Wednesday, 8 March 2023
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Summer Semester 22/23

Dear Colleague,  

This series of emails aims to support you as you prepare to teach in September. Please take time to read the emails, there may be topics relevant to you.  This week outlines what is available to you in terms of support, training, and on your Brightspace account: 

  • Your guide to support 

  • Your Brightspace site, sandbox and Mastersite template 

  • Determining your programme needs 

  • What’s up next 

I am in the process of setting up a site on Brightspace to incorporate these weekly drop-in sessions, and shared resources.  Once I have this set up I will add you to the site.  

Your guide to support 

  • Weekly emails:  This current series of weekly emails will cover most features and topics to help you build your module site. In Science and Engineering our weekly drop in sessions will provide a practical demonstration of the weekly topics as well as an opportunity for you to ask questions.   

  • Brightspace 101 course on Brightspace is a self-directed course you can take any time, and revisit as often as you need. 

  • Brightspace Community Training (recordings) (Introduction course) [login required] offers a series of recorded webinars and self directed material to help you get the most from Brightspace.  

  • Show and TEL series are short 15 minute videos from our colleagues demonstrating how they use Brightspace: 

  • Lorraine T Ryan - Department of Personnel & Employment Relations, KBS 

  • Jill Pearson - Department of Work and Employment Relations, KBS 

Training 

Live training sessions are delivered by the VLE Project Training team.  Each of the three sessions is 1hr long and covers a range of topics, details are available on the training page. When you book a session, you will be given access to the recording and links to documentation discussed in the webinar. 

Your Brightspace site, sandbox and Master site template 

At this point you should have access to your Brightspace account, your September module site with the Mastersite template, and a sandbox area. [If this is not the case for you, our FAQ’s may help resolve your query, otherwise, please let me know]. 

The Sandbox site is a space that only you have access to and can be used for testing purposes.  

Click on the “course widget” at the top of the page to see what modules you have access to.  You can pin the current modules using the “pin” icon. 

The Master-site template is a suggested structure to help you get started.  Across the top of your module site you will see the navigation bar (to access all the Brightspace tools), and along the left side you will see a list of weekly folders.  Within the folders you can add elements such as sub folders, links, content pages, videos, files or other tools such as BBB meetings, OneNote notebooks etc to build out your module. 

Determining your programme needs 

Now is a good time to consider what you need to be ready to teach in September.   

  1. Are all required instructors added to your module site?  
    You can see who has been added to your module and what role(s) they have under the classlist menu, or you can see what modules you have access to under the course widget.  

  2. Does your programme have a programme site, and is the Programme site available on Brightspace? 

  3. What tools do you need, and will they be available in Brightspace?   
    Some tools are similar but have different names in Brightspace, this list compares Sulis and Brightspace equivalent tools. 

  1. What files do you need to bring with you from Sulis and how can you do this?  
    We can discuss this during the drop-in sessions next week. 

What’s up next 

If you have questions about your module and teaching in September, please feel free to join one of the Drop-in sessions next week.  

I have a number of topics scheduled but if you want to see a specific topic covered in these emails, please send your suggestions on this form. 

I look forward to seeing you next week.   

Kind regards, 

Sinead Spain 

Brightspace Quicklinks:

Login to Brightspace 

Book training 

Brightspace Support 

Dear Colleague,  

Welcome to this series of emails for staff who use Brightspace in their teaching.  This week we will look at a single topic, managing your files in Brightspace: 

  • Manage files 

  • Important message about Academic Registry 

  • What’s up next 

Managing the manage files area 

The Manage files area in is similar to the resources folder in Sulis, the main difference being that you cannot make the managed files area visible to students as was the case in Sulis. 

What we recommend: 

  • Before you create your content, we recommend organising your files into structured folders.  These could be by topic, week, or content type (eg images, slides, videos etc) 

  • Use the breadcrumb menu, or the menu on the left in the manage files area to navigate between the different folders. 

  • The number of characters in the file path and filename is restricted to 110 characters in total. 

  • Consider using only one layer of subfolders (eg Week_1/W1_Assignment_Outline.pdf) rather than creating subfolders within subfolders.   

  • Name your files in a consistent format eg W1Slides_Intro.ppt, or W1Icon_GetHelp.jpg) 

  • Don’t use the following characters in your folders or filenames or uploads (including files added to discussions or assignments) as they are known to cause errors:  

\ / : * ? " < >  

This rule also applies to files submitted by students as an assignment. 

Note:  most Windows computers do not permit files with these characters to be created/uploaded, but the restriction is not applied to Apple/Mac computers, the error will only show when the file is accesses within Brightspace. 

  • There is a way to add files in the content area quickly by pasting or inserting it from computer in the ‘add new’ section.  Although this method is quicker, it is not recommended. The file will appear on the front end of the module, but will be difficult and unintuitive to locate in the Manage files folder.   

This will ensure your files are easily found as your module rolls over or if you plan to copy elements from one module to another.   

Useful resources: 

Important message about Academic Registry 

Please do not put any Academic Registry content on your Brightspace programme or module sites. To ensure the Academic Registry website remains the single source of truth, please send students directly to the AR website instead. 

What’s up next 

If you have questions about your module and teaching in September, please feel free to join one of the Drop-in sessions next week (25-28th April).  

I have a number of topics scheduled but if you want to see a specific topic covered in these emails, please send your suggestions on this form. 

I look forward to seeing you next week.   

Kind regards, 

Sinead Spain 

Brightspace Quicklinks:

Login to Brightspace 

Book training 

Brightspace Support 

Dear Colleague,  

Getting straight into it this week, we will look at personalising your module site: 

  • Editing your profile and tailoring the “multi-profile” widget 

  • The content area and content page templates (HTML documents) 

  • Important message about LTI’s, third party tools that you currently use 

  • What’s up next 

Editing your profile and the “multi-profile” widget 

The Brightspace profile provides students with information about the teachers on their course.  To edit your profile click on your name or picture placeholder, and click “Profile” from the menu. 

On the module homepage, you can tailor the information by adding details such as office hours, contact information or other instructors on your module using the multi-profile widget. The instructions for managing the multi-profile widget is available on the Brightspace Knowledge Base.  

