What's New in Brightspace

As of July 27, 2023, D2L will be permanently removing the Grace Period as an option in the Brightspace quiz settings. 

If you have manually set a grace period on your upcoming quizzes, students who take the quiz before July 27 will have a grace period and the ones that take it after July 27 will not.

If you have a quiz that starts on or before July 27th, and ends on or after July 28th:
To ensure that all students have the same amount of time to complete and submit the quiz, please edit the quiz before the start date and set the grace period to 0 minutes.

Some exciting changes to the Quizzes tool are happening as a part of our monthly D2L Brightspace updates on the evening of Thursday, July 27.

These include:

• The ability to create synchronous quizzes, which auto-submit at the end of the time limit.
• The ability to set asynchronous quizzes to auto-submit at the end of the time limit.
• Removal of the grace period.
• Students can show/hide the clock and view quiz information without leaving the quiz.
• 5-minute countdown timer prior to the start of synchronous quizzes.
• 5-minute and 1-minute warning messages prior to auto-submission of quiz attempts.

Please note that as part of the university renaming process, the process for fetching your final grades from D2L Brightspace to MyServiceHub has changed slightly.

Previously, the column you wish to send to MyServiceHub would need to be renamed to "RAMSS Grade". This has changed, and you now need to rename that column to "TMU Final Grade". 

The interface for creating and editing Quizzes in D2L Brightspace has changed!

D2L has updated the create/edit quiz interface, to match the create/edit assignments interface. This ensures that it’s easier for those who are new to Brightspace to use. 

This will take a little adjustment for experienced users to adapt to, but you can find all of the same settings in the new interface. 

When you go to Assessment > Quizzes and either create a new quiz, or edit an existing quiz, here’s what you’ll see:

1. The main panel contains the bare essentials for creating a quiz. For most quizzes, you will also need to adjust a few other settings.
2. The side panel contains expandable panels where you can find more settings. Click on the panel name to expand it. Many of the default settings will be fine for your quiz, but you will probably need to set start/end dates, adjust timing, add special access students, etc.
3. The bottom panel is where you will save your work and make the quiz visible.

While it may seem a little inconvenient, we strongly recommend that you check your web browser regularly for updates. Once a week is a good interval. It only takes a minute or two, and ensures that you are protected with the latest security updates and performance improvements.

As of January 2023, D2L Brightspace only works in the following browser versions (or newer):

• Chrome 107+ (released October 2022)
• Android Chrome 107+ (released October 2022)
• macOS Safari 16+ (released September 2022)
• iOS Safari 16+ (released September 2022)
• Firefox 106+ (released October 2022)

Based on our support team's experience, whenever possible, it's best to use the latest version of either Chrome or Firefox, as we notice the most consistent experience with those browsers.

Winter 2023 course shells will expire on June 15th/16th. Course shells are set to end after the last appeals date for that term.

On the end date:

• On the Shell End Date, there is a 24-hour processing period, during which the previous term's course shells are unavailable. This is temporary.
• Instructors will be switched to a read-only role called Instructor (RO), which will be retained for 2 years. This allows for ongoing reference to the shell and some of the student activity data and grades*. 
• All other users will lose access to the shell.
  
• New users are not added to course shells after they have ended.

*Please note: Certain features of D2L will only apply to users who are currently 'active' in the course shell. For example, you cannot email students from a D2L shell and you cannot view the students' full Progress results if those students don't currently have access to the shell.

If you require a course shell extension to finalize INC grades, and you hold the instructor role in the shell, please email courses@torontomu.ca and include the course shell details (shell code, course code, section numbers(s)) and the reason for the extension.

As you prepare for the end of term, the Digital Media Projects (DMP) team would like to share resources to help you prepare for final grading in D2L Brightspace.

D2L Brightspace grading support

One-on-one support

Get help with specific grading tasks in a Brightspace course shell. Contact us at courses@torontomu.ca with your questions, or to book a virtual meeting.

Attend the Final Grades and D2L Brightspace webinar

Register for one of the following sessions in the Learning Events Calendar:

• Thursday, April 27 | 11 a.m. - 12 p.m.
• Tuesday, May 2 | 2 p.m. - 3 p.m.

Grading tip 1: Student access to final grades

Students are only permitted to receive their final grades from the Registrar, via MyServiceHub. The "final grades" calculated in your Brightspace course shell are for your benefit only, and it is not possible to make the final grade columns visible to students.

