To improve our processes and supports for Phase 3 participants, we sought feedback from teaching staff and students involved in Phases 1 and 2. Read their thoughts on the functions and features of Brightspace after using the platform for a full semester below.
Brightspace“Overall, the new VLE (Virtual Learning Environment) is an impressive platform that can help bring modules to a new level in terms of delivery and student interaction.” – Brian Shee, KBS (Kemmy Business School).
“Brightspace has a modern look and feel, and the way that the lessons are organised makes it intuitive for students.” – Rachel Murphy, AHSS (Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences).
“It has been much more intuitive to use, e.g. uploading files, links, layout/appearance, etc. than I expected.” – Anne Griffin, EHS (Education & Health Sciences).
“Lecturers appreciated being given a template with pre-populated headings.” – Adrienne Horan, EHS.
“I’m very happy and impressed with how easy it is to use. A great step forward for UL." - Diarmaid Lane, EHS.
“Brightspace is a welcome change. The interface is aesthetically pleasing, and the functionality is superior to Sulis.” – Laura Donnellan, AHSS.
“Moving to Brightspace is not as scary as people might think it's going to be... Overall, my Brightspace experience was very positive, students feedback was excellent – very user friendly, good for engagement and professionally presented." – Lorraine T. Ryan, KBS.
“I would recommend, if you can, to give yourself some time to start engaging with the training early on, use your sandbox to build your module, and copy content then into your module”. – Claire Harnett, KBS.
“Brightspace is an immersive environment, much more than a repository and this is particularly useful for online learners. It is a fantastic platform to deliver online content, that is from my perspective as a lecturer and a student using Brightspace as a learning platform”. - Eoin Hinchy, S&E. |
Student Experience“I liked the ‘class progress’ tool as it gave a quick insight into the frequency of log ins for each student in the class. This made it a handy signpost to see the participants that might be in danger of falling behind due to infrequency of log in.” – Adrienne Horan, EHS.
“The dedicated app also proved to be very popular with students as it allowed them a dedicated space to track their learning and control alerts related to their courses.” – Brian Shee, KBS.
“‘Student view’ proved very handy to reassure the lecturer for example that the hidden files were in fact hidden (in student view), and that the assignment upload area and discussion board layout were clear from a student perspective.” – Adrienne Horan, EHS.
“I found my module site on Brightspace 100% reliable, I could get to it anytime I needed it. The little alerts flag was helpful because it lights up when something needs your attention. There’s a simplicity to Brightspace that’s very attractive and the way my lecturers laid out the content, week by week, made it a very manageable way to learn.” – Michelle Breen, part-time student, Professional Diploma in Strategic Leadership
“‘Students used the discussion board unprompted for Week 1 material! Good indication of engagement.” – Lorraine T. Ryan, KBS.
“I included links to readings in the library; book chapters, articles and so on. The students found this quite useful because they`re part-time and not dedicating hours and hours to their study. So, they want things to be as quick and efficient as possible”. – Claire Harnett, KBS. |
Features“The facility to create and edit content using embedded multimedia options inbuilt in the system is my highlight so far. It is easy to add video notes with automatic captioning to course content, announcement, and forums. I can easily link to other material I have created.” – Angelica Risquez, CTL (Centre for Transformative Learning).
“The sandbox is helpful to test out learning activities before sharing with students.” – Anne Griffin, EHS
“The Turnitin feature on assignments has a clear traffic light system (red, orange or green for similarity report percentages) and seamless integration with the turn it in website, to view originality reports.” – Adrienne Horan, EHS.
“The default option for recording synchronous lessons is Big Blue Button – students in that week’s folder can access the recordings immediately, so I do not have to worry about downloading/uploading after teaching which saves me a lot of time.” – Rachel Murphy, AHSS.
“The glossary is a really good tool and the advanced settings in Assessments are excellent. The lecturer can provide feedback, use a highlighter, to name but two, and not leave the page to return to the submission as we had to with Sulis. It is more streamlined and efficient.” – Laura Donnellan, AHSS.
“We used MIRO to storyboard modules. The teaching team found it very useful for visualising the entire semester, balancing assessments across the programme, and creating links between module content.” – Lorraine T. Ryan, KBS.
“Leganto is exactly the same as it was in SULIS. I think it`s great, and it would be great if more of us are using it because then the students will get used to the format”. - Jull Pearson, KBS.
“The companion app Pulse is really useful for students. It`s great for posting announcements and informing you it has sent”. - Eoin Hinchy, S&E. |
Interface“The dashboard is bright and colourful and the organisation of tabs into semesters will make it easier to sort modules. The option to add any image from a bank of thousands to your module homepage is a nice touch.” – Adrienne Horan, EHS.
“The new VLE’s ability to automatically create templates as you build out the course was another great advantage. This ensured consistency of style and approach, along with making the design process faster, and more efficient, the further you advance through an offering.” – Brian Shee, KBS.
“The content for each week is nested so the page looks uncluttered and yet everything is there.” – Rachel Murphy, AHSS.
“We liked how easy it was to hide sections until they were ready, to change the weekly titles and reorganise the sequence of files by dragging and dropping content up and down the left-hand menu bar.” – Adrienne Horan, EHS.
“Each module leader developed their own Brightspace sites, this enabled the team to work with their preferences and to suit their module.” – Lorraine T. Ryan, KBS.
“The tools in Brightspace are very similar to Moodle and SULIS. What I like is that Brightspace is cleaner, has a better flow than other VLE`s, and students seem to feel that too”. – Claire Harnett, KBS. |