Building Courses in Brightspace

Building a course in Brightspace might seem like a daunting task. This chapter will walk you through a workflow we recommend to help ensure your students have a great learning experience.

Full Chapter Contents


Why Start With The Grades Tool?

5 Reasons why setting up the Grades tool before anything else is crucial:

Where is the Grades tool?

What is a "Grade Item"?

Setting up a Points-Based Course

Setting up a Weighted Percentage-Based Course

Working With Grade Categories

Category Setup for Points-Based Courses

Category Setup for Weighted Percentage-Based Courses

Working With Grade Items

Grade Item Setup for Points-Based Courses

Grade Item Setup for Weighted Percentage-Based Courses

Changing / Editing Grade Items & Categories

Edit Multiple Grade Items & Categories

Deleting Grade Items & Categories

Understanding Weighted Percentage-Based Courses

Setting up Extra Credit / Bonuses

Understanding How Points Work in Brightspace

Video Demonstrations

Weighted Percentage-Based Demonstration

Points-Based Demonstration


Which Tool Should I Use?

Dates and How They Work

Working With Assignments

Creating assignments

Deleting Assignments

Recovering Deleted Assignments

Assignment Submission Types

Working With Discussion Forums and Topics

What's the Difference Between a Forum and a Topic?

Create a New Forum

Create a New Topic

Deleting Forums and Topics

Working With Quizzes & Exams

Part 1: Setting up the Main Quiz Options

Part 2: Setting up Submission Views

Part 3: Adding Questions

Importing Quiz/Exam Questions From a Package

Importing Questions From another Quiz/Exam

Types of Quiz & Exam Questions


What Do You Mean By "Sequencing"?

Create a Sequence of Modules

Creating Your Sequence from Scratch

Deleting Modules

Import a Course Package Containing a Series of Empty Modules

Add Previously Created Course Assessments


Add Module Descriptions

The Upload / Create Button

Adding Kaltura Video, Materials from Publishers, and other third-Party Integrations

Post Your Syllabus in Brightspace

Syllabus in PDF or MS Word Format

Syllabus in Google Docs Part 1: Setting Up and Getting the Share Link

Syllabus in Google Docs Part 2: Creating a Link in Brightspace

Advanced: Embedding a Google Docs Syllabus

Adding Links to the Syllabus Anywhere in your Course