Before You Begin

Write or Update Your Course Syllabus

This is a critical first-step. Your syllabus isn’t just a contract between you and your students; it’s also the blueprint for your course itself! Writing or updating your syllabus is an important mental exercise that will help you think through the logistics of your course. You don’t have to have absolutely everything written up. For the purpose of building the course in Brightspace, you should at least have:

• A course description.

• A preferred grading scheme; eg do you want your course graded by points or percentage weights?

• Broad details on the number and types of assessments you plan to have and how much they are worth.

Import an Academic Innovation Jumpstart Package into your Course

This is optional. To cut down on all the pointing-and-clicking you are about to do, Academic Innovation provides a Jumpstart Course Package which includes pre-made empty weekly modules, weekly assignments, discussions, and an already set up Grades tool! Simply impoort the package into your course, rename the existing items, remove the things you don't need and add your course lectures, readings, etc.

• • Instructions on Importing Packages into Your Course.

  • Download the 16 Week version of the Academic Innovation Jumpstart Package.

  • Download the 8 Week version of the Academic Innovation Jumpstart Package.

  • Download the 4 Week version of the Academic Innovation Jumpstart Package.

Workflow Summary

This chapter is organized in four main parts. First we are going to set up the Grades tool. Then we will create the activities / assessments your students will complete for credit. Finally, we will add the instructional content your students will consume that will prepare them for success in the course's assessments / activities. The workflow is visualized in the diagram below.