Learn more about calculating final grades in Brightspace on the page Final Grades & Brightspace.

Grading tip 2: Submit final grades to MyServiceHub

If you’ve been tracking grades using Brightspace throughout the term, there are two ways to submit them to MyServiceHub in preparation for the final grade submission:

• Option 1: Pull the final grades from your Brightspace course shell into MyServiceHub using the final grade "Fetch". Setup instructions can be found on our D2L Fetch to MyServiceHub page.
• Option 2: Manually enter the grades directly into MyServiceHub. Instructions can be found on the MyServiceHub support How to enter grades page.

Grade submission deadlines for this term can be found on the Office of the Registrar's website.

Get ready for the coming term!

Are you ready to start preparing for the next term? For a step-by-step guide to setting up a new Brightspace course shell, review Getting Started: Teaching with D2L Brightspace.

If you plan to reuse the materials you developed in a previous Brightspace shell, please see our guide to reusing D2L Brightspace shell contents.

Questions?

If you have any questions or would like to request an in-depth, one-on-one appointment on D2L Brightspace course shell development, please contact courses@torontomu.ca

Visit our website anytime, for helpful tutorials and tips!: www.torontomu.ca/courses

Finding help during an online exam

If technical issues arise during an exam delivered in D2L Brightspace, for many problems, you can communicate with your instructor directly, or you can request technical support via help.torontomu.ca/ithelp (opens in new window) , under the "General IT Help" section. Submit a request through the "D2L Brightspace Exam Help Form".

Please note that the Help Desk and D2L Brightspace Exam Help are for technical issues only. Questions related to course content or exam schedules should be directed to your instructor.

Preparing for online exams

The Brightspace support team has put together a collection of tips for preparing for online exams, including things you can do in advance and the things you may need to do just prior to starting an exam.

While it may seem a little inconvenient, we strongly recommend that you check your web browser regularly for updates. Once a week is a good interval. It only takes a minute or two, and ensures that you are protected with the latest security updates and performance improvements.

As of January 2023, D2L Brightspace only works in the following browser versions (or newer):

• Chrome 107+ (released October 2022)
• Android Chrome 107+ (released October 2022)
• macOS Safari 16+ (released September 2022)
• iOS Safari 16+ (released September 2022)
• Firefox 106+ (released October 2022)

Based on our support team's experience, whenever possible, it's best to use the latest version of either Chrome or Firefox, as we notice the most consistent experience with those browsers.

Fall 2022 course shells will expire on February 1st/2nd. Course shells are set to end after the last appeals date for that term.

On the end date:

• On the Shell End Date, there is a 24-hour processing period, during which the previous term's course shells are unavailable. This is temporary.
• Instructors will be switched to a read-only role called Instructor (RO), which will be retained for 2 years. This allows for ongoing reference to the shell and some of the student activity data and grades*. 
• All other users will lose access to the shell.
  
• New users are not added to course shells after they have ended.

*Please note: Certain features of D2L will only apply to users who are currently 'active' in the course shell. For example, you cannot email students from a D2L shell and you cannot view the students' full Progress results if those students don't currently have access to the shell.

If you require a course shell extension to finalize INC grades, and you hold the instructor role in the shell, please email courses@torontomu.ca and include the course shell details (shell code, course code, section numbers(s)) and the reason for the extension.

If you're new to teaching at Toronto Metropolitan University  (or returning from a break), remember that each term, for each course section you are teaching, you need to fill out the course shell request form to request your D2L shells, and use Self Service to add your co-instructors and TAs. If you need a refresher, check our our "Getting Started" resources.

If you requested your course shell(s) prior to being able to see your course section(s) in MyServiceHub, you will need to associate your sections with your shell.

Shell Requests

• Every shell request will now automatically come with a corresponding Google Group, making it easier for you to leverage the Google Workspace functionality for your class.
• If you already have a demo student account, they will automatically be added to your new shells with a role of "Student".
• Student sections can only be added by the instructor assigned to the lecture section, according to MyServiceHub (formerly RAMSS). 

Shell Management Tools

• Request a demo student account for testing your course shells. The request form can be found in the "Request and Manage Course Shell" section if you don't already have one.
  
• Update the shell name from Self Service (updates both the Brightspace shell and corresponding Google Group).
  
• When managing members, you can now add multiple usernames at the same time (provided they all require the same role).

