Quick鈥慡tart Guide
The following steps are designed to assist course instructors designing their courses and preparing to teach online. A version of this guide is available as a .
1. Log into Brightspace and find your course
When you [NetID required], first . If you do not see your course, contact Academic Technology Services (ATS).
2. Read the content available on this website
This website on online and blended teaching can support you in designing your online and blended courses, creating accessible learning experiences, using tools and technologies to enhance pedagogy, and locating supports and resources.
3. Create assessments
For tests, quizzes, and final exams, use the Brightspace Quizzes tool, or explore alternatives such as group projects, reflective writing, written or photo essays, research reports, critiques, simulations, case studies, or ePortfolios. Set up assignment dropboxes in Brightspace so students can submit these types of assessments.
You might consider designing rubrics to help grade assignments quickly and consistently. Set up the gradebook on your Brightspace course site and connect grade items to assessment components in Brightspace to add efficiency. Be prepared to provide digital (audio, video, or written) feedback on student assignments using tools built into Brightspace.
4. Design class activities
Think about activities that will prepare students to do well on any assessments and facilitate their achievement of the course learning outcomes. Discussion forums are a staple activity of online classes. Group work can be achieved by breaking large classes into smaller online groups using Brightspace and then providing options for collaboration, both live (e.g., through Teams or Collaborate) and asynchronously (e.g., through the Discussions tool in Brightspace). Hands-on activities, like labs, tutorials, seminars, and field trips, can be set up using digital alternatives, such as by providing raw data for analysis, online simulations, virtual field trips or museum visits, or interactive video and audio files.
5. Add content
Lectures and PowerPoint presentations can be recorded with Panopto and posted in Brightspace. Curate existing online content, such as Open Educational Resources (OER). Submit a reading list to the Course eReserves for them to obtain copyright clearance (if applicable) and upload the readings to Brightspace. Ensure links to outside content are accessible to all students, including those who are in countries where content may be blocked.
6. Establish a plan for communication and office hours
Post a welcome announcement on your Brightspace homepage and email your students. Plan to hold office hours in a synchronous meeting platform such as Teams or Collaborate.
7. Make your course active
Once your online course is set up and you are ready for students to access it, .
For assistance with course design, technology, or the Libraries, contact us.