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Brightspace Tip #395: Are You Using the Old Quiz Creation Experience?

Janice FlorentJuly 4, 2023October 8, 2023Leave a comment

Are you still using the old quiz creation experience? Did you know the old quiz creation experience will be retired soon and will no longer be available for use.

The new Quiz creation experience was one of the changes implemented with our June 2022 Continuous Delivery update. You can switch to the new quiz creation experience. Switching is simple. You can switch between the old quiz creation experience and the new experience by clicking on the arrow in the upper right corner of the create/edit quiz page.

option to switch between the old quiz creation experience and the new experience — Use the down arrow to switch from the old quiz creation experience to the new quiz creation experience.

The create and edit consistency changes that you see in Assignments and Discussions are available in the New Quiz Creation Experience. D2L’s goal with the create/edit quiz redesign is to simplify common tasks for first-time or infrequent users, while giving easy access to the advanced features that experienced power-users love.

Quizzes tool shown in the new quiz creation experience. — The **new** quiz creation experience.

In the redesign, the primary panel on the left contains common, frequently used fields that are always displayed. These fields are most relevant to learners and are core to quiz creation. The add/edit question workflow has been brought into the primary panel, giving users the ability to easily modify quiz questions without the need to navigate to a separate interface.

The right-hand panel organizes additional, more advanced options such as start and end dates, release conditions, and special access. These options follow the same logical groupings as found in Assignments and Discussions. Other quiz-specific settings can be found in the right-hand panel including creating a password protected quiz, applying IP restrictions, adjusting quiz timing, setting display options, managing attempts, and altering evaluation and feedback settings.

See the Welcome to the New Quiz Creation Experience knowledge article for an in-depth look at all the feature and capability changes with this redesign.

Want More Information?

Welcome to the New Quiz Creation Experience
Using the Brightspace Quizzes Tool

View current, past, and preview upcoming Continuous Delivery release notes
Instructors Quick Start Tutorial
Brightspace Known Issues
Request a sandbox course
Sign-up for Brightspace training sessions
You can find Brightspace help at D2L's website.
Join the Brightspace Community.
Try these Brightspace How-To documents.
Visit our Brightspace FAQs for additional Brightspace information
or schedule a one-on-one session, email, or
call Janice Florent: (504) 520-7418.

Note: Are you doing something innovative in Brightspace or perhaps you've discovered a handy tip? Share how you are using Brightspace in your teaching and learning in The Orange Room.

Brightspace Tip #394: June Continuous Delivery Updates

Janice FlorentJune 22, 2023Leave a comment

D2L (the company that owns Brightspace) uses Continuous Delivery to update our Brightspace system. The Continuous Delivery model gives us regular monthly updates allowing for incremental and easily integrated changes with no downtime required for our Brightspace system.

Our Continuous Delivery update occurs on the 4th Thursday of each month. D2L provides release notes to help users stay up-to-date with the changes.

Here are a few updates in the June 2023/20.23.6 release that were added to our system this month:

1) Assignments – Accessible Rubric Confirmation dialog box in Consistent Evaluation experience

To improve accessibility and clarity for screen reader devices, the Rubrics Confirmation dialog box that appears when users navigate away from scoring an assignment or discussion post using a rubric now features the following changes:

Screen reader-legible heading, text and buttons now appear in the dialog box.
The dialog box heading now says Unscored Rubric Criteria in place of Confirmation, to improve the workflow clarity for all users, including those using screen readers.

Previously, the text in the dialog box was not accessible to screen readers.

The confirmation dialog box appears with the previous heading Confirmation. This dialog text was not accessible to screen readers. — The confirmation dialog box appears with the previous heading **Confirmation**. This dialog text was not accessible to screen readers.

The confirmation dialog box now appears with the updated heading Unscored Rubric Criteria. The text in this dialog is fully accessible to screen readers. — The confirmation dialog box now appears with the updated heading **Unscored Rubric Criteria**. The text in this dialog is fully accessible to screen readers.