The content area and content page templates (HTML documents) 

By clicking on the content option in the top menu, you will access the module content pages and sidebar menu.  

If you are using the Mastercourse Template (default for all new modules), you will see a structure of “folders” in a week-by-week format.  Each folder can be edited to provide students with a brief overview for that week or topic, within each folder you can tailor and sequence the content.  clicking on any element in the left bar menu, you will see the content or link for that element. 

  • Lesson folders: are optional, a suggested use is to separate your weekly content (eg lectures and labs).  To create a lesson folder, click the week number and click ‘create new’ followed by ‘new lesson’, complete the fields and click ‘save and close’ (note: creating course content in the lessons folder is not advised). 

  • HTML document:  The HTML document can be edited in a similar way to the editor window on the lessons tool in Sulis, and used for text-based content, in-text links, embedded images etc.  To add the HTML document to your module click the topic/week number followed by ‘create new’ and ‘HTML document’.  Apply a template from the “select template” drop down menu and begin editing your text (note:  applying a template will overwrite existing text). 

  • Links:  You can create links in the sidebar menu to direct students to web pages or course components such as discussions boards, quizzes, assignments, and checklists or uploaded content.  

  • To link to existing assignments, discussions, quizzes or checklists, choose ‘Add existing’ and the element you want to link, and select from the list in the pop up window.  

  • If you would like to create a new element, click ‘create new’ and select the element and populate the fields. 

  • To add a link to an external webpage, click the week folder, click ‘create new’ followed by ‘weblink’, fill in the ‘name’ field and the URL and choose the display options you want.   

  • For links to existing course content files, select add existing, followed by ‘more’ and ‘course file’ from the options.  Choose the file from the managed files area and it will automatically be added to the end of the selected folder. 

  • External learning tools:  Use this option to embed Big Blue Button, Leganto Reading Lists, Panopto Video Recordings and OneNote Class Notebook.  Click ‘add existing’, followed by ‘external tool activity’ and choose from the options available. 

Drag and drop any of the items above to reposition and sequence your module. 

Useful resources: 

For more information on editing your course content, see the Content section on the Knowledge Base 

Important message about LTI’s 

An LTI is way for our VLE to communicate with an external system, for example we have integrated Panopto so that users can access recordings seamlessly without the need for a separate login. 

If you use LTI’s that are unique to your module, programme, or department (ie not available globally), it is likely that I am not aware of them, so please let me know asap.  All LTI’s need to be configured for use in Brightspace and you may not have the necessary permissions to do so.  Once you have shared the name of the external tool with me, I will raise a ticket with ITD with the aim of having it available for you for teaching in September. 

What’s up next 

If you have questions about your module and teaching in September, please feel free to join one of the Drop-in sessions next week (2nd – 5th May).  

I have a number of topics scheduled but if you want to see a specific topic covered in these emails, please send your suggestions on this form. 

I look forward to seeing you next week.   

Kind regards, 

Sinead Spain 

Brightspace Quicklinks:

Login to Brightspace 

Book training 

Brightspace Support 

Dear Colleague,  

This week the focus is on building out your content for the first 3 weeks.  

  • What can you populate before you see what migrated content looks like 

  • Adding resources using the course builder 

  • Adding content from other sources 

  • What’s up next, and an invite to join the ‘Advanced Quizzes’ session 

What can you populate before you see what migrated content looks like? 

There are things you can do in Brightspace such as setting up your profile, course overview information, weekly overviews, and setting up groups, discussions and gradebook that will not transfer from Sulis, though we also recommend that you create your week 1-3 content.  This will serve as a backup plan, as well as help you become familiar with using Brightspace.  

Migrated content will be stored in a ‘holding area’, If you plan to use some or all of the migrated content, you must copy the content into your official module site, this will not affect anything you have already built in your official module. 

If your course files are stored on OneDrive, you can drag and drop these files directly to your ‘managed files’ area in Brightspace you can import the folders/file structure as follows: 

  1. From the Navbar select ‘Admin’ followed by ‘Managed Files’. 

  1. In the ‘Managed Files’ screen, click upload. 

  1. Drag your folder(s) and files to the upload area. 

Once this is complete, you can begin adding the files to your module content.  

See also:  Manage Files - Instructor  

Adding resources using the course builder 

The ‘Course Builder’ is a particularly useful tool to pull resources from the managed files area directly into the course content using the ‘drag and drop’ feature.  You can also use the course builder tool to create an outline of your module, or if you have already created the module components (assignments, quizzes, discussions etc), you can use the course builder to organise and sequence these into the weekly/topic folders.  Anything added using the Course Builder tool is visible by default. 

To access the course builder, click on ‘Admin’ in the Navbar and select ‘Course Builder’: 

 

See also:  Course builder - Instructor 

Adding content from other sources  

The best way to add links is within the ‘Content’ area.  You can add a link directly to the module menu on the left, or you can add links within content.   

To add links to the university supported tools: Big Blue Button, Leganto, OneNote and Panopto: 

  1. Select the Week/Topic folder on the left menu.  

  1. Select “add existing” and choose “External Tool Activity” from the options. 

  1. Select the tool and it will be added to the end of the week/topic folder. 

  1. Drag and drop it to the desired location. 

What’s up next 

Advanced Quizzes Webinar 

An ‘Advanced Quizzes’ session will be delivered by D2L Brightspace next Thursday, 11th May from 10-12pm.  This is the last of the quiz sessions in the series.  Registration is via Brightspace VLE Training (office365.com) 

If you have questions about your module and teaching in September, please feel free to join one of the Drop-in sessions next week (9th – 12th May).  

I have a number of topics scheduled but if you want to see a specific topic covered in these emails, please send your suggestions on this form. 

I look forward to seeing you next week.   

