• Click on the dropdown menu for the Announcements Widget

• Select 'New Announcement'

• Enter the Headline 

• Add Content Start/End Dates if needed

• Click Publish

• Click on the dropdown menu for the title of the announcement

• Select 'Delete' or 'Edit'

Note: Selecting the 'X' icon in the top right corner of an announcement only dismisses items from your view. Your students can still see these items until they are deleted or expired past your date settings

• Click the 'X' icon next to an announcement to dismiss it from your view

• Select 'New Assignment'

  • • Properties Tab

      • Enter the 'Name' and the Assignment 'Instructions'

      • Select Submission Type by accessing the following options from the dropdown menu: file, text, on paper, or observed

      • Select or create a 'Category'

      • Enter grade value in the 'Score Out Of' box

      • Select or create a 'Grade Item' to link to 

    • Restrictions Tab

      • If it is not already, deselect the 'Hidden from users' option to make the assignment available. (Note: The checkbox for this should be deselected, but it's a good idea to double-check)

      • Enter the 'Due Date' and 'Start Date'

    • Turnitin Tab

      • Select 'Enable GradeMark for this folder'

      • Select 'Automatically sync grades as Draft in Brightspace'

      • Select 'Enable Originality Check for this folder'

      • (Optional) Select 'Allow learners to see Turnitin similarity scores in their submission folder

      • (Optional) Enable other options by selecting the 'More Options in Turnitin' button

• Click on the name of the assignment folder

• Click 'Show Search Options' to see additional options

• Select 'Show Everyone' from the dropdown menu

• Select the magnifying glass to refresh the results

• Select the file under a student's name to preview, grade, annotate or provide feedback 

• Select the 'Publish' button to release the grade or feedback to the student

Follow the same steps as section 2.2 above

• In the left pane, utilize the tools at the top of the document to annotate

If you need to provide access to assignment that has passed the end date or due date, you can set a date just for one (or several) student to follow. This allows flexibility for Assignment availability. 

• From the list of Assignments, select the dropdown arrow next to the Assignment and choose 'Edit Folder'

• On the right side, click on 'Availability Dates & Conditions'. That section will expand. 

• Click on the 'Add Users to Special Access' button. 

• Set the properties at the top for Due Date, Start Date, End Date, etc. These settings will ONLY apply to the students to select in the next step. 

• Select the checkbox next to each student that should have the customized special access that you just set.

• Save and Close.

• Locate the register name (A register is typically pre-populated for you)

Tip: An attendance register is typically pre-populated for you to save you time from creating a register. Is the register missing? Submit a request to add the register. 

Note: If old registers are present in your course, you may delete them  by clicking the dropdown arrow next to a register name and choose 'Delete'

• Find the date your course meets and select the pencil/calendar icon

Note:  You only need to log attendance for days your course actually meets. Skip over all other dates

• Choose an attendance status for each student by using the dropdown menu

Tip: Did everyone show up today? You can use the checkboxes next to each student and click the 'Set Status' option to quickly assign an attendance status to all students in the course. Or, click the 'Set Status for All Users' at the top of the screen.

• Select 'Save'

• Select the 'Create Event' button

• Enter 'Event Title', 'Dates', and optionally associate with content

• 'Manage Dates' is found in your course in the navbar by clicking on 'Course Admin'

• Use the 'Manage Dates' tool to view, edit and offset the date availability and set the calendar status of all content topics and modules, discussion topics and forums, assignment submission folders, grades categories and items, announcement items, and quizzes from one central location 

Students and instructors can both access reports and details on progress through the course such as Grades, Objectives, etc.

Click on the 'Settings' link to set which items you would like to see on the main screen, along with other customizable options. 

Note: Course Access and Login History are not the same. Course Access shows the date an individual last went into the course, where Login History shows the date they last logged in to Brightspace. A user can log in to Brightspace but that does not necessarily mean they went into the course itself. 

• Click on the 'Select All' checkbox at the top of the Classlist roster

• Choose the 'Email' link

• Compose your message and 'Send'

If your course is merged across multiple sections/locations, you can use the Classlist tool to differentiate between the two sections. 

