We have curated a list of resources and instructions for the most common tasks in Brightspace. (For How To's in a video format, visit our curated list of How-To Videos)
Brightspace Quick Reference Guide
D2L Brightspace Higher Ed Instructor Documentation
Getting started
- Sign in using your UWin ID email (UWinID@uwindsor.ca) and password
- Navigate Brightspace Learning Environment
- Change personal settings in Brightspace Learning Environment
- Manage Notifications (video). Learn how to set up getting notifications either by email or text when certain activity occurs in your course.
- Log out of Brightspace Learning Environment
- Supported browsers
- Add an existing user (TA/GA/Departmental support/Guest) to my course
- Roles in UWindsor's Brightspace - Using the Classlist
- Download a classlist
- Add a guest to Brightspace
- Blackboard and Brightspace tool comparison
- Make course site active/available to students
Create Content
- Introduction to the Content tool (UWindsor's default is the Classic Content Experience)
- Add learning material to Content
- Why can't learners see the Content I posted?
- Hide newly created content so students are not notified
- The Brightspace Editor
- Add Teams recording to Content
- Notify learners about updated course content
- Best practices for creating release conditions
- Delete a module
- Exporting Videos from a Blackboard Site into YuJa, then Adding Video to Brightspace Site
- Connect Legato course reserves as a module in your course
- Copy course material from another course
- Use images provided by D2L Brightspace in Content
- Share YouTube video and have it start at a chosen point in the video
Assignments
- Create a rubric
- Create an assignment
- Create an accommodation for an assignment or quiz
- About assessing assignment submissions
- View ungraded assignment submissions
- Evaluate and add feedback to assignments
- Using Rubrics to grade
- Create a Video Assignment
Quizzes
- Create a question library
- Create a quiz
- Question types
- Copy an existing quiz (in the same course)
- Quiz Generator (create a quiz from a document of formatted questions, curtousy of Algonquin College)
- Import quiz questions to Question Library from a Blackboard archive
- Create an accommodation for an assignment or quiz
- Create quiz accommodations for all quizzes for a student
- Submit an in-progress quiz on behalf of student
- View ungraded quiz submissions
- Trouble shoot using Quiz Attempt Logs
- Changing quiz question after submissions received
- Test Best Practices for Instructors
Grades Tool
- Intro to the Grades tool
- Set up your Grade Book
- Create Grade categories and items (these make the columns in your Grade Book)
- Grade Book icons and notifications
- Enter grades in the Grades tool
- Show running total to students
- Export your Gradebook
- Import your Gradebook
- Import grades from Scantron file
- Import grades from files other than Scantron
- Adjust Final Grades
- Transfer Final Grades from Brightspace to UWinsite Student
- Learn to use the Grades Tool (video tutorials)
Communicate and Engage with Learners
- Create an Announcement (includes short how-to video)
- View and manage annoucments using the widget
- Send an email to your class through Brightspace (emails will be sent to UWindsor Outlook inboxes)
- List of Replace Strings for Announcements and Intelligent Agents
Discussions
- Assess users in discussion threads
- Create and manage discussion forums – (UWindsor's default is the Classic Content experience)
- Grade Discussions
Groups
Self Assessments
- Allow learners to reflect on their learning – Self Assessments
- Best Practices for Self Assessments
- Create a Self Assessment
Teams as Virtual Classroom
- Create a recurring Teams Meeting
- Add Teams meeting to Nav bar
- Activate your Teams Course team
- A Guide to Teaching in Teams
- IT Services Teams Owner Guide
- Create a form or survey using Microsoft Forms
Turnitin (similarity/plagiarism checker)
- Create an Assignment with Turnitin enabled (where it says "folder" our instance says "assignment")
- Introduction to Turnitin Feedback Studio (video of workshop provided by Turnitin)
- Using Turnitin's Feedback tool (video of workshop provided by Turnitin)
- Turnitin Instructions for D2L Brightspace Instructors
- Setting reasonable expectations for the Turnitin Similarity Score
- Using Turnitin to check a research paper
Accessibility in Brightspace
- Focus on Accessibility (A starter: the very basics)
- Alt text for images
- Developing Accessible Content
- Accessibility Academy (Log into the Brightspace Community to learn the many ways to provide an accessible course experience, found in:)