Kind regards, 

Sinead Spain 

Brightspace Quicklinks:

Login to Brightspace 

Book training 

Brightspace Support 

This week we will focus on the following topics:  

  • share your feedback on our Brightspace supports, and 

  • join the ‘Intelligent Agents’ session 

The Brightspace Calendar 

The calendar is a useful tool to record important dates for your module(s) that both instructors and students can view. Events created in the calendar are visible to everyone on the classlist from the module home page, or from the nav bar under the ‘Communication’ menu.  You can also view calendar events for all of the modules you have access to by visiting the Brightspace homepage.  

Calendar events can be created to guide learners to course components (content, quizzes, assignments etc) or can be used to remind students of upcoming deadlines by setting dates within the quiz or assignment set up. If notifications for calendar events have been turned off, the calendar event will still appear on the module landing page. 

For more information on using the Brightspace calendar see the Knowledge Base article: Calendar (ul.ie) 

MS Bookings with me 

I have tested the MS 'Bookings with me' tool.  This allows you to create highly customisable bookable events that you can tailor and share with your students to allow them to book time with you during office hours. Booked sessions are added to your Microsoft calendar (they will not appear in the Brightspace calendar), and you can tailor whether you want a lead in time and/or a buffer between sessions.   

If this could be of use to you see:  Bookings with me: setup and sharing for further information. I have set this up on my own calendar that you can view here: book time with Sinead.Spain. 

Notifications 

Brightspace users can receive notifications through email or as a notification on the phone through the Pulse app. The default setting is switched to ‘receive’ all emails and push notifications for all items on the list.  Students and teachers can adjust what notifications they wish to receive in the profile menu on the browser, or in the settings menu on the Pulse app.  We recommend everyone updates their own settings to prioritise important announcements eg assignment deadlines, announcements, calendar events etc. To review your own notification settings, see the following two articles: 

What’s up next 

Our project team are looking for feedback on the types of supports you have availed of as you learn how to use Brightspace, if you could please take a few moments to complete this survey, your feedback will prove invaluable as we continue to fine-tune our Brightspace support 

Intelligent Agents Webinar 

The Intelligent Agent tool allows instructors to set up rules to identify if a student has/has not completed an action within their module and to push automatic emails to those students as a single or scheduled event. 

To learn more about how Intelligent Agents could be of use to you, we are pleased to invite you to the ‘Intelligent Agents’ webinar delivered by D2L on Thursday (May 18th 10-11am) and can be booked in the calendar (Brightspace VLE Training (office365.com)). Attendance is open to all teaching faculty 

If you have questions about your module and teaching in September, please feel free to join one of the Drop-in sessions next week (16th – 19th May) or if you would like to meet with me directly, you can email me, or call me.  

I have a number of topics scheduled but if you want to see a specific topic covered in these emails, please send your suggestions on this form. 

I look forward to seeing you next week.   

Kind regards, 

Sinead Spain 

Dear Colleague,  

This week we will focus on:  

  • Discussion Boards and forums 

  • Checklists 

  • Intelligent agent tool 

  • What’s up next 

  • share your feedback on our Brightspace supports, and  

  • join the ‘Intelligent Agents’ session 

 

Discussion Boards and forums 

The discussion tool in Brightspace has the same basic functionality as Sulis and additional functionality so that users to apply star ratings, upvote or downvote posts, as well as subscribe to threads and boards.  Use the settings cog on the forum or topic page to adjust these features globally for all your discussion boards or for individual topics within a forum.  

The discussion board interface, and the breadcrumb menu allow for easy navigation between forums. 

For further information please see: Discussions - Instructor  

Checklists 

What are they? 

Checklists are primarily used as a tool for students to help them to track their own progress within a module.  Teachers can use links to take students to the necessary checkpoints (eg submit an assignment, fill in a form etc) or embed images to reference specific content or to make content more engaging. 

Why would I use them?  

Checklists are used to support learners in completing learning activities, assessments, and also for assignment preparation, or simply to help students to remain on top of their learning.  Some uses for the checklist tool include: task list for the week, project tasks, to-do lists, preparation lists for class, or demonstrations, progress tracking, self-assessment, activity list, etc 

How do I use them? 

  1. Access the course checklist tool through the ‘Class Organisation’ menu on the Nav Bar. 

  1. Add ‘categories’ to group tasks (eg by week or by assignment components). 

  1. Add ‘items’ to list the tasks to be completed. 

  1. Choose whether you want to set due dates, and/or add checklist items to the calendar. 

  1. Checklists can be restricted to groups, or made available on completion of a different task (eg completing a health and safety questionnaire, or by accessing certain course content).  Vice versa, conditions can be applied the will grant students access to other course components only if a checklist has been completed.  

Instructors can view how a student has engaged with the checklist through the class progress tool (more on class progress next week) 

For more information on Checklists see:  Checklists  

Intelligent agent tool 

What is it? 

The Intelligent Agent tool allows instructors to set up rules to identify if a student has/has not completed an action within their module and to push automatic emails to those students as a single or scheduled event.  

Why would I use them? 

  • Setting up an ‘agent’ will allow teachers to automate tasks such as notifying student when they have not logged in, missed assignment deadlines, or even forgot to complete a specific checklist.   

  • Intelligent agents can also be used to remind instructors if a task has not been completed (eg submit grades to the gradebook or publish the final grades).   

  • You can enable and disable agents, or run them on demand to tailor which ones are used and when for a particular class.  

  • Rules can be scheduled to run for regular periods of time (eg daily or weekly) and can be limited to a start and end date if needed.   

  • Release conditions further tailor the notifications to defined criteria (eg the student has not uploaded an assignment or completed a quiz etc). 

  • If you want to know who meets the Intelligent Agent criteria (eg scored below 50% in a quiz) without notifying them – try using the ‘practice run’ option. 

For more information on intelligent agents see the Knowledge Base articles 

What’s up next 

Our project team are looking for feedback on the types of supports you have availed of as you learn how to use Brightspace, if you could please take a few moments to complete this survey, your feedback will prove invaluable as we continue to fine-tune our Brightspace support 

If you have questions about your module and teaching in September, please feel free to join one of the Drop-in sessions next week (16th – 19th May) or if you would like to meet with me directly, you can email me, or call me.  

I have a number of topics scheduled but if you want to see a specific topic covered in these emails, please send your suggestions on this form. 

