How Tos & FAQs
This page contains information on the most common questions asked by Western Brightspace Users. If you don’t see your questions here, contact the WTS helpdesk OR visit the Brightspace Community. Caution: The Community is maintained by D2L, Brightspace’s parent company, which means that some of the processes or steps outlined in the Community may be different, and some tools or functionality may not be available at Western.
If you are interested in getting a comprehensive understanding of how to use Brightspace, including the key differences between OWL Sakai and OWL Brightspace as well as building course content, you can log into Western’s OWL Brightspace Self-Guided Instructor Training.
Here is where you can find information about requesting or using 3rd party eLearning Tools in Brightspace.
Content
What is the difference between availability dates and the Hidden/Visible toggle?
Both options enable you to tailor the release of your content. However, the Hidden/Visible feature takes precedence over availability dates. If you set your content as Hidden, it will not be displayed even if you have scheduled it to be released at a particular time.
How to make content topic visible to students on the home page?
Use the announcement tool to inform learners of the specific course topic and link the page.
- log in to OWL Brightspace and navigate to the announcement section of your navigation bar under communications.
- Then use the pin function from the dropdown to pin the announcement making it visible once the learners log onto the page.
How to get an image to show up on the Visual Table of Contents Widget on the homepage
1. Go into the content section of your course.
2. Select the first level of a unit.
3. Edit the content and add the preferred image to the HTML page.
4. Save and close.
Once you have completed these steps, the image should show up on the Visual Table of Contents Widget on your homepage.
Can I edit or add closed captioning to my uploaded video?
In Brightspace, when videos are uploaded, several features come into play when using the advanced editing tool in content editor:
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Auto-generate or manually upload captions:
- Brightspace offers the option to automatically generate captions for uploaded videos or allows you to manually upload pre-existing caption files. Users have the flexibility to edit captions.
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Create a table of contents for videos:
- Enhancing the navigation experience, Brightspace allows the creation of a table of contents for videos, facilitating easy access to specific sections and aiding learners in finding relevant content efficiently.
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Download auto-generated captions:
- Brightspace enables users to download auto-generated captions, offering the opportunity to refine and modify them into full transcripts.
I am using Chrome, and my content pdf keeps downloading instead of opening within the course. How do I fix it?
If you are having trouble opening PDFs automatically as an embedded file in Brightspace on Chrome and they are downloading instead of opening, it may be because Chrome PDF viewer is turned off. To fix this issue, follow these steps:
1. Open Chrome on your computer.
2. Click on the Settings icon located at the top right corner.
3. Under "Privacy and security," go to Site Settings.
4. Scroll down and click on 'Additional content settings', then select PDF documents.
5. Turn off the option that says "Download PDF files instead of automatically opening them in Chrome".
6. Once you complete the above steps, Chrome will automatically open PDFs when you click on them within Brightspace.
Communication
Can students use classlist to email each other?
Can announcements be unpublished without being deleted?
You can choose to "dismiss" announcements to prevent them from appearing in the Announcements widget on the course homepage. However, doing this won't remove them completely from the Announcements tool. Here are two options to remove them without losing the announcement completely:
1. Make a copy of the announcement and save it as a draft. Then delete the original.
2. Add an end date to the announcement to mark it as "Expired". This will hide it from students in both the widget and the Announcements tool.
Can I edit multiple announcements at once?
Can I communicate with learners one-on-one without using emails?
Unfortunately, Brightspace doesn't have an equivalent tool to Sakai's Messages. However, you can use the Discussions tool.
Select "Single User, member-specific groups" in the Groups tool, and then enable "Set up discussion areas" to communicate with learners.
By setting up "Single User, member-specific groups", you can communicate directly with each student without having to use emails.
Related support document: Single user, member-specific groups
Can I edit groups after associating them with an assessment or are they locked like in OWL Sakai?
Assessment
How to use question library to randomly select questions for a quiz so that each student gets different questions from the pool
To use a question pool to randomly select questions for a quiz so that each student gets different questions from the pool, follow these steps:
1. Log in to your account and go to the "Assessments" section on the navigation bar.
2. Find the quiz tool and select it.
3. Create a new quiz or edit an existing one.
4. In the quiz editor, choose the "Question Pool" option under "Create New".
5. Fill in the required information such as the number of questions you would like pulled from the pool of questions and the worth of each question.
6. Browse and select all the question pools you would like to be randomly chosen from.
How can I update a quiz question that had an incorrect answer marked as the correct answer? How do I update the scores for that question after students have submitted the quiz?
To update the scoring of a quiz question, follow these steps:
1. Click on "Assessment" in the navigation bar.
2. Select "Quizzes" from the menu that appears.
3. Find the quiz for which you want to update the scoring of a question.
4. Click the down arrow next to the name of the quiz.
5. Select "Grade" from the menu that appears.
6. By default, the view will show you the completed "attempts" of users. Click on the "Questions" tab.
7. You can (re)grade the questions on the quiz using any of the three options available: Please follow the steps below to grade the student's answers.
A) If you want to see each instance of how the question was answered by the individual students who received the question:
1. Fill in the bubble for "Grade Individual Responses".
2. Click directly on the question you want to regrade.
3. You will see a single student's answer to the question. Place a new score for the question in the score field if needed.
