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Published on Leave a comment on Brightspace Tip #20: Training Recaps and Help Resources

in case you missed it

In case you missed the Brightspace training sessions or if you attended one of the training sessions and want to recap what was covered, you can review these resources:

Additionally, here's a link to my Brightspace Tip #16: Help Resources blog post.

Published on Leave a comment on Brightspace Tip #19: Google Apps Integration

G Suite Apps

Xavier provides all faculty, staff, and students with a G Suite for Education (formerly Google Apps for Education) account, which includes Mail, Calendar, Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Forms.

With the Google Apps integration into Brightspace, you can upload files from your Google Drive into Brightspace. Google Drive is a service for storing, syncing and sharing files.

Before you can take advantage of the Google Apps integration, you must authorize Brightspace to access your XULA Google account. The authorization will link your Google and Brightspace accounts so that you can upload files from your Google Drive into Brightspace.

Follow these steps to do it.

To enable Google Apps integration:

  1. Login to your Brightspace account.
  2. Scroll to the bottom of the main landing page and locate the Google Apps widget.
  3. Click on the Link to your Google Apps account and follow the prompts.

link to Google Apps

To upload a file from your Google Drive into Brightspace:

  1. Click on the Upload/Create button and then choose the Upload Files option.
  2. From the Add a File window choose Google Drive and follow the prompts.

Upload/Create button

Upload/Create button

Want more information?

Getting Started with Google Apps
Google Apps integration
Adding Google documents to Brightspace
Add a Google document to Brightspace
Brightspace training recaps
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.

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Published on 1 Comment on Getting Started with Google Apps

Google Apps

G Suite for Education (formerly Google Apps for Education) is a suite of communication and collaboration apps that include Mail, Calendar, Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Forms.

Are you taking advantage of Xavier’s adoption of G Suite for Education? If not, you should consider using G Suite apps. You may discover that some, if not all, of these apps can help to improve your productivity.

Here are a few resources to get you started:

Published on Leave a comment on Brightspace Tip #18: Customize Your Course Homepage

The first page students see when they enter your course leaves a lasting impression. Use this first look to orient students and convey important information.

course homepage
Example of a Brightspace Course Homepage

Instructors can personalize their course with a banner image. A course banner is an image that appears in the My Courses widget and at the top of the course homepage.

Instructors can use Replace Strings to personalize Brightspace. Replace strings allow instructors to customize course content and communications in Brightspace by incorporating the intended learner's personalized information, such as their name, automatically.

Instructors also have the option to customize their Brightspace Course Homepage Layout to suit their needs. Brightspace course Homepage Layouts are frames (panels) that contain Widgets. Widgets are sections of content that provide information and links to tools, courses, and personal settings. Widgets are placed within the frames in the Homepage Layout. Both the course Homepage Layout and the Widgets are customizable.

Want more information?

Change Course Image
Change the Name of Your Course
Using Replace Strings (pdf)
Homepages and Widgets
Design a Course Homepage with Widgets (pdf)
Place Twitter Feed in Custom Widget (pdf) (updated 1/7/2018)
Brightspace training recaps
Brightspace Migration FAQs
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.

Published on Leave a comment on Brightspace Tip #17: Copy Course or Copy Components

copy stamp

There are a some situations where you may want to copy components of a Brightspace course OR copy an entire Brightspace course into another one. For example,

  • You have a migrated course that you have tweaked and now would like to copy the course contents into your empty spring course shell.
  • You have a Master Course Shell that you input content into and would like to copy the course contents into your empty spring course shell.
  • You are teaching multiple sections of a course, you created all the content in one Brightspace course section and want to copy the content into the other sections.
  • You created content in one course (e.g. rubrics, discussions, quizzes, etc.) and would like to copy that specific content from one Brightspace course into another.

Copying an entire Brightspace course OR copying components of a Brightspace course into another Brightspace course is not hard. As long as you are the instructor for both courses, it is a simple process you can do.

Follow these steps to do it.

If you want to copy an entire Brightspace course OR copy components from a Brightspace course into another course, you should:

  1. Get into the course you want the content copied into.
  2. In the NavBar (of the course you want the content copied to), click on "Course Admin".
  3. Click on the "Import/Export/Copy Components" link.
  4. Click on the "Copy Components from another Org Unit" radio button.
  5. In the Course to Copy option, click the "Search for Offering" button.
  6. Click on the magnifying glass in the "Search for" field OR enter the name of the course you want to copy from in the search field.
  7. Click on the radio button to the right of the course you want to copy content from and then click on "Add Selected".
  8. Verify your selections are correct before proceeding.
  9. At the bottom on the browser window you will click on either "Copy all Components" OR "Select Components" and follow the prompts.

Important:

Double-check to make sure that you are in the course you want the content copied into AND that you have selected the correct course you want to copy content from. There is no way to reverse the copy process once the wrong course is selected and the copy request is submitted.