• Change the 'View By' dropdown menu to 'Sections'

• Click the 'Apply' button

• Choose the section/location in the new dropdown menu

• Click 'Apply' to see just students from a certain section/location

To go back to the full list, change the selection for 'Sections' to 'All Sections' and click 'Apply'

• Type a name in the 'Add a module' text field (left column at the bottom)

• Press the ENTER key on your keyboard

• Select 'Add a description...' to add a module description

• Select 'Add dates and restrictions...' to add start dates for when the module will be available to students

• Select 'Add dates and restrictions...' to add start dates for when the module will be available to students

• Select 'Add a description...' to add a module description

Note: You can also select certain restrictions or release conditions on the entire content module

• Select a module from the Table of Contents in the Content Tool

• Select 'Upload / Create'

• Select 'Create a File'

• Enter a title

• Use the HTML editor (text box) to type or paste content in the HTML editor

  • Do not forget to check for accessibility! Do this easily by clicking on the accessibility checker icon and fix any issues (See Accessibility)

• Click the 'Publish' button

• Select the module from the Table of Contents

• Click the dropdown arrow next to the module title

• Select 'Delete Module'

Note: It will ask if you want to remove the content but keep the files or permanently delete and remove the related files. Choose which option you feel is best. 

You can also do this for topics inside of modules. Follow the same steps as above, but click on the dropdown arrow next to the topic name instead of the entire module.   

TIP: To clear out your entire course, follow these same steps, but instead of selecting a module, click on Table of Contents instead. If you delete from the Table of Contents page, it will clear your entire course so you can start fresh. Don't forget to clear out other items in the course before you start building again. Check each tool (Announcements, Rubrics, Discussions, Grades, etc) and delete everything.

• Select a module from the Table of Contents

• Select the 'Bulk Edit' button

• Select 'Published / Draft' and select your setting

• Select the 'Done Editing' button

Note: Students cannot see content items when they are in 'Draft' status. However, if students navigate directly into a tool from the navigation bar, they may still be able to access the activity (assignment, discussion, quiz) itself. Check both places if you have something you do not want students to see. 

• Select a module from the Table of Contents

• Select the 'Existing Activities' button, which will display a list of choices

• Select the Activity type

• Select an existing activity or create a new one by clicking on the 'Upload / Create' button

• Click and drag the icon (aka 8 dots icon) next to a module or topic to drag it to a new location and release

• When dragging an item, hover over a module until it becomes highlighted to move the selected item inside the module

• Drag topics from the main content pane to the Table of Contents to move topics between modules

The Learning Object Repository (LOR) is a cloud-based object storage in Brightspace. This allows users to create a topic, assignment, etc. and save them to the LOR to add to another course's content. The LOR also updates similar to Google Drive, once a change has been made and published then all courses that imported it will also update. To add an object from the LOR you will need to do the following:

1. In your course, open the module you wish to add the object to.

2. Select Upload/Create.

3. Click Add Object from LOR.

4. Select Repository.

5. Click on the link (blue numbers) next to DIID Repository.

6. Select the radio button for the External Learning Tool instructions you wish to add to your course.

7. Click Next.

8. Leave Dynamic Link selected and click Next.

9. Review and click Create Topic when done.

From there, the LOR object will be added to your module, and will update any time an update has been published for the LOR item.

• View content visit counts and viewing time by content or by user

• Select 'Table of Contents' from the left menu

• Select the 'Related Tools' button 

• Choose 'View Reports'

Important Note: Make sure your course is clear of content. The copy process appends data and does not overwrite. You could end up with duplicate content items and activities!

• Enter the Destination course

• Select 'Course Admin' from the navbar 

• Click 'Import / Export / Copy Components'

• Choose the 'Select a Course' button

• Select the course to copy from and select 'Add Selected'

• Click the button marked 'Select Components' to pick specific aspects of your course (recommended) 

Tip: By picking only specific aspects of your course to copy, you can avoid copying things that you may not need your students to see. For example, you will probably not want to copy some old Announcements (which may have been specific to an old course). You also will not want to copy in an attendance register from a previous semester.

• Select your items to copy from the list

• 'Continue' after confirming your choices

• Select 'Finish' and wait for the green checkmarks to appear

• Send messages from the Classlist, assignments, grades, email too, etc.

• Enter a course

• Select the 'Mail' icon on the mini-bar at the top of the screen

• Select 'Instant Messages'

Tip: You can also access the instant messages tool via the Classlist

You can find notification settings by selecting your name in the top-right corner of the page and click on Notifications. Encourage your students to enroll in notifications to receive course updates via email or text message

Students can use the "Pulse" app to see course updates, Content, and more for all their courses. Direct students to download the app for iPhone and Android devices here: Download the Pulse App

• Find Profile settings by selecting your name in the top right corner of the page and choose 'Profile'.

• Add a profile image on the Profile screen and select 'Change Picture.' Encourage your students to do the same!

• On the course homepage, hover your mouse over the course banner near the top of the page

• Select the '...' icon and choose one of the options to 'Change Image', 'Customize Banner Text' or fully 'Remove This Banner'

• If you change the image, you can browse through a library of thousands of images to use in your course. Or, upload your own!