2) Assignments – Consistent settings and interface of availability dates across Brightspace

To improve consistency in activity tools, this feature updates settings and the format of availability dates and states across Brightspace for both instructors and learners.

With this release, the Assignments List tab displays availability dates and states closely aligned with other activity tools to make a unified content experience. Availability dates are displayed below the titles of assignments and the hover tooltip includes the information about start and end dates with settings to explain how the assignment appears to learners before and after these dates.

Previously, the availability dates in the Assignments List tab did not include a hover tooltip.

The format of availability dates and states in the Assignments tool before this update.

The format of availability dates and states in the Assignments tool after this update.

The corresponding updates for Discussions and Quizzes are planned for future releases.

3) Quizzes – Improved workflows for large quizzes

This feature updates instructors' workflows for large quizzes in two ways.

Instructors can now use the Load More button on the initial page load if a quiz has more than 200 questions, sections, and question pools.

If the Load More button is shown, list operations such as moving to the bottom or adding new questions continue functioning as expected. However, to see their changes, instructors must click the Load More button to reveal the updated list.

Also, instructors can now select multiple items and use drag and drop to rearrange the question list.

Multiple items selected for movement using drag and drop.

This feature implements PIE item D10368 (New Quiz Experience: Drag & Drop - Moving multiple questions at once).

Previously, quiz questions, sections, and question pools rendered slowly. Creating and editing quizzes with many items could take significant time. Moving multiple items was only possible using the Move To action menu.

If you are interested in getting more information about these and all the June Continuous Delivery updates, refer to the Brightspace Platform June 2023/20.23.6 Release Notes.

Additionally, refer to the Brightspace Release Notes for Continuous Delivery Releases, for details about current, past, and to preview upcoming continuous delivery updates.

Want more information?

View current, past, and preview upcoming Continuous Delivery release notes
View all the Brightspace training recaps
Instructors Quick Start Tutorial
Brightspace Known Issues
Request a sandbox course
Sign-up for Brightspace training sessions
You can find Brightspace help at D2L's website.
Join the Brightspace Community.
Try these Brightspace How-To documents.
Visit our Brightspace FAQs for additional Brightspace information
or schedule a one-on-one session, email, or
call Janice Florent: (504) 520-7418.

Note: Are you doing something innovative in Brightspace or perhaps you've discovered a handy tip? Share how you are using Brightspace in your teaching and learning in The Orange Room.

Image credit: image by geralt from Pixabay

Brightspace Tip #393: New Quiz Creation Experience

Janice FlorentJune 19, 2023Leave a comment

The new Quiz creation experience was one of the changes implemented with our June 2022 Continuous Delivery update. The create and edit consistency changes that you see in Assignments and Discussions are available in Quizzes. D2L’s goal with the create/edit quiz redesign is to simplify common tasks for first-time or infrequent users, while giving easy access to the advanced features that experienced power-users love.

The right-hand panel organizes additional, more advanced options such as start and end dates, release conditions, and special access. These options follow the same logical groupings as found in Assignments. Other quiz-specific settings can be found in the right-hand panel including creating a password protected quiz, applying IP restrictions, adjusting quiz timing, setting display options, managing attempts, and altering evaluation and feedback settings.

The old quiz creation experience will be retired soon and will no longer be available for use. Are you still using the old quiz creation experience? You can switch to the new quiz creation experience. Switching is simple. You can switch between the old quiz creation experience and the new experience by clicking on the arrow in the upper right corner of the create/edit quiz page.

See the Welcome to the New Quiz Creation Experience knowledge article for an in-depth look at all the feature and capability changes with this redesign.

Want More Information?

Welcome to the New Quiz Creation Experience
Using the Brightspace Quizzes Tool

Note: Are you doing something innovative in Brightspace or perhaps you've discovered a handy tip? Share how you are using Brightspace in your teaching and learning in The Orange Room.