Want more information?

Copy Course Components
Import/Export/Copy - Copy Components video [1:31]
About Copying Course Components
Brightspace training recaps
Brightspace Migration FAQs
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.

Published on Leave a comment on Brightspace Tip #16: Help Resources

lifering in midair

As you work on setting up your courses you may have questions. Here is a list of Brightspace help resources you can use to get answers to your questions.

Live Chat icon

Additionally, if you are having difficulties using any of the course tools, you can get help from D2L. This help is available 24/7 via Email and Live Chat. You will find links for Email Support and Live Chat Support in the Help menu on the NavBar (inside of Brightspace). You must be logged into Brightspace to access the Email and Live Chat Support links.

Help Menu

Our Brightspace training continues in January. The upcoming Brightspace Quick Start training sessions are designed to help faculty to get their Brightspace courses up and running. The Brightspace Drop-in sessions are for faculty who are already familiar with navigating in Brightspace and just need to get a few questions answered. In that case, they can just "drop-in" and ask questions.

If you did not get a chance to attend any of the Brightspace training sessions, consider attending one of the Quick Start sessions and/or one of the Drop-in sessions. Please visit our events page for workshop details and to RSVP for upcoming Brightspace training sessions.

Want more information?

Brightspace Migration FAQs
View all the Brightspace training recaps
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.

Published on Leave a comment on Brightspace Tip #15: Quick Start Training Recap

keep calm and let's recap

This week’s "Quick Start Training" was designed to provide faculty with some basic information to help get their Brightspace courses up and running quickly.

in case you missed it

In case you missed this week’s training sessions or if you attended one of the training sessions and want to recap what was covered, you can review these resources:

Our Brightspace training continues in January. The upcoming Brightspace Quick Start training sessions are designed to help faculty to get their Brightspace courses up and running quickly. The Brightspace Drop-in sessions are for faculty who are already familiar with navigating in Brightspace and just need to get a few questions answered. In that case, they can just "drop-in" and ask questions.

If you did not get a chance to attend any of the Brightspace training sessions, consider attending one of the Quick Start sessions and/or one of the Drop-in sessions. Please visit our events page for workshop details and to RSVP for upcoming Brightspace training sessions.

Want more information?

View all the Brightspace training recaps
Brightspace Migration FAQs
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.

Published on Leave a comment on Brightspace Tip #14: Are you Ready for Daylight?

sunrise at the lake

Brightspace's Daylight Experience is coming to Xavier! The Daylight Experience is a new, modern, responsive design. Responsive design means you can access your courses from any device, with the content adapting responsively to whatever screen size you are using so that the information is presented in the best way possible. Thus eliminating the need for a special app when using a mobile device.

We only have a few more weeks before Brightspace replaces Blackboard as our learning management system (LMS). Brightspace will be the official LMS here at Xavier starting spring 2018.

As we approach the sunrise of Brightspace at Xavier, are you ready?

Brightspace Quick Start Training sessions begin this week. The Quick Start Training sessions are designed to help faculty, who were not able to make it to the previous Brightspace training, to set up their Brightspace courses. Visit the CAT+FD events page for more information and to RSVP for upcoming workshops.

Want more information?

Brightspace Migration FAQs
View all the Brightspace training recaps
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.

Photo Credit: Sunrise | CC0

Published on Leave a comment on Bb Tip #188: My Final Blackboard Tip

sunset at the pier

As we approach the sunset of Blackboard at Xavier, I'm posting this final Blackboard tip.

Download your gradebook

Access to Blackboard courses will be removed December 31st. You will not have access to your courses and your gradebook records after December 31st. You should download your gradebook to your local computer after you submit your final grades.

Follow these steps to do it.

Instructions for downloading your grade book are available in this previous Bb tip.

Want more information?

Brightspace Migration FAQs
View all the Brightspace training recaps
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.

Photo Credit: Jetty Pier Sunset | CC0

Published on Leave a comment on Brightspace Tip #13: Virtual Classrooms and Video Assignments Training Recap

keep calm and let's recap

This week’s "Virtual Classrooms and Video Assignments" training focused using YouSeeU for virtual classrooms, virtual office hours, and video assignments in Brightspace.

in case you missed it

In case you missed this week’s training sessions or if you attended one of the training sessions and want to recap what was covered, you can review these resources:

Our Brightspace training continues next week.

Next week's Brightspace Quick Start training sessions are designed to help faculty to get their Brightspace courses up and running quickly. If you did not get a chance to attend any of the Brightspace training sessions, these Quick Start sessions are for you. Please visit our events page for workshop details and to RSVP for upcoming Brightspace training sessions.

Want more information?

View all the Brightspace training recaps
Brightspace Migration FAQs
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.