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The content on this page will help as you begin to use Brightspace. Please reach out to the OIT Service Desk with any questions.
Please note that when you register for a course after the semester starts, it may take a few hours to a full day for you to show up in the Brightspace course. If you wait a full 12 hours and don't see the course in Brightspace, please contact the OIT Service Desk.
This 15-minute video will walk you through common Brightspace tasks. You'll also find the steps outlined below in text form.
Start by going to my.sjf.edu
Sign in with your Fisher credentials
Click on Launchpad in the top right and select Brightspace
This will take you to your Brightspace homepage
Don't forget to add a photo to your Brightspace account. This video shows you how.
After you log in to Brightspace, you'll be brought to your Brightspace homepage. From this page, you can access your courses, notifications and alerts, profile and account settings, see global announcements, view your to-do list across all of your courses, etc.
You can find assistance by clicking on Help in the red navigation bar across the top, or by scrolling to the bottom of the homepage and looking for the OIT Service Desk contact information
Other helpful navigation videos from Emily Tollar' 25
To access the content for your courses, you can either scroll down on the Brightspace homepage to find My Courses or click on the course selector icon (looks like a waffle in the top right)
Once you're in a course, you'll go to the course homepage which will have updates and information about the course. Across the top in red is the course navigation. Click on Content. The majority of what you do in the course will live here. Your instructors will create modules that live under the table of contents. You may notice these modules follow a weekly structure, unit structure, or another structure entirely.
Within a course, navigate to your Assignment. Most of the time, your assignment will be linked within the Content area. You can also access all Assignments by clicking Assignments in the red course navigation.
Click on the assignment name to add a submission. Then choose from one of the options below.
Click Add A File.
Choose the file location such as My Computer or Google Drive.
Select the file, and click Add.
Prefer to watch these instructions in a video? Emily Tollar '25 walks through Submitting a File to a Brightspace Assignment.
In the videos below, Emily Tollar '25 walks through how to submit an audio recording and a video to a Brightspace assignment.
Please note that there is currently a bug with VideoNote that prevents users from recording more than 3 minutes on an iPad. If you need to record for more than 3 minutes, please use a computer.
Click into the Text Submission box. Then click the Link button.
Choose Google Drive as the source.
Click the file you want to add and click Add.
If prompted, adjust permissions on the file so your instructor and/or other students gain access to view the file.
If you also need to allow others to edit the file (e.g. to leave comments), also adjust the Share settings in Google Drive.
Watch these instructions from Emily Tollar '25 to learn how to post to a discussion and how to reply to other discussion posts.
Within a course, click Content and find the discussion you're looking for. Click the discussion name then click Start a New Thread. This will open a text box where you can type your response, add formatting, add attachments, etc. When you're done, click Post.
Watch these instructions from Emily Tollar '25 to learn how to take a quiz in Brightspace.
Within a course, click Content, find the module you're looking for, and then find the quiz. Click the quiz name and then click Start. From there, answer your questions and then click Submit. You'll be asked to confirm that you want to Submit your quiz.
Within a course, click on Students & Grades then Grades. From here, you'll be able to view your grades and find feedback.
At the top of the Grades page you may see a calculated grade depending on how your instructor set up their grade book. Below that, you'll see the assignments for the courses, grades for the assignments that have been submitted/graded, and comments. If there is inline feedback or a rubric, click on them and you'll see additional information and feedback.