4. Click "Save and Continue" to update that student's score and review the next student's answer to the question.
5. Repeat until all student's answers have been reviewed.
B) If you want to give points to all students regardless of how they answered the question:
1. Fill in the bubble for "Update All Attempts".
2. Click directly on the question you want to regrade.
3. Fill in the bubble for "Give to all attempts ( ) points".
4. Fill in a point value.
5. Click "Save".
C) If you want to give points to each student who selected a specific answer on the question:
1. Fill in the bubble for "Update All Attempts".
2. Click directly on the question you want to regrade.
3. Fill in the bubble for "Give to attempts with answer ( ) ( ) points".
4. Select the correct answer.
5. Fill in a point value for that correct answer.
6. Click "Save".
How to restrict learners from seeing a quiz grade and feedback before the submission deadline
To restrict learners from seeing a quiz grade and feedback before the submission deadline, follow these steps:
1. In the quiz editor, under the evaluation and feedback section, check the "auto-publish" and "synchronize to the grade book" boxes (if the quiz counts towards the final grade).
2. Set an additional custom quiz display view with the following options: either grade invisible or visible, and show all questions with correct answers, and learner's responses. Depending on whether you want the grade displayed along with the feedback.
3. Set the display time to your due date.
Please note that if the grade item is in the grade book, you also need to set up a release date so that grades will not show there.
4. In the grades tool, go to "Manage grades" and click on the quiz.
5. Select "restrictions" at the top and set the start date to your due date.
By following the above steps, students will only see their grades and correct answers after the due date has passed.
Is it possible for an instructor to submit an assignment on behalf of a student?
No, Brightspace does not have this feature. A possible workaround is to provide the student with special access to the assignment and allow them to submit their files after the deadline.
You can find detailed instructions on how to set up special access by visiting this link. Please make sure that you are logged in to OWL Brightspace to access the link.
How to download/print a quiz in the correct layout
To ensure that your quiz is printed in the correct layout, you can follow these steps:
1. Log in to your account and go to the "Assessments" section on the navigation bar.
2. Find the quiz tool and select it.
3. Click the drop-down menu next to the quiz you would like to print.
4. Select 'preview' from the drop-down menu.
5. Start the quiz in preview mode.
6. Right-click and select 'inspect' from the options.
7. In the pop-up, select 'toggle device emulation'.
8. Make sure that the dimension choice is set to 'responsive' and that the dimension width and height fit the desired size.
9. Finally, right-click and select 'print'.
These steps will help you print your quiz with the correct layout.
How to download/print a rubric in preview mode
Instructors can download the preview of a rubric.
To save/ print a digital copy of the document, you can use the print option and select "Print to PDF".
Can I use ScanExam/Scantron?
It is not recommended for instructors to use ScanExam or Scantron for uploading DPC files into Brightspace as it is not supported by the system. Instead, instructors can use Gradescope's Bubble Sheets which is integrated into Brightspace and serves a similar purpose.
It is important to note that Brightspace does not use student numbers for grading, but rather uses the OrgID which is the Western username.
The video below can show you how to create a Bubble Sheet using Gradescope:
Related Support Documentation: Bubble Sheet Assignments - Gradescope Help Center
Can I assign grades to surveys using the Survey tool?
Simply add a mandatory multiple-choice question that is worth one point and set the custom weights of each answer choice to 100%. This way, students will receive one point regardless of their response. Other questions can be set as bonus questions to maintain the maximum points at one. Remember not to check 'Can Exceed' on the grade item so that students receive 1/1, regardless of their quiz responses.
Can I create multi-section quiz?
Yes. To achieve this, follow the steps below:
1. Log in to your account and go to the assessments section on the navigation bar.
2. Find the quiz tool and select it.
3. Create a new quiz or edit an existing one.
4. In the quiz editor, choose the "sections" option under "create new".
5. Fill in all the required information and save your changes.
Can I create multi-part assessments using the Assignments tool?
Can I grade PDF assignments within Brightspace without downloading them?
Note: It's important to know that when learners upload a Microsoft Word document (docx) to Brightspace, for annotation assessment, the system automatically converts it into a PDF format. This conversion process may alter the appearance of some images in the original file. Therefore, if you are unsure about the accuracy of the annotated file, we recommend downloading and checking the original docx file.
Can I make changes to a quiz while it is still in progress, such as correcting a question?
Yes, you can make changes to an exam or quiz, but any changes you make while the assessment is in progress won't affect those who have already started it. The changes will only apply to future attempts.
Can I use LaTeX or MathJaxx to make it easy to create content for classes that require mathematics?
Related Support Document: Insert and edit equations with Equation Editor - Brightspace
Other Class Activities
Can I use PostEm?
Unfortunately, there is no direct replacement tool for PostEm in Brightspace. However, there are some recommended alternatives that can serve different purposes. Here are some options:
Option 1: Using Member-Specific Groups
1. Go to the communications section on your course page navigation bar and find the Groups tool.
2. Create a group category and fill in all the required information. In the drop-down for the enrolment type, select the “Single user, member-specific groups” option.
3. Enable the option to set up a discussion area and select an existing discussion forum or create a new one. Save your settings.
4. Once the forum is created, a discussion topic will be generated for each user. You can use these topics to create personalized threads to communicate with individual users.
Please note that this workaround may not be suitable for large classes, as it has to be performed one by one.
Option 2: Using Member-Specific Groups
To import data into the grade book for the purpose of using the PostEm functionality, follow the steps below:
1. Go to the Grades tool on the navigation bar of your course page.
2. Create a new grade category specifically for this purpose.
3. Import the required file using the instructions provided in the following link: "Import your Grade Book".
Please inform your students about this grade item, so that they can differentiate between assessment grades and other data. This workaround may be suitable for large classes.
Option 3: Using Mail Merge
Grades and Classlist do not display student numbers, only user IDs. Is this an intentional feature?
Published on and maintained in Cascade.