I look forward to seeing you next week.   

Kind regards, 

Sinead Spain

Brightspace Quicklinks:

Login to Brightspace 

Book training 

Brightspace Support 

This week we will focus on communication channels on Brightspace:  

  • Announcements
  • Notifications
  • Discussions
  • Calendar
  • Emailing from Brightspace
  • Questions?

Announcements 

What are Announcements?  

Announcements are a quick and easy way to communicate important information with your learners, such as: 

  • Introducing instructors at the start of semester and providing guidance for learners.  

  • Sending cancellations, reminders, or upcoming assessments.  

  • Send announcements to learners who have completed (or not completed) an activity or milestone. 

Note:  Announcement notifications can be turned off (see below), but they will still appear on the homepage of the module site and under the Communication menu on the Navbar. 

For more information on Announcements, visit our knowledge base article: Announcements  

 

Notifications 

Notifications are set to ‘on’ by default on your module, this means all those who have access to the site will receive notifications by email and on the Pulse app.  We recommend you tailor the notifications you receive to prioritise important announcements such as notifications, assignments and grades. 

For more information on Notifications, visit our knowledge base article: Notification Settings  

 

Discussions 

The Discussions tool can be used to encourage learners to share thoughts on course material with their class and invite discussion or feedback on topics. You can also use the discussion forum as a space for learners to ask general course questions and provide support for their peers. 

The discussion tool has three main tiers: 

Discussion Forum – This is a heading or category to contain topics.  

Discussion Topic – Is used to pose the question or invite learners to share their views on a topic.  

Discussion Thread – Each learner or teacher who replies to a topic begins a discussion thread.  Other learners or teachers reply to those posts and respond to individual posts in a ‘threaded discussion’.  

The discussion tool in Brightspace has the same basic functionality as Sulis with additional functionality for users to apply star ratings, upvotes and downvotes for posts, as well as subscribe to threads and boards.  Teachers can adjust these features globally for all discussion boards on your course, or for individual topics within a forum by using the settings cog on the forum or topic page.   

The discussion board interface, including the breadcrumb menu and side bar menu to allow easy navigation between topics and threads. 

 

For more information on the Discussions tool, visit our knowledge base article: Discussions   

 

Calendar 

The calendar can be used to manage course events and add important dates that both teachers and learners can see.  Setting due dates on assignments, quizzes or course content will also populate the calendar, and will push notifications to learners as a reminder when due dates approach. 

When you create a calendar ‘event’ you can attach items such as files, or add links to course content, meetings, quizzes and assignments to help guide learners to specific items. 

For more information on the Calendar tool, visit our knowledge base article: Calendar   

Emailing from Brightspace 

You can email anyone that has been added to your module site using the email tool.  The name of the module will be added to the subject line and you can choose whether to use the CC or BCC options.  

All mail is stored in the sent mail page and you can choose whether to copy emails to your email account in the ‘settings’ options. 

To email specific learners on your module, you can check the boxes next to their name on the class list.  Learner email addresses will be added to the BCC line to protect their identity. 

 

Questions? 

If you have questions about your module and teaching in September, please feel free to join one of the Drop-in sessions next week or if you would like to meet with me directly, you can book time with Sinead.Spain, email me, or call me.  

I have a number of topics scheduled but if you want to see a specific topic covered in these emails, please send your suggestions on this form. 

I look forward to seeing you next week.   

Kind regards, 

UL VLE Project Team

Dear Colleague,  

This week we will focus on communication channels on Brightspace:  

  • The NavBar
  • Panopto
  • Big Blue Button
  • Replace Strings
  • Questions?
  •  

In Science and Engineering these emails will be followed by weekly drop-in sessions. The table below offers four sessions per week.  The purpose of these sessions is to explain or demonstrate the topics covered in this email and to allow you to ask any question(s) you have about Brightspace.  If the times below are not convenient for you, please drop me a line or call me on Teams.  

Day 

Time 

Link to join 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The NavBar sits at the top of the content area and groups the course components.  Information that is not linked in the left bar menu can still be accessed through the NavBar, the exception being components that are set to ‘invisible’ and/or where the ‘availability’ is set to a future or past date. 

Displaying tools that you are not using could confuse students, if they find themselves clicking into things that are not relevant.  You can turn off tools that you are not using by following the instructions in this video.   

Note: 

  • You will need to modify the nav bar for each of your modules. 

  • If you want to use the Rubrics tool, you must keep the Competencies tool switch on, also. 

Panopto 

Panopto uses an LTI (an LTI is way for our VLE to communicate with an external system), so you can use the Panopto recordings in Brightspace by copying Panopto videos into your Brightspace site.  

  • Insert a Panopto video using the instructions on this link. 

For more information on Panopto, visit our knowledge base article:  Panopto - Supported tool.   

Note:  If you use LTI’s that are unique to your module, programme, or department (ie not available globally), it is likely that I am not aware of them, so please let me know asap.   

 

Big Blue Button 

BigBlueButton (BBB) is a virtual meeting application. BBB features a presentation space, an interactive whiteboard, voting functionality, and breakout rooms for group work. Sessions can be recorded, although it is mainly intended for synchronous communication such as live teaching and collaboration. 

For more information on BBB, visit our knowledge base article:  BigBlueButton  

Replace strings 

What are “Replace strings”?  

Replace strings are sometimes referred to as ‘display configuration variables’ and are recognisable by text enclosed in curly brackets “{…}”.  You can use replace strings to customise module.  For example, you can personalise the module banner as follows: 

 

Where should I use them? 

Replace strings are most useful in the following course areas: 

  • Course Homepage Widgets  

  • Announcements  

  • Course descriptions (for modules, content items, etc.)  

  • Intelligent agent templates  

  • Mail templates  

  • Grades when adding bulk feedback  

For more information on ‘replace strings’, visit our knowledge base article: Using Replace Strings  
or visit the Brightspace Community:  Automatically customize course content using replace strings  

Questions? 

If you have questions about your module and teaching in September, please feel free to join one of the Drop-in sessions next week or if you would like to meet with me directly, you can book a Brightspace meeting with me, email me, or call me.  

