Brightspace Quick Tips (Spring 2024)

Courses Are Missing in Brightspace

If you notice that one or more of your courses is missing in Brightspace, please create a work order with CTS and ensure that the Registrar has tagged the course to be sent to the LMS.

Update Course End Date/Time (optional)

Instructors can modify the Course Start Date/Time and Course End Date/Time for Fall 2023, Winter 2023, and Spring 2024 courses:

1. From the desired course’s Navbar, click on Course Tools > Course Admin
2. Find and select “Course Offering Information”
3. Scroll down to the “Start Date and End Date” parameters
4. Modify the Course Start and/or End Date and Time, as needed
5. Click the “Save” button at the bottom of the page

This adjustment will also fix the Quick Eval widget so that it displays items that still need instructor attention.

Review Your “Account Check” Widget

• Below the “My Courses” widget, you will see the “Account Check” widget. All users should review their account information and if you are a full-time Purchase student, ensure that your primary campus affiliation is with Purchase and that Brightspace is using your Purchase email account to communicate with you. If it is not, please create a ticket with the SUNY Online Help Desk to request that the information be updated.

Learning Assistant / Grader Cannot be Added to Course

• If your Learning Assistant / Grader does not show up using these steps, please ask them to review their “Account Check” widget to make sure that Purchase is set as their primary campus affiliation. If Purchase is not their primary campus affiliation, they will need to request that information, and their email address, be updated by creating a ticket with the SUNY Online Help Desk.

Course Librarian Can’t be Added to Course

• The Course Librarian role is unique in Brightspace and needs some additional attention. Please have your library liaison reach out to Kim Detterbeck, Coordinator of Instruction, for assistance.

Manage Your Brightspace Notifications

• Each student and instructor can manage their own Brightspace notification settings. To do this, click on your name in the upper right corner and click “Notifications.” By default, you will receive an email notification when a new Announcement is made or updated.  Check the appropriate box to receive notifications for those actions. Remember to click on the “Save” button when you’re done. More about Notifications can be found at the “Change personal settings in Brightspace” official Brightspace Community documentation.

Create & Manage Attendance Registers

• The Attendance tool enables instructors to create registers that track attendance for activities within your courses. You can track attendance for any number of activities and customize your registers to suit your needs. Please note that attendance taken through this tool cannot be associated with the Grade Book.

Send an Email to Your Entire Class

• To send an email to your entire class, from the course Navbar, click on “Course Management” > “Roster” > click on the “Email classlist” button. 
• On the next screen, click on the “Send email” button to open the “Compose a new message” window.

Improve the Accessibility of Course using Ally & Accessibility Checker

• Anthology Ally (formerly Blackboard Ally) is available in Brightspace to help instructors improve the accessibility of their course content. Ally provides accessibility checks for Course and Lesson content, provides suggestions for improving content, and provides alternative accessible formats and allows students to choose the format that best meets their requirements. You can also use the built-in Accessibility Checker on HTML-authored content to ensure compliance with accessibility standards.
• More information can be found at  Accessibility Features in Brightspace .

Allow Extended Time on Brightspace Activities

• Directions for allowing particular students extended time on Quizzes and other activities using the Accommodations or Special Access features can be found at the FAQ - How do I give students extended time on tasks in Brightspace?

Watch Recordings from Previous Brightspace Webinars

• Recordings from the Fall 2023  SUNY Instructional Design Services Brightspace Faculty Webinar Series are available for review.