• Current courses should automatically appear in the 'My Courses' widget when you first log in. If they do not, follow these steps:

• Select the 'View All Courses' link at the bottom of the 'My Courses' widget on the NICC Brightspace homepage

• Hover your mouse over the course image and select the option (...) icon

• Select 'Pin' to place the course near the top of your course list

• Select 'Unpin' to move the course toward the bottom of your list (or remove it completely from your view)

• Tip: The course banner image also becomes the course's tile in the 'My Courses' widget

• Note: You may also pin or unpin courses by using the 'Select a Course' menu (waffle icon) in the minibar at the top of the page. Simply click a 'Pin' icon next to a course title to pin or unpin. 

• Select the 'New' button

• Select either 'New Forum' or 'New Topic'

Note: A Forum must be created before a Topic can be created

• Enter the 'Title', 'Description', and availability 'Start / End Dates' 

• Select the 'Display in Calendar' option

• If it is a new forum, then select the 'Save and Add Topic' button to complete the topic setup

• On the 'Assessment' tab for a topic, select or create a 'New Grade Item' and enter the 'Score out of' 

• Click the dropdown arrow next to a topic and choose 'Assess Topic'

Tip: Don't see an option for 'Assess Topic'? Go to the 'Create a Forum of Topic' section above and visit the 'Assessment' tab for your discussion topic. You will need to add a grade item to the discussion.

• Select the 'Topic Score' link under the student's name

• Enter score(s) and feedback

• Select the 'Published' option to send the score to the gradebook

• Click 'Save and Close'

Note: This should be a default setup in your course, but this is a great thing to double-check, as students will be sure to let you know if this is not set up!

• Within the gradebook select 'Settings'

• Select the 'Org Unit Display Options' (aka Student View) tab

• Select 'Display how final grade was calculated to users'

• Select the 'Calculation Options' tab

• Select 'Automatically keep final grades updated'

• Click the 'Save and Close' button

• Click on the tab to 'Manage Grades'

• Click the dropdown arrow next to 'Final Calculated Grade' and select 'Enter Grades'

• Enable the checkbox in the 'Released' column for each student

• Click the 'Save and Close' button

Note: This will ensure your students will see their current grade throughout the course. It will be listed in their gradebook as 'Final Calculated Grade'

• Select the 'Manage Grades' tab

• Select 'New'

• Select either 'Item' or 'Category' in the menu that appears

• Name the item or category and make property selections

• Select 'Save' or select 'Save and New' to continue adding more items or categories

• Select the 'Manage Grades' tab

• Select a Category name

• Select the box next to 'Distribute (Weight / Points) Evenly' 

• Enter the points for each item

• Enter the number of lowest items to drop

• Click 'Save and Close'

• Click the dropdown arrow next to a grade item and select either 'Enter Grades' or 'Grade All'

• Enter points for each student

• 'Save'

• Select the 'Enter Grades' tab

• Select a student's name

• Enter grades for each item for the student

• Click the 'Save' button

• Select the 'Manage Grades' tab

• Select the 'More Actions' button

• Select either 'Delete' or 'Reorder'

• Select the items to delete or change the sort order using the numbered selection menus

• Click the 'Save' button

Note: You may get a system error if you try to delete a grade item that is associated with an activity (assignment, discussion, quiz). In order to alleviate this issue, you must first remove the association to the grade item by editing the properties of the activity before deleting the grade item. 

• Click on the dropdown arrow next to a grade item

• Select 'Edit Grade Item'

• Select the 'Bonus' option

• 'Save and Close'

• Select Settings in the top right corner of the gradebook

• On the 'Personal Display Options' tab, select the boxes in the "Grade Details" section to 'show points, grade scheme symbol (A, B, C) or grade scheme color'

• Set student view properties on the 'Org Unit Display Options' tab

Tip: Verify that the 'Personal Display Options' (your view) and the 'Org Unit Display Options' (student's view) display the same number of decimal points for consistency

• Select 'Manage Grades' while in the gradebook

• Select the dropdown menu next to the grade item name and choose 'Edit'

• Scroll down to the 'Grading' section and click the checkbox for 'Exclude from Final Grade Calculation'

• Click 'Save and Close'. The item will no longer count toward the student's grade, but will still show the grade of the item in the student's gradebook. 

• Select 'Manage Grades' while in the gradebook

• Select a checkbox next to the grade item(s) you want to hide

• Click on the 'More Actions' button

• Select 'Hide from Users'. The grade item will no longer appear for students to see in their gradebook - but it will be included in their grade calculation unless you exclude the grade item. 