I have a number of topics scheduled but if you want to see a specific topic covered in these emails, please send your suggestions on this form. 

I look forward to seeing you next week.   

Kind regards, 

UL VLE Project Team

Spring Semester 22/23

Hi all,

We hope you are enjoying the Brightspace features and navigation so far.

As we know Week 1 will be a particularly busy week so the following information may be of help to you making your module visible and available to students. 

Summary of the topics:

  • Make your module(s) active on Brightspace
  • Adding students on your module
  • Training and drop-in schedule this week
  • Support and resources available to you at UL

Make your module(s) active on Brightspace

Remember that you will need to make your Spring module active (publish it, in Sulis terminology) so students can view the module content.

We have 3 suggested steps below to ensure your students can view your module content:

  1. Make your course active:
    1. Navigate to Admin on the course navbar in your module.
    2. Select Course Admin from the dropdown.
    3. Click Course Offering Information.
    4. Scroll down and select the checkbox to 'Course is active'.

Find instructions here.

Note:    Students will not receive an automatic notification that the module site is active on Brightspace so we suggest you:

  1. Publish the existing Sulis or Moodle site (without content) and add an announcement to the homepage advising students that the module has been moved to Brightspace with a re-direct link to the Brightspace login where they can log in as normal.
  2. Suggested text for a message that you can edit and share with your students is attached. This message explains that not all modules will be available on Brightspace in January and provides them with information about where they can go for help. The VLE team will not be contacting students directly.

Tip: do a final check to ensure the content you wish to present this week is visible to students in your module Content See instructions here.

Adding students on your module

The SI system syncs with your module on a daily basis and updates as students register on your module.  In some cases, you may need to add students manually Please contact your learning technologist for assistance

Training and drop-in schedule this week

The VLE project team has a full schedule of training and drop-in sessions available to you:

  • We have a webinar on Quizzes on Thursday 26 January from Brightspace and encourage anyone who uses quizzes to attend.  Book here.
  • Training Session 3 on Assessment and Grading is fully booked this Thursday, but some spaces remain for Thursday 2 February. Book here.
  • Brightspace recordings from their webinar series are available to view. Click here

Our training schedule for this week:

Date

Details

Time

Mon 23rd Jan

Drop-in Q&A

Microsoft Teams meeting

Click here to join the meeting

Meeting ID: 340 394 514 913
Passcode: ycqVkY

12:00-13:00

Tues 24th Jan

Session 1 on MS Teams

12:00-13:00

Tues 24th Jan

Drop-in Q&A

Microsoft Teams meeting

Click here to join the meeting

Meeting ID: 372 820 569 011
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15:00-16:00

Wed 25th Jan

Session 2 on MS Teams

10:00-11:00

Thurs 26th Jan

Session 3 on MS Teams (fully booked, spaces available 2 Feb)

09:30-10:30

Thurs 26th Jan

Webinar: Introduction to Quizzes

11:00-12:00

Thurs 26th Jan

Drop-in Q&A

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14:00-15:00

Fri 27th Jan

Drop-in Q&A

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14:00-15:00

Support and resources available to you at UL

We wish you every success using Brightspace to support your teaching and thank you for being part of our Phase 2 process.

Kind regards,

UL VLE Project Team

Welcome to Week 2.   

We hope the semester is going well and you are enjoying Brightspace. We are pleased to hear lots of positive feedback about its clear layout. 

This week, we are sharing some tips on: 

  • Introduction to Quizzes and Advanced Quiz sessions  

  • Brightspace guided training webinars  

  • Making your Panopto content visible to students on your module  

I have also shared below some support channels, the training schedule for Week 2 and some links you may find useful. 

Introduction to Quizzes and Advanced Quiz sessions 

In Week 1, the Brightspace team hosted an Introduction to Quizzes session (link to recording below).  This week they will deliver another quiz session with a focus on advanced quizzing.  This is a 2-hr session that will work through some use cases here in UL this may be helpful if you use quizzes extensively in your module(s).  If you are unable to make the full session, or if the session is full you can still submit your question in the form below and we will raise it with the training team.  The recording will be shared with everyone after the workshop.   

  • Book your place on Advanced Quizzes, please contact me for further information 

  • Submit a question or use case related to the quiz tool here [form closes 5pm Wed 1st Feb 23]  

Making your Panopto content visible to students on your module 

The links below offer information on how to make your Panopto content available to your students: 

Big Blue Button 

You may wish to use Big Blue Button (BBB) for lectures (<250 students).  The following are some articles to help you add BBB to your Brightspace module.  

Get help 

  • If you have a question you would like to ask our UL Learning Technologists, join our “Drop-in Q&A” sessions: 

Date 

Time 

Link 

Monday 

30th Jan 

15:00-16:00 

Click here to join the Q&A 

 

Tuesday 

31st Jan  

12:00-13:00 

Click here to join the Q&A 

 

Wednesday  

1st Feb  

10:00-11:00 

Click here to join the Q&A 

 

Need help fast? 

  • 24/7 chat is a useful chat feature available 24/7.  Click the icon on the bottom right of the screen within Brightspace. You will initially be invited to post a question to a chatbot, if the results do not match your query, choose “Contact Support”, followed by “Chat with us”.  Complete the query form and you will be connected with a live agent within a few moments.  [Using Brightspace 24/7 | University of Limerick]  
    Note:  A copy of the chat is emailed to you from ” helpdesk@d2l.com”.  If this  and may end up in the junk folder, if so, right mouse click on the message and mark it as “not junk” so the message is added to the safe senders list and future emails arrive to the inbox.   
     

Training Schedule for this week 

Date 

Time 

Session details 

Booking details 

Tuesday 

31st Jan  

16:00-17:00 

Session 1 Brightspace VLE Training 

Image removed.

Wednesday 

1st Feb 

12:00-13:00 

Session 2 Brightspace VLE Training 

Thursday  

2nd Feb  

16:00-17:00 

Session 3 Brightspace VLE Training 

Reminder from last week 

We wish you every success using Brightspace to support your teaching and thank you for being part of our Phase 2 process. 