New Members of the CAT+FD Team

Bart EversonJune 16, 2023June 17, 2023Leave a comment

We are delighted to announce our new Faculty-in-Residence.

Faculty-in-Residence for New Faculty Support

Raven Jackson is a Clinical Associate Professor in the College of Pharmacy. She has served the university for 7 years as a faculty member within the College, a member and leader on several committees, and a strong proponent for interprofessional education and collaboration both within the university and beyond. Throughout her career, Dr. Jackson has focused not only on clinical practice, but also on practice transformation. She developed and now serves as Director of the Xavier University Telehealth Center, geared towards advancing medication therapy management services for rural clinics in Louisiana. Dr. Jackson also prides herself on empowering students through all aspects of pharmacy education. She has taught in a myriad of courses within the College of Pharmacy curriculum and has served as a recurring guest lecturer within the Department of Psychology. During her time at Xavier, Raven has been honored to work alongside faculty that have served as her former teachers and mentors, and she has transitioned into being that person for new faculty in the College. In her role as Faculty in Residence for New Faculty Support, she looks forward to advancing her efforts with new faculty in both the Colleges of Pharmacy and Arts & Sciences, introducing them to the unique culture and network that is Xavier University of Louisiana.

Welcome, Raven!

Faculty-in-Residence for Part-Time Faculty Support

Jeremy Tuman is an Associate Professor in the Department of English. He is the Director of First-year Composition and previously served as Faculty-in-Residence for Service-Learning in CAT+FD. In addition to teaching first-year writing, literature, and creative writing, Jeremy has worked extensively in the core curriculum, including designing and teaching Humanities-based service-learning courses, and helping to develop core learning outcomes for writing-based classes. He has previously served as a teaching fellow in a first-year-studies leadership cohort (then known as Freshman Seminar) and has participated as a fellow in the Faculty Communities of Teaching Scholars, sponsored by CAT+FD and the Mellon Foundation. His scholarly output includes critical essays, book reviews, and creative writing, published in outlets such as Xavier Review, Antenna/Room220, and New Orleans Review.

Welcome back, Jeremy!

You’ve Got Camtasia 2023

Bart EversonJune 14, 2023Leave a comment

This just in: Camtasia 2023 has now been released. What's more, Xavier's faculty site license for Camtasia still covers the new version!

For those just tuning in, Camtasia is a tool for making videos by recording from your screen and camera. A common use for teachers is to record short lectures.

In addition to the software, we have access to TechSmith's tech support as well as extensive training materials, which are excellent.

So what are you waiting for? Yes, you can download and install Camtasia now. Here's the link.

Oh, perhaps you're already using Camtasia and everything's working just fine, and you're wondering why bother? Well, there are some new features, but you should probably check the system requirements before you consider upgrading.

Please note: You will need a Camtasia License key to unlock the software beyond the free trial period. To get the key, please contact me, Bart Everson. You can send me an email: bpeverso at you-know-where.

Brightspace Tip #392: Discussions – @mentions

Janice FlorentJune 13, 2023June 13, 2023Leave a comment

Did you know the Discussions tool has an @mentions feature? Within the Discussion tool, users can tag other users within the same course using @mentions. Tagged users are notified by alerts in the Minibar directing them to the thread in which they were tagged. Additionally, users can edit their notification settings and opt to receive email notifications when they are tagged in discussions.

Brightspace Editor with @mentions identifying users who match the criteria — The @mentions will identify users who match the criteria

Here are a few ways using @mentions could enhance online discussions:

Build relationships. Using an @mention is an effective way to build relationships in online discussion forums. As a result, the discussion forum becomes more welcoming and supportive. @mentions can help to build rapport and trust among your learners.
Get someone's attention. When you @mention someone, Brightspace will send them a notification that you have mentioned them. @mentioning someone is a great way to get their input, ask for clarification on a topic, ask a question, or to indicate your agreement with their comment.
Start a conversation. Start a conversation with someone by @mentioning them in your initial post. They will be more likely to respond because you mentioned them directly.
Keep a conversation going. @mention others in subsequent posts and replies. Doing so will help to keep the conversation going. It lets the people that you are @mentioning know that you are still interested in engaging them in a conversation.
Provide feedback. @mentions can be used to provide feedback on discussion posts. If you noticed someone made a comment that is not quite right or could be improved, you can @mention them and provide feedback to assist in teaching and learning.

