or assignment) will not be included here yet.
• In your course, select Progress at the top.
• Select Class Progress from the drop-down.
• This will show you an overall progression in the course using various indicators.

Why is this important to know? Because you can…

1. Check out your overall course grades going into final exam week.
2. See your assessment comments from teachers in the Grades section.
3. Track your grades on assessments – ensure you’ve submitted everything.

Remember – if you have any questions about your assessments, email your professor!

Some tips that may come in handy during your final assessment week:

• When completing a Final Exam in Brightspace, turn off other devices running on your internet (smartphone, other computers, smart TV, etc.) AND close other tabs in your browser (unless required to have them open to complete the test).
  • This will help ensure a full internet connection is allocated for your final exam.
• Assessment columns and/or the Final Grade column may disappear in Brightspace this week – don’t panic! Your teachers are finalizing grades – those columns will come back within a week or so.
• Your next semester’s courses are set to auto-open at the beginning of the semester. Once you’ve completed all of your current semester’s final assessments, ensure you take a break away from your studies and start your next term on a fresh note!

Remember – if you have any questions about your assessments, email your professor!

1. Know how to access Support Services – Centre for Accessible Learning, Student Success Specialist, Counsellor, etc.
   • Check out the Pembroke Campus Support Services link (maybe bookmark it in your browser for easy access!) 
2. Know how to contact your course teachers.
   • Check your Brightspace announcements, instructor biography in the Content section, or email your teacher using the Classlist feature under the Tools tab in Brightspace.
3. Know how to successfully prepare for remote classes.
   • Use a Chrome or Firefox browser when accessing Brightspace, sign into your Zoom Classroom a few minutes early, decrease the number of other devices connected to your Wi-Fi to help ensure a more stable connection, and have a method for taking notes!
4. Know how to locate your course content, assessments, due dates, and ask for help!
   • Get to know your Brightspace course and ask your teacher for clarification along the way.
5. Increase your feeling of real-life course inclusion in remote learning.
   • Upload a professional photo of yourself to Zoom (go to zoom.us, use your Algonquin College email, and change the photo icon to a professional photo of yourself!). If everyone adds a photo of themselves, then you see one another in virtual classes!

Extra Pro Tip – To learn more about how to use Zoom, check out this handy resource with videos and guides! algonquincollege.libguides.com/zoom/students

Remember – if you have any questions about your course, email your professor!

When completing quizzes in Brightspace…

• Use a Chrome or Firefox browser for accessing Brightspace.
• Close all browser tabs except the Brightspace quiz.
• Close other programs running on your computer – other than what you need to complete the quiz.
• Ensure other devices on your home network are turned off (smart TVs, tablets, etc.).
• Note the time limit on your quiz – use the full length of time to your advantage!

Remember – if you have any questions about your assessments, email your professor!