• Select 'New Quiz'

• Enter 'Name', 'Category', 'Description', and 'Add / Edit Questions' on the 'Properties' tab

• Set the 'Due Date', 'Start and End Dates', 'Display in Calendar', 'Time Limit' and 'Password' on the restrictions tab

• Select or create a 'Grade Item' to link to on the 'Assessment' tab

• Important: Select the 'Auto Export to Grades' and 'Automatic Grade' options if you want it to grade automatically for you

• Set the number of attempts allowed

• Important: If you want students to view the correct/incorrect answers after the quiz, you must set a submission view to allow this

• Setup student view of results on the 'Submission Views' tab

• Activate the dropdown menu next to the quiz name and select the 'Grade' option

• Select the 'Attempt' under the student's name

• Scroll down to view/grade answers and give feedback for the student

• Verify the quiz is associated with a grade item. See section 10.1 Create a Quiz above

• Click the dropdown arrow next to the quiz name

• Select 'Grade'

• Change the attempts per page to 200 in the bottom right corner (if you have a large class, this enables you to see all students on one page)

• Select the 'Published' icon in the table header to deselect all the published attempt checkboxes below

• Select 'Save'

• Select the 'Published' icon in the table header again to select all the published attempt checkboxes below

• Select 'Save and Close'

• Click the dropdown arrow next to the quiz name

• Select 'Edit'

• Select the 'shuffle order of questions' option on the 'Properties' tab

• Click 'Save and Close'

• Click the dropdown arrow next to the quiz name

• Select 'Grade'

• Select the checkbox next to the student's attempt 

• Click the 'Reset' trashcan icon at the top of the quiz attempt list

• Confirm the deletion/reset by selecting 'Yes'

• Click on the Quiz name

• Select the 'Restrictions' tab

• Select the 'Add Users to Special Access' button

• Make choices and settings for individuals or groups

• Click the 'Add Special Access' button

Note: For any user you allow special access for, you will see a gold key icon next to the quiz name in the list

• Click on the dropdown arrow next to a Quiz name

• Select the option to 'Preview'

• You will now be able to see the quiz just like the students will see. Proceed to answer any questions you would like and submit the quiz to see what your submission view screen looks like.

1. Navigate to the course item you want to add release conditions to.

2. From the context menu of the course item, click Edit [course item].

3. Do any of the following:

   • To access release conditions for a discussion forum or topic, checklist, assignment submissions folder, grade item, quiz, or survey, click the Restrictions tab.

   • To access release conditions for a custom widget, click the Release Conditions tab.

To access release conditions for an Announcements item, scroll to the Additional Release Conditions area. 

You can access release conditions for any of the following course items:

• Awards

• Checklist

• Content modules and topics

• Custom widgets

• Discussion forums and topics

• Assignments

• Grade items and categories

• Intelligent Agents

• Announcements items

• Quizzes

• Surveys

• Set up conditions before users access the course - Create all of your course materials and set up your release conditions before the course opens to users. This gives you a chance to check for mistakes in the conditions or for circular, contradictory, or unnecessary conditions. If you add new release conditions after users have accessed the course, users might be confused by resources disappearing. Since conditions cannot be reset, you also risk having users meet conditions before your resources are ready (for example, accessing a content topic before it is finished).

• Avoid unnecessary conditions - Each condition you associate with a tool takes additional time for Brightspace to process. Using as few conditions as possible to set up a learning path minimizes the amount of time that users spend waiting for pages to load. For example, you set up a content topic, a quiz, and an assignment submissions folder for the second week of class. You want users to read the topic before taking the quiz, and you want them to read the topic and attempt the quiz before submitting the week’s work to the assignment submissions folder. For the assignment submissions folder, you only need to attach the condition that users attempt the quiz. Since users must read the content topic before they can take the quiz, it is not necessary to add this condition to the Assignments folderAssignment submissions folder.

• Avoid circular references - A circular reference makes it impossible for users to satisfy a set of conditions. For example, if you set the condition that users must view a content topic before they can access an assignment submissions folder, and then set a condition that they must submit a file to the assignment submissions folder before they can access the content topic, you have a circular reference. Users can’t satisfy either condition without satisfying the other one first. Circular references are more likely to occur with long chains of conditions. For example, a content topic that depends on a quiz that depends on an assignment submissions folder that depends on a checklist that depends on the content topic.

• Avoid impossible conditions - Ensure that your conditions are not impossible for users to satisfy. For example, a condition that users must achieve greater than 100% on a grade item would be impossible (unless bonus marks are available for the item). If users are unable to satisfy a condition, they are unable to access the content or tools to which the condition is attached.