Kind regards, 

UL VLE Project Team 

Welcome to Week 3. 

We hope the semester is going well and you have settled in to using Brightspace to facilitate your teaching. This week, we are sharing tips on:

  • Adjusting notification settings on the browser and “Pulse” app
  • Discussion boards
  • Introduction to Brightspace for Students
  • Training, Q&A sessions, and Show and TEL

Adjusting notifications settings on the browser and “Pulse” app

Tailor the notifications you want to receive by email or as push notifications in the app. This is an excellent way to prioritise important announcements on assignment deadlines or due dates.

Discussion Boards <Communication/Discussions>

The discussion tool in Brightspace has the same basic functionality as Sulis and additional functionality for users to apply star ratings, upvotes and downvotes for posts, as well as subscribe to threads and boards.  Adjust these features globally for all your discussion boards or for individual topics within a forum by using the settings cog on the forum or topic page.  Learn more: Getting Started | Discussions

The discussion board interface, and the breadcrumb menu allows for easy navigation.

Brightspace 101 for Students

Well done to the Training team who developed the Introduction to Brightspace for students.  Students registered via SI will be automatically enrolled, while Teachers and manually added students can self-enrol by clicking on the “Home” icon next to the UL logo, and using “Discover” on the Nav bar to search for the “Introduction to Brightspace for students” course.

Training, Q&A and “Show and TEL”

On this weeks schedule we have Training, Q&A sessions, and our new Teaching with Brightspace series “Show and TEL”.  This week’s Show and TEL features a 15-minute presentation by Lorraine Ryan (KBS), followed by a 20-minute informal discussion (not recorded) on the experience of using Brightspace so far (lessons learned and advice). No need to book, just click the link below to join:

Date

Time

Session details

Tues 7th Feb 

12:00-13:00

Session 2 Brightspace VLE Training

 

15:00-16:00

Drop-in Q&A

Wed 8th Feb

10:00-11:00

Session 1 Brightspace VLE Training

 

12:00-13:00

Drop-in Q&A

Thurs 9th Feb 

12:00-13:00

Session 3 Brightspace VLE Training

 

10:00-11:00

Show and TEL

* Full “Show and TEL” schedule is available on the UL Connect Brightspace page. Subscribe to say up-to-date.

Please note:  This is our last week of live Brightspace training for Phase 2 participants, so be sure to book your place if you have not already done so.  Recordings will be made available afterwards. Dates for phase 3 training will be available shortly.

Need help fast?

  • Visit our Brightspace resources where you will find guides and helpful articles.  We have compiled a list of guides, videos, and recordings in our Quick links of Brightspace Resources.
  • Remember to use the dedicated Brightspace form when logging technical calls on Brightspace. ITD are prioritising Brightspace calls, so you can expect a quick response.
    For urgent issues, please contact me.
  • Remember that you also have access to 24/7 support directly in Brightspace. Click the 'Get Help' button on the bottom right of the Brightspace screen to get immediate chat support. 

Reminder from last week

Quicklinks

Kind regards,

UL VLE Project Team

Welcome to Week 4. 

This week, we are sharing tips on:

  • Export classlist
  • Groups
  • Using a quiz pool to randomize a quiz
  • Show and TEL

Export classlist

Did you know you can export the classlist as an Excel spreadsheet from the Gradebook?

This documentation on the Knowledge base shows you how to set up the Gradebook, once it is set up you use the “export” button to export to Excel or CSV.  For more on the Grade tool see the Grades section of the Instructor Tools Training video <20 mins>.

Groups

If you want learners to see all other learners and content for your module, but be a part of a group for a specific project or activity, use the Groups tool [Setting up groups].

To apply conditions to content select the content item.

  1. Click the “···” menu on the right of the content area. 
  2. Select “view release conditions” and create a new condition. 
  3. Select “Group enrolment” in the “Condition type” and the group you want to share the content with
  4. Don’t forget to make the content visible, the icon will change to show a cog next to the view status, indicating there are conditions to visibility.

Using a quiz pool to randomize a quiz

If you want to create a quiz so that students receive a random set of questions from a pool of questions, here’s how you do it (thank you Conor for your patience while I figured this out!). 

Show and TEL

If you are missing the weekly Training and Q&A sessions, you can view topic specific training videos in the Quicklinks section of the knowledge base.

This week’s Show and TEL features a 15-minute presentation by Padraig MacCarron (S&E) followed by a 20-minute informal discussion (not recorded) on the experience of using Brightspace so far (lessons learned and advice). No need to book, just click the link below to join:

Date

Time

Session details

Booking details

Thurs, 16th February

10:00

Padraig MacCarron (S&E)

<click here to join>

* Full “Show and TEL” schedule is available on the UL Connect Brightspace page. Subscribe to say up-to-date.

Help reminders

Reminder from previous weeks

Brightspace Quicklinks

 

 

Kind regards,

UL VLE Project Team

Welcome to Week 5. 

This week, we are sharing information on:

  • Student support
  • Rubrics
  • Assignments
  • Show and TEL

If you know anyone who would like to request a Brightspace account, please share this link (https://forms.office.com/r/dc1401ErLJ).  User accounts will be created within 24 hours, however they will not receive a confirmation email, to access Brightspace, use the following link:  https://learn.ul.ie/d2l/login (also at the bottom of this email).

Student support

I have curated a list of the students supports that are currently available, feel free to share with your own students again as appropriate:

Assignments

You can use assignments to provide instructions and to give feedback on a range of activities online and offline.  Online file submissions can be easily annotated for feedback.  

  • Start date prevents learners from viewing the assignment before this date
  • End date prevents learners from viewing the assignment after this date
  • Due date is a suggested deadline, it does not prevent learners from submitting after the due date, but it will flag the submission as ‘late’.  The due date must be the same as or before the end date.

The “evaluation and feedback” settings on the assignment set up screen allows you to access advanced Turnitin functionality. [more on assignments here].