Overall, @mention is a powerful feature that can be used to enhance online discussions. By using @mentions thoughtfully and encouraging your learners to use @mentions too, you can help to improve the quality of the discussion, build relationships among your learners, and your learners will get more out of the online discussions experience.

Notifications in the minibar showing @mentions the user is tagged in — Tagged users receive notification in the minibar

Do you have an example of how you are using @mentions to enhance your online discussions? If so, please share it by leaving a comment on this post.

Follow these steps to do it.

To use @mentions in a discussion:

Navigate to the forum topic or thread where you want to use @mentions.
Post as normal by selecting Reply to Thread or Start a New Thread.
To tag a user, type @ and begin typing their first or last name.
The user will appear on a list under the text. Select the user to tag them.
The @mention will display the user's first and last name.
Select Post when you are done.

Want more information?

Plan and Facilitate Quality Online Discussions
Tips to Improve Online Discussions
How-to Resources for Discussion Forums
Brightspace Tip #373: Notifications

Note: Are you doing something innovative in Brightspace or perhaps you've discovered a handy tip? Share how you are using Brightspace in your teaching and learning in The Orange Room.

Brightspace Tip #391: Use Private Discussions for Journaling

Janice FlorentJune 11, 2023Leave a comment

Thoughtful black man in wireless earphones with notepad on balcony

Many instructors are using reflective journaling as a teaching strategy. Reflective journaling is used as a means of aiding reflection, deepening students' understanding and stimulating critical thinking.

Brightspace does not have a journal tool. However, you can setup private discussion forums for journaling using the Groups and Discussions tools. A private discussion forum is the same as any other discussion forum, except that only the instructor and an individually assigned student have access to the posted threads and replies. A private discussion forum ensures that students cannot see each other’s posts, but instructors can still respond and assign grades to the discussion threads.

IMPORTANT: Each group in Brightspace has a maximum capacity of 200 participants and is restricted to 200 groups per category. You WILL NOT be able to set up private discussions for journaling if your enrollment is more than 200.

Follow these steps to do it.

To setup private discussions for journaling:

Use Private Discussions for Journaling - Instructor [2:13]

Want more information?

Use Private Discussions for Journaling (video)
Using Private Discussions for Journaling in Brightspace

Note: Are you doing something innovative in Brightspace or perhaps you've discovered a handy tip? Share how you are using Brightspace in your teaching and learning in The Orange Room.

Image credit: Image by Ketut Subiyanto from Pexels

ICYMI: Artificial Intelligence “Bootcamp”

Bart EversonJune 4, 2023June 2, 2023Leave a comment

In our two-day “bootcamp,” Xavier faculty explored the potential benefits and risks of artificial intelligence (AI), including the use of AI to improve their teaching and research.

really engaging (and intermittently mind-blowing) ... the best 8 hours I spent this semester
anonymous participant

We hope that even faculty who were unable to attend may have a similar experience, and so we are providing some videos and resources on CAT Base, the new and improved CAT+FD wiki.

Find it all here: catwiki.xula.edu/bootcamp

Brightspace Tip #390: Setup Your Summer Courses

Janice FlorentMay 26, 2023Leave a comment

As you prepare to teach this summer, now is a good time to get started setting up your Brightspace courses. Our Information Technology Center (ITC) has created the summer courses in Brightspace.

NOTE: You should see your summer courses in the My Courses widget. If you do not see your summer courses in your My Courses widget, you should click on the link to "View All Courses" (located at the bottom of the My Courses widget). Verify that you are listed as the instructor for the course in Banner. You can find more information about the updated My Courses Widget sort logic at this link.

