Navigating OWL Brightspace

This page aims to give students a brief introduction to the OWL Brightspace homepage they see upon signing in.

For those who wish to gain a deeper understanding of how to utilize course tools, including 3rd party tools, please visit Western's Self-Guided Student course within Brightspace.

Clicking on each accordion will reveal detailed information for the respective tools displayed below.

Home Page

My Home

The My Home page provides seamless access to tools for a successful learning experience. Here, you'll find an overview of your enrolled courses, OWL Brightspace-related announcements, your calendar populated with events from your OWL Brightspace courses, helpful resources, and a convenient to-do list for pending assignments. 

A screenshot of the Owl Brightspace homepage with "My Home button" located at the top left highlighted

Return to My Home using the OWL Brightspace icon or the My Home button.

My Courses & Course Selector

Upon logging in, locate your OWL courses using either the My Courses panel or the Course selector (Waffle-icon menu). 

A screenshot of the Owl Brightspace homepage with "My Courses" and the course selector waffle icon highlighted

Note: If you do not see any courses after logging in, you may not be enrolled in any courses yet. You can contact your instructor or WTS Help Desk for further assistance if you have any questions. If your course is shown as available but cannot be accessed or clicked, the course might not have started yet. 

Update Alert Bell

The bell icon alerts you to significant activities occurring on both the home page and within your courses.

The image is a screenshot of Owl Brightspace interface, highlighting the alert bell icon which notifies users of new messages or updates. The icon is set against a red square background to draw attention.

Personal Settings Icon

Utilize Personal Settings Icon to maintain current and personalized settings. Update your Profile, Notifications, Account Settings (including accessibility settings), and preferred language within OWL Brightspace.

Screenshot-2023-12-18-094302.png

Screenshot of the Owl Brightspace homepage, featuring a navigation bar with options for Profile, Notifications, Account Settings, Progress, Preferred language, and Log Out. The highlighted section suggests user customization and localization settings.

Announcements Area

Access all relevant Western announcements within this section on OWL. Pay close attention to these updates, as information shared in them may impact your learning experience. 

Screenshot of the Owl Brightspace homepage, featuring the announcements tool that has been highlighted with red squares.

Calendar Tool

The calendar presents due dates, past and upcoming dates, and other events from your courses. You can actively manage your calendar too, providing greater control over your schedule.

A screenshot of the Calendar tool on Owl Brightspace

Work To Do Widget

The Work To Do widget provides a comprehensive overview of quizzes, assignments, checklists, and more, displaying items with upcoming or past due dates directly on your homepage. Overdue tasks are prioritized at the top of the list, with upcoming items listed below. This feature is designed to facilitate progress tracking and ensure you stay on top of deadlines. 
A screenshot of the Work To-do Widget on Owl Brightspace

Course Page

Course Home

On the Course Home page, you can easily access all course-related information such as announcements, calendar, content, assignments, grades, and quizzes.

Screenshot of Owl Brightspace course homepage with the return to course home button highlighted.

You can access the course home page by clicking on either the course home button or the course name.

Announcements

Announcements are notifications or messages posted by instructors to communicate important information, updates, or announcements to students enrolled in a course.

These announcements are typically displayed on the course homepage or under communications. Instructors use this feature to share details such as changes in the course schedule, upcoming assignments or assessments, reminders about deadlines, class cancellations, and other relevant updates.

Screenshot of the Owl Brightspace course homepage, featuring the announcements tool that has been highlighted with red squares.

Related Support Document: Enable notifications in Announcements

Content

Content contains the educational materials and resources provided to students for a specific course. The Content tool can present a wide range of materials, including lecture notes, readings, multimedia presentations, videos, quizzes, assignments, and more.

Screenshot of the Owl Brightspace course homepage, featuring the content tool that has been highlighted with red squares.

Content is typically organized into modules or units, making it easy for you to access and navigate through the materials related to each topic.


Related Support Document: Navigating Course Content

Assignments

Assignments in OWL Brightspace contain tasks or projects that instructors assign to assess your understanding of course material and your ability to apply what you've learned.

Within the assignment tool, you can find assignment instructions, due dates, and any additional resources provided by the instructor.

To access the assignment tool, please follow these steps:

1. Log in to OWL Brightspace using your Western ID credentials.
2. Locate your course by either using the My Courses menu or the Course Selector.
3. On the navigation bar, find 'Assessments'.
4. Under the drop-down menu, select 'Assignments'.

Screenshot of the ‘Assessment’ menu on Owl Brightspace, with ‘Assignment’ highlighted.
Related Support Document: Assignments

Quizzes

The Quizzes tool in OWL Brightspace allows assessment in a series of questions that may be multiple-choice, true/false, short answer, or other formats. You can access Quizzes through the course homepage, complete them online, and receive immediate scores or feedback, helping you identify areas that need further study.

To access the quizzes tool, please follow these steps:

1. Log in to OWL Brightspace using your Western ID credentials.
2. Locate your course by either using the My Courses menu or the Course Selector.
3. On the navigation bar, find 'Assessments'.
4. Under the drop-down menu, select 'Quizzes'.

Screenshot of the ‘Assessment’ menu on Owl Brightspace, with ‘Quizzes tool’ highlighted.

Related Support Document: Quizzes - Brightspace

Discussions

Discussions in OWL Brightspace are online forums or communication spaces where students can engage in interactive conversations with their peers and instructors regarding course-related topics. The discussion forums provide a platform for asking questions, sharing insights, debating ideas, and collaborating on assignments or projects.

To access the discussions tool, please follow these steps:

1. Log in to OWL Brightspace using your Western ID credentials.
2. Locate your course using the My Courses menu or the Course Selector.
3. On the navigation bar, find 'Communications'.
4. Under the drop-down menu, select 'Discussions'.

Screenshot of the ‘Communications’ menu on Owl Brightspace course Nav Bar, with ‘Discussions’ highlighted.

Related Support Document: Discussions - Brightspace

Grades

Grades in OWL Brightspace represent the assessment and evaluation of your performance in a specific course. The tool provides a dedicated section where you can view your grades for individual assignments, quizzes, exams, and other assessments. It often displays your scores or grades, along with any feedback provided by the instructor. 

You can find the Grades tool on the navigation bar of your course, as shown in the image below.

The image is a screenshot of the Owl Brightspace, specifically displaying the navigation bar for a ‘Sample Course’. The navigation bar, set against a purple background, includes tabs for ‘Course Home’, ‘Content’, ‘Calendar’, ‘Communications’, ‘Assessments’, and ‘Grades’. The Grades tool has been highlighted.


Related Support Document: Grades - Brightspace

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