All Stories

Brightspace logo

Instructors can now find Winter 2023 course shells in the Brightspace Learning Management System (LMS).

Information Technology Services has also completed the migration of the last two years of courses from Blackboard to Brightspace. To have an older course migrated to the new environment, instructors should submit a service ticket. Students’ work and grades have been archived but will not be carried over into Brightspace.

Microsoft Teams will be integrated as the new virtual classrooms. Teams sites will be generated for all courses before the start of the Winter semester.

Information about the Brightspace implementation project is available at uwindsor.ca/brightspace. The site also provides resources for instructors and students, FAQs, instructor training session registration, and links to self-guided training offered through the Brightspace community.
Brightspace logo with UWindsor background

The Brightspace Learning Management System (LMS) implementation project is just past its midpoint and is on track to ensure a successful full launch of the new platform in January. The new LMS, which replaces Blackboard Learn, will host all but a few two-term courses this Winter semester.

Brightspace is an agile, cloud-based system that offers enhanced accessibility features and a mobile-first design. It has a modern interface that is clean and easy to navigate. Users can also expect minimal downtime as updates and enhancements are delivered monthly.

A Fall pilot is currently underway with 37 instructors and over 1300 students in 31 credit and 18 non-credit courses or project sites.

“We had a phenomenal response from instructors wanting to be part of the pilot and become early Brightspace adopters,” says Nick Baker, director, Office of Open Learning. “Students in the pilot courses have also commented on the modern layout, how easy it was to find materials and track their progress.”

The LMS implementation team is meeting with faculties and departments to provide a project overview and highlight some of the many features, says Erika Kustra, director of the Centre for Teaching and Learning.

“The sessions provided an opportunity for instructors to ask questions about the transition,” she says. “We have been able to address concerns and take important feedback to the project steering committee.”

The migration of existing Blackboard courses, from Winter 2021 on, is in progress.

John Osborne, assistant director of Information Technology Services for the Business Systems Group, says efforts are focused on moving the Winter term course content from 2021 and 2022 to Brightspace first, after receiving feedback that course migration should be in line with the academic cycle.

“Instructors can expect to see their old courses, without the students’ work or grades, in the new LMS in the next few weeks, with course content from Fall 2022 added last,” Osborne says. “They will also see their Winter 2023 courses shells in Brightspace soon.”

He encourages instructors to attend their departmental workshop if offered, or join an open session available to all. There are also recordings from online sessions available for self-paced learning and self-guided training through the Brightspace community. Workshops and self-paced learning material will help instructors become familiar with the platform and to learn the basic functionality of the system. Instructors should add their name to the waitlist if a session is full as there are cancellations and sessions are added based on the demand.

Information about the Brightspace implementation project is available at uwindsor.ca/brightspace. The site also provides resources for instructors and students, FAQs, instructor training session registration, sign-in information, and links to self-guided training offered through the Brightspace community.

Cybersecurity is a team effort

Protecting the University’s network is a shared responsibility. University systems come under threat each day by cyber criminals. Employing defense measures which include using anti-virus applications, enabling operating system updates and enrolling university-owned devices in the device management program helps your device and personal information withstand attacks and protects the campus network and systems.

Taking these actions help harden the campus network from attackers. Learn how each one shields our campus from online criminals:

Endpoint protection software

Endpoint protection software, such as Windows Defender (currently used on your university-owned device), protects from external or online viruses looking to infect your device. The software scans your device for malicious software also known as malware that you may encounter by browsing the internet or using an internal drive, like a thumb drive. It disables and then deletes the malware from your device. Learn more about anti-virus for your university-owned computer.

Enable automatic updates

Enabling automatic updates on your operating system is one of the easiest ways to help protect it. These updates provide timely fixes to security vulnerabilities and performance issues from the software vendor. If the update pops up at an inconvenient moment, opt to have your device update later instead of ignoring it. When your operating system is updated, not only is it better protected, but it also offers better performance. Read more about protecting your computer.

Device management for University-owned devices

At the University of Windsor, Microsoft’s Intune with Azure Active Directory provides device and application management. This combination protects University data and provides sign-in access to UWindsor systems. A device management benefit is that it provides you with support from IT Services in deploying security fixes and patches directly to your workstation. Visit myaccount.microsoft.com and look under the Devices section to see if your device is enrolled. Submit a request if you notice your University-owned device is not enrolled in device management.

The campus community can help increase the protection and security of the University’s data by ensuring that they use the tools available to defend against cybercriminals. Along with the University’s firewalls, these security tools team up to collaboratively protect our network and data from attackers.

Find more helpful resources on how you can be a team player in safeguarding the campus network at uwindsor.ca/cybersecurity.

Led by IT Services, Cybersecurity Awareness Month efforts highlight cybersecurity issues relevant to the UWindsor community.

Drupal logo

Learn how to create better web content on Nov. 3. Join a virtual training session organized for individuals who maintain official UWindsor websites.

New website editors can acquire the competency to build web pages, and existing editors can learn how to improve their web pages. The session will cover uploading graphics, organizing menus effectively, creating accessible content, and more.

“UWindsor web editors are tasked with producing accessible and informational content,” says Rob Aitkens, web development team lead. “This training provides new web editors the opportunity to gain knowledge and start building web pages, while allowing existing editors the chance to increase their skills and update their websites.”

Faculty and staff can sign up to attend the online Drupal 7 + Web Accessibility Basic Training on Thursday, Nov. 3, from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m.

Women sitting at a table with laptop displaying the service UWindsor catalogue screen.

The University of Windsor’s Self-Service Client Portal recently received an update. Visitors can now find new categories within the Service Catalog to guide them in opening a ticket.

“After reviewing the service request analytics and feedback from our clients, we determined the best approach would be for campus users to select a category — Information Technology, Finance, Registrar & Academic Inquiries, Teaching & Learning, Facilities, or Media Production & Special Events — upon entry to the service catalogue to help narrow down the topics,” says Susan Holiga, assistant director, client services, Information Technology Services.

The sub-category structure for information technology has also been refined from 13 sub-categories to eight, and the most popular services are now found at the top of the menu.

“We want to help our users find their IT services as quickly as possible as there has been an increased reliance on support from the IT Service Desk since the pandemic started,” says Ericka Greenham, manager, client services, IT Services. “To that end, in addition to the structural changes, we also re-named some of the sub-categories to reflect more commonly used words for each subject.”

The IT categories are now:

  • Accounts & Sign-In
  • Administrative Apps
  • AV, Classrooms, & Computer Labs
  • Messaging & Collaboration
  • Hardware, Software, & Printing
  • Network & Internet Connectivity
  • Web Services
  • Telecom & Mobile

In addition to requesting assistance by opening a service ticket, campus users can find knowledge-base articles providing solutions to common issues. Users can also access the questions forum for general “How do I …?” inquiries.

As always, the IT Service Desk is available to help navigate the new layout in the Self-Service Client Portal by calling 519-253-3000, ext. 4440, or using the chat icon on the bottom corner of uwindsor.ca/its or uwindsor.ca/itshelp.