Rubrics

Rubrics are used to evaluate an activity or item based on a predefined set of criteria. They help ensure that activities and items are evaluated fairly and consistently.  You can attach a rubric to Competencies, Discussions, Assignments, Grade items, and Surveys. To find our more see our articles on the knowledge base:

Show and TEL

If you are missing the weekly Training and Q&A sessions, you can view topic specific training videos in the Quicklinks section of the knowledge base.

Thank you to Lorraine and Padraig who have previously shared their experiences of teaching in Brightspace [[An1] Blog | University of Limerick (ul.ie)].  This week’s Show and TEL features a 15-minute presentation by Jill Pearson (KBS) followed by a 20-minute informal discussion (not recorded) on the experience of using Brightspace so far (lessons learned and advice). No need to book, just click the link below to join:

Date

Time

Session details

Booking details

Friday, 24th February

12:00

Jill Pearson (KBS)

<click here to join>

* Full “Show and TEL” schedule is available on the UL Connect Brightspace page. Subscribe to say up-to-date.

Help reminders

Brightspace Quicklinks

Kind regards,

UL VLE Project Team

Selection of previous sessions curated in Blog | University of Limerick (ul.ie) [An1]

Welcome to Week 6. 

This week, we take a look at the Brightspace interface and some advice on working with the Brightspace module structure:

  • Brightspace ‘Module Home’ page
  • Brightspace content area
  • Admin tools - managed files
  • Show and TEL

If you know anyone who would like to request a Brightspace account, please share this email that can also serve as an introduction to the basics.  Currently new accounts can be requested by clicking this link: https://forms.office.com/r/dc1401ErLJ.  User accounts will be created within 24 hours,  confirmation emails are not being sent, but you can access Brightspace through the following link: 

Brightspace ‘Module Home’ page

Module homepage:  this is the landing page for your module that pulls together:

  • Announcements: the slim announcements tool shows the two most recent announcements.
  • Calendar items:  show upcoming items such as assignment due dates, class schedules etc. Access the calendar tool by clicking the hyperlink in the calendar title or select ‘calendar’ from the ‘Communications’ menu.
  • Instructor profiles: The ‘multi-profile’ widget introduces the instructors on your module by drawing on the names associated with the ‘Instructor’ role and displays the information on their Brightspace profile.  There is also a free text box for additional information (eg office hours, response times etc).
  • The content widget:  The content widget is a snapshot of your module (ie the weekly folders if using the Mastercourse template).  The text displayed is based on the weekly folder textbox and it is best to keep the description brief to ensure it fits onto the overview window.  This text is always visible to students, and is not tracked in “class progress”.

Brightspace content area

The Content area:  By clicking on the content option in the top menu (or any block on the content widget), you will access the module content pages and sidebar menu.

If you are using the Mastercourse Template (default for all new modules), you will see a structure of “folders” in a week-by-week format.  Each folder can be edited to provide students with an overview of the content for that week or topic, within each folder you can tailor and sequence the content eg

  • Lesson folders: break down the week or topic content further (eg Lectures, Labs).  To add a lesson folder click the week number and click ‘create new’ followed by ‘new lesson’, fill in the ‘name’ field and the description (optional).  Click ‘save and close’, to add the page to the end of that week block, drag and drop items in the weekly folder to reorder them.
  • HTML document:  these pages should be used for text based content, in-text links, images etc.  The HTML document is similar to the editor window on the lessons tool in Sulis.  To add this to your module click the week number and click ‘create new’ followed by ‘HTML document’.  Apply a template from the “select template” drop down menu and populate the page ‘name’ and text window.  Click ‘save and close’, to add the page to the end of that week block, drag and drop items in the weekly folder to reorder them.
  • Links:  You can create links in the sidebar menu to direct students to web pages or course components such as discussions boards, quizzes, assignments, and checklists or uploaded content.
    • To add a link to a website, click the week folder, click ‘create new’ followed by ‘weblink’, fill in the ‘name’ field and the URL and choose the display options you want. 
    • To add a link to course content, click ‘add existing‘; you can link to any of the options available, drag a file from your OneDrive, or click ‘more…’ for other options including a ‘course file’ from the “managed files”. 

Click ‘save and close’, to add the page to the end of that week block, drag and drop items in the weekly folder to reorder them.

  • External learning tools:  Use this option to embed Big Blue Button, Leganto Reading Lists, Panopto Video Recordings and other external tools.

Overview of the content area:  by clicking on any element in the left bar menu, you will see the content or link for that element.

The NavBar:

The NavBar sits at the top of the content area and groups the course components.  Information that is not linked in the left bar menu can still be accessed through the NavBar with the exception of components that are invisible or where the ‘availability’ is set to a future or past date.

Admin tools:  Managed files

We strongly recommend using the Manage Files process to organise your files before you start building content. This will ensure your files are easily found while you teach and in future iterations. To learn more, you may watch this short video to understand Why you should organise via Manage Files Video (3:08)

Show and TEL

If you are missing the weekly Training and Q&A sessions, you can view topic specific training videos in the Quicklinks section of the knowledge base.

Thank you to our colleagues who have previously shared their experiences of teaching in Brightspace [Blog | University of Limerick (ul.ie)].  This week’s Show and TEL features a 15-minute presentation by Claire Harnett (KBS) followed by a 20-minute informal discussion (not recorded) on the experience of using Brightspace so far (lessons learned and advice). No need to book, just click the link below to join:

Date

Time

Session details

Booking details

Wed, 1st March

10:00

Claire Harnett (KBS)

<click here to join>

* Full “Show and TEL” schedule is available on the UL Connect Brightspace page. Subscribe to say up-to-date.

Help reminders

Brightspace Quicklinks

Kind regards,

UL VLE Project Team

Welcome to Week 7. 

This week, we take a look at[La1] [SS2]  some useful ways to use analytics in your module:

  • Leganto
  • Class Progress
  • Intelligent Agents
  • Show and TEL

If you know anyone who would like to request a Brightspace account, please share this email.  Currently new accounts can be requested by clicking this link: https://forms.office.com/r/dc1401ErLJ.  User accounts will be created within 24 hours; confirmation emails are not being sent, but you can access Brightspace through the following link: 

Leganto Reading Lists

What is it?