• Avoid contradictory conditions - Contradictory conditions occur when two or more conditions that cancel each other out are associated with an item. For example, the conditions “User must achieve greater than 49.9% on Grade Item 1” and “User must achieve less than 50% on Grade Item 1” are contradictory. Users could not satisfy both conditions at the same time; they would not be able to see the item associated with these conditions.

• Release content based on learning ability and course performance - Include additional content in your course specifically for users who need extra help and release this content to users who score below a specified threshold on a quiz or grade item. Alternatively, release a special survey to users who attain a high score.

• Release content in stages - To reveal content topics to users only after they have read prior content, attach release conditions on the later topics or modules that require users to view earlier topics. This can provide a clear path through the material and prevent users from becoming overwhelmed by a large table of contents at the start of the course.

• Release content based on enrollment date - If your course has rolling enrollment, you can set course materials and assessments to become available relative to a users' enrollment date. This allows you to provide a structured path through the course for every user regardless of their enrollment date.

• Customize content for groups within a course - If your course has group projects and you want to provide different instructions or resources for each group, you can create separate content topics or modules for each project and attach release conditions based on group enrollment. Group members working on one project will see content related to their work without being distracted by content not relevant to them.

• Use a checklist to organize activities - You can create a checklist that lists the activities users should complete throughout the course. For example, a checklist for the first week might include reading the course’s introductory content, posting to an introductory discussion topic, and submitting a list of learning goals to the assignment submissions folder. You can set release conditions based on users checking off items from their checklist. For example, you might release an Announcements item on your course’s homepage once users check off that they have completed the first week’s activities.

• Use intelligent agents to monitor user activity or non-activity - You can set up intelligent agents with release conditions using the “not” operator to intervene with students who have not completed course work. For example, create an intelligent agent that sends a reminder email to users who have not yet completed a quiz attempt or submitted an assignment to an assignment submissions folder. 

1. On the navbar, click Rubrics

2. On the Rubrics page, click New Rubric

3. In the Properties tab, enter your rubric details

4. Click Save

5. Do one of the following:

• If you created an analytic rubric, click the Levels and Criteria tab, and edit your criteria and levels

• If you created a holistic rubric, click the Levels tab, and edit your levels

• Analytic: Two-dimensional rubrics with levels of achievement as columns and assessment criteria as rows. Allows you to assess participants' achievements based on multiple criteria using a single rubric. You can assign different weights (value) to different criteria and include an overall achievement by totaling the criteria. With analytic rubrics, levels of achievement display in columns and your assessment criteria display in rows. Analytic rubrics may use a points, custom points, or text only scoring method. Points and custom points analytic rubrics may use both text and points to assess performance; with custom points, each criterion may be worth a different number of points. For both points and custom points, an Overall Score is provided based on the total number of points achieved. The Overall Score determines if students meet the criteria determined by teachers. You can manually override the Total and the Overall Score of the rubric.

• Holistic: Single criterion rubrics (one-dimensional) used to assess participants' overall achievement on an activity or item based on predefined achievement levels. Holistic rubrics may use a percentage or text only scoring method.

• No Points: Performance levels indicated by text. For example, three performance levels for a rubric can be Poor, Good, and Excellent.

• Points: This scoring method is only available to analytic rubrics. Performance levels indicated by points. For example, three performance levels for a rubric can be Poor (0 points), Good (75 points), and Excellent (125 points).

• Custom Points: This scoring method is only available to analytic rubrics. The Custom Points scoring method is similar to the Points scoring method, but you can customize the points given for each criterion. For example, if performance levels are Poor, Good, and Excellent, then the criterion Spelling and Grammar can be worth 0 points, 10 points, and 20 points for each level, and the criterion Expression can be worth 0 points, 30 points, and 60 points, making it worth three times the points of Spelling and Grammar.

Note: If you choose a Holistic Rubric Type, you will either be able to do No Points or Percentage. The Percentage scoring method can be automatically assessed based on the score of its associated item, for example, a Grade item.

Similar to other tools, you can set a rubric's status in Brightspace:

• Draft: The initial status of a rubric. Draft rubrics are not yet available for new associations.

• Published: Associations can be made with published rubrics. Once a rubric has an association, you cannot change the rubric's name, description, levels, and criteria.

• Archived: Archived rubrics do not appear in default search results and are not available for new associations. Existing associations with archived rubrics remain associated with activities that were previously created but they cannot be evaluated or updated. Students continue to see student-visible rubric evaluations on archived rubrics and their scores in activity summary, user progress, and Grades.