As you prepare to teach this summer, you can get started setting up your Brightspace courses. To get started, you can post your syllabus, course documents, announcements, and setup your Grade Book in your Brightspace courses. You can also customize your course homepage and/or course image/banner.

If you teach a course that is cross listed you will have a Brightspace course for each cross listing. You can combine the cross listed courses into one Brightspace course so that you can post course materials and grades to one combined Brightspace course. Combining courses may also work for you if you are teaching different sections of the same course and would like to have the different sections combined into one Brightspace course so that you can post course documents and grades in the one combined course. The beginning of the semester is the best time to submit a request to merge your Brightspace courses before you add course materials or grades to the courses.

Additionally, if the summer course you are teaching is the same as one of your previous courses you can copy the entire course (or copy components) into your "empty" Brightspace spring course.

NOTE: ITC will enroll students in the Brightspace courses at the end of the registration process, usually the night before the start of classes for the semester. If you want to view your class enrollments or email your students before they are enrolled in your Brightspace course, you can do so in Banner or through EAB.

Follow these steps to do it.

Listed below are links with instructions to:

Want more information?

View all the Brightspace training recaps
Instructors Quick Start Tutorial
Continuous Delivery release notes
Brightspace Known Issues
Request a sandbox course
Sign-up for Brightspace training sessions
You can find Brightspace help at D2L's website.
Join the Brightspace Community.
Try these Brightspace How-To documents.
Visit our Brightspace FAQs for additional Brightspace information
or schedule a one-on-one session, email, or
call Janice Florent: (504) 520-7418.

Note: Are you doing something innovative in Brightspace or perhaps you've discovered a handy tip? Share how you are using Brightspace in your teaching and learning in The Orange Room.

Photo Credit: image by inspirexpressmiami from Pixabay

Brightspace Tip #389: May Continuous Delivery Updates

Janice FlorentMay 26, 2023Leave a comment

Our Continuous Delivery update occurs on the 4th Thursday of each month. D2L provides release notes to help users stay up-to-date with the changes.

Here is an update in the May 2023/20.23.5 release that was added to our system this month:

1) Awards – Add criteria to awards in compliance with the latest Open Badges standard

Instructors can now specify what a learner must do to achieve a particular award.

This feature complements the use of evidence for awards by adding the new required Criteria field to the Awards tool.

The new required Criteria field on the New Award page — The new required **Criteria** field on the **New Award** page.

Availability of Criteria and Evidence fields meets the latest Open Badges 2.0 standard from 1EdTech (formerly known as IMS Global):

When instructors manually grant awards, they can now check the award's criteria and enter evidence describing what the learner did to meet the criteria and earn the award.
When the award is automatically issued, the release conditions determine if learners meet the criteria.
If learners share their award via a public link, both the Criteria and Evidence fields now appear on the Public Award page.

The new Criteria field on the Public Award page — The new **Criteria** field on the **Public Award** page.

This feature implements PIE item D6128 (Incorporate Open Badge 2.0 Standards).

For existing awards that do not have explicitly stated criteria, Brightspace treats the Criteria and Evidence fields as the same.

Previously, there was no criteria field available in the Awards tool. When learners shared their awards to Badgr, the same field values were used for both Evidence and Criteria fields.

If you are interested in getting more information about this and all the May Continuous Delivery updates, refer to the Brightspace Platform May 2023/20.23.5 Release Notes.

Additionally, refer to the Brightspace Release Notes for Continuous Delivery Releases, for details about current, past, and to preview upcoming continuous delivery updates.

Want more information?

Note: Are you doing something innovative in Brightspace or perhaps you've discovered a handy tip? Share how you are using Brightspace in your teaching and learning in The Orange Room.

Image credit: image by geralt from Pixabay

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1) Assignments – Accessible Rubric Confirmation dialog box in Consistent Evaluation experience

2) Assignments – Consistent settings and interface of availability dates across Brightspace

3) Quizzes – Improved workflows for large quizzes

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