Leganto is the University of Limerick's reading list management system. Leganto is integrated into Brightspace and allows you to display your reading list and citations with direct links to the library's collections.  You can add a variety of materials into a single list so students can access all their course materials in one place.

Why would I use it?

  • You can assemble materials of all types; physical and e-books, online or digitised book chapters, scholarly articles, videos, images, electronic resources and any other type of material, to create a flexible and interactive reading list.
  • It’s easy to use, and easy to share, and easy to maintain.
  • You can use Leganto’s usage analytics and reports to provide you with an overview of the materials students use and their usage patterns.
  • You can curate, structure, and annotate a list of recommended readings for each module on the course/programme.
  • Your students:
    • can link directly to University-subscribed and owned material in the library's collections
    • have fair and equal access to reading material both on campus and studying remotely
    • will find academic referencing easier
    • can share feedback and suggest items to instructors through the interactive interface

Faculty are invited to build your own reading lists, update existing ones, or contact the library who will build your module reading list on your behalf.

How do I use it?

The Library have a helpful guide that takes you through the four steps to build a Leganto reading list and add it to your module. 

Where do I get help?

  • See our Knowledge Base article for a summary of the Leganto tool.
  • Use the navigation tabs at the top of the page (highlighted in yellow below) to access other support information, or email libinfo@ul.ie if you experience any issues.

Class progress

The Class Progress tool provides instructors with a general overview on system access, or learner engagement on your module.  As an instructor you can view detailed student progress reports for assignments, quizzes, discussions, and other course components, as well as detailed system login and access information.

Note: The class progress landing page reflects logins to Brightspace over the previous 30 days, to review module-based logins and more detailed user analytics, click on the username hyperlink.

Access the “Class Progress” tool from the “Class Organisation” drop down menu on the Navbar.  For more information on using the Class Progress tool see:

Intelligent Agents

You can access the “Intelligent Agent” dashboard from “Admin” drop down menu on the NavBar, or via the link at the top of the “Class Progress” landing page above. The Intelligent Agent tool enables teachers to personalise and automate email messages to students, for example sending a student a ‘check-in’ email if they have not logged onto your module over the past week. 

For information on the Intelligent Agents see:

Show and TEL

If you are missing the weekly Training and Q&A sessions, you can view topic specific training videos in the Quicklinks section of the knowledge base.

Thank you to our colleagues who have previously shared their experiences of teaching in Brightspace [Blog | University of Limerick (ul.ie)].  This week’s Show and TEL features a 15-minute presentation by Eoin Hinchey (S&E) followed by a 20-minute informal discussion (not recorded) on the experience of using Brightspace so far (lessons learned and advice). No need to book, just click the link below to join:

Date

Time

Session details

Booking details

Tues, 7th March

15:00

Eoin Hinchy (S&E)

<click here to join>

* Full “Show and TEL” schedule is available on the UL Connect Brightspace page. Subscribe to stay up-to-date.

Help reminders

Brightspace Quicklinks

 

Kind regards,

UL VLE Project Team

Keeping it brief this week, we will look at our Brightspace Support site (Knowledge base) and a reminder about filenames and character limits: 

  • Brightspace support site 

  • Filenames 

  • Show and TEL (rescheduled) 

  • Training 

Login to Brightspace 

 

Brightspace Support Site (Knowledge Base) 

What is it? 

The VLE Project Team have created and curated documentation to help you get the most from Brightspace.  The site includes documentation, videos, and training information from a range of sources including: our learning technologists, the Brightspace Community, and information from other Institutions who also use Brightspace.  

Why would I use it? 

The 3-step process is a useful guide to help you if you encounter any issues using Brightspace.   

How do I use it? 

Visit, browse, and to find the information you are looking for use the “Getting Started for Instructors” section.  This section provides you with an A-Z of topics as well as a search button so you can easily locate the information you are looking for.  There is also a “Getting Started for Students” that you can share with your class as well as links to access Brightspace, or log a call with ITD. 

Filenames 

If you or your students have encountered issues uploading a file to an assignment, discussions, content area, or the course files or managed files area, the following may be of help to you: 

  • There is a 110 (maximum) character limit for filenames. This includes the total number of characters in the file’s path (in Brightspace), plus all the characters in the file’s name.  This limit applies to Assignments, Discussions, Course Files, Managed Files, and Content. 

  • Certain characters should not be used in filenames or file paths and are known to cause issues.   

Those illegal characters are: \ / : * ? " < > | ~ # % & + { } 

Most Windows computers prevent the user from saving a file containing any of these characters in the filename, however, most Apple devices do permit these characters in the filename.  

Brightspace may allow filenames with these characters to be uploaded, but accessing that file will cause an error.   Examples include, but are not limited to: 

  • If a file containing illegal characters in the name is attached to a discussion, an error will occur whenever that particular thread/topic is accessed. 

  • If a file containing illegal characters in the name is uploaded to Assignments an error will occur whenever that file is accessed. 

  • Files containing illegal characters in the name will cause similar errors and problems when added to the Course Files or Course Content areas. 

Watch this short video (3:08) on organising your files in the ‘managed files’ section of Brightspace. 

 

Show and TEL 

Thank you to our colleagues who have previously shared their experiences of teaching in Brightspace [Blog | University of Limerick (ul.ie)].  This week’s Show and TEL features a 15-minute presentation by Paloma Valencia followed by a 20-minute informal discussion (not recorded) on the experience of using Brightspace so far (lessons learned and advice). No need to book, just click the link below to join: 

Date 

Time 

Session details 

Booking details 

Fri, 24th March 

12:00 

Paloma Valencia 

<click here to join> 

* Full “Show and TEL” schedule is available on the UL Connect Brightspace page. Subscribe to say up-to-date. 

Training is back 

Our VLE Project training team have opened up new dates for training.  Priority for training has been given to all Autumn semester instructors (AY 23/24) between now and July.  After that, priority will be given to new staff and staff returning from leave.  You can find out more about the topics covered in the three sessions here, the link to book into any of the sessions is at the bottom of the page 

Help reminders 

Kind regards, 

UL VLE Project team