Instructors can now include availability dates in the Calendar and have greater control over the behavior of availability dates prior to the start date and after the end date. As a result, instructors can:

• Stop late submissions.
• Let learners view assignment information and submissions after it ends.
• Schedule the visibility of an assignment.
• Allow learners to view an assignment while preventing them from attempting it.

Post the start and end of an assignment to the Calendar.

The Assignment list page for both instructors and learners now contain all activity dates and date settings, including:

• Access restricted
• Submission restricted
• Hidden

In addition to controlling these settings for each assignment, instructors can choose the default settings for availability dates for any new assignment. The settings are available on the Availability Date Defaults page, which can be found under Course Admin.

If you delete a Group Category, all associated assessments are also deleted, including any student submissions and evaluations. If you need to keep those assessments, we recommend disconnecting the group category first.

Now, when deleting a Group Category, it's much clearer how many associated assessments will also be deleted, which can serve as a warning before you accidentally delete something you need.

Sometimes, after you've started grading using a rubric, you discover a typo or want to clarify the wording in the criteria. Previously, you would need to create a new version of the rubric, and regrade. 

Now, it's possible to make small text edits to a rubric, even if you've already used it to assess students. However, you cannot change levels or points. Also, try not to make any major changes after assessment is complete, as your course materials and assessments should remain as they occurred during the period the course was taught.

Now, if students have earned a badge or certificate in D2L Brightspace, they can go to their MyCourses page, click on Tools > Awards, and generate a link to that award, which they can share publicly, such as on a blog or in LinkedIn.

Spring/Summer 2022 course shells will expire on October 1st/2nd. Course shells are set to end after the last appeals date for that term.

On the end date:

• On the Shell End Date, there is a 24-hour processing period, during which the previous term's course shells are unavailable. This is temporary.
• Instructors will be switched to a read-only role called Instructor (RO), which will be retained for 2 years. This allows for ongoing reference to the shell and some of the student activity data and grades*. 
• All other users will lose access to the shell.
  
• New users are not added to course shells after they have ended.

*Please note: Certain features of D2L will only apply to users who are currently 'active' in the course shell. For example, you cannot email students from a D2L shell and you cannot view the students' full Progress results if those students don't currently have access to the shell.

If you require a course shell extension to finalize INC grades, and you hold the instructor role in the shell, please email courses@torontomu.ca and include the course shell details (shell code, course code, section numbers(s)) and the reason for the extension.

On September 1, there will be a change to the features of the Turnitin plagiarism detection tool available to Toronto Metropolitan University instructors. We will continue to provide Turnitin for originality checking, but instructors will no longer have access to the tool’s grading and feedback functionalities.

Use Turnitin to check assignment originality

Turnitin Originality Check helps to promote academic integrity by comparing a student’s written assignment submissions against the Turnitin content database and provides instructors with a report showing areas of similarity.

Instructors can enable Turnitin when creating an assignment in D2L Brightspace. The reports and at-a-glance similarity score can be accessed directly from the D2L Brightspace Assignment submission list.

Learn more about Turnitin and features available to TMU instructors.

Providing feedback on student assignments

As of September 1, users will be unable to provide student scoring and feedback via Turnitin’s Feedback Studio or GradeMark features. Users are encouraged to use the grading, annotation and feedback features available in the D2L Brightspace Assignment tool.

Learn more about the evaluation and annotation features available via the D2L Brightspace Assignment tool.

If you're new to teaching at Toronto Metropolitan University  (or returning from a break), remember that each term, for each course section you are teaching, you need to fill out the course shell request form to request your D2L shells, and use Self Service to add your co-instructors and TAs. If you need a refresher, check our our "Getting Started" resources.

Shell Management Tools

• Request a demo student account for testing your course shells. The request form can be found in the "Request and Manage Course Shell" section if you don't already have one.
  
• Update the shell name from Self Service (updates both the Brightspace shell and corresponding Google Group).
  
• When managing members, you can now add multiple usernames at the same time (provided they all require the same role).

Shell Requests

• Every shell request will now automatically come with a corresponding Google Group, making it easier for you to leverage the Google Workspace functionality for your class.
• If you already have a demo student account, they will automatically be added to your new shells with a role of "Student".
• Student sections can only be added by the instructor assigned to the lecture section, according to MyServiceHub (formerly RAMSS). 

In recent months, D2L has made a number of improvements to the Annotations tool in Assignments. It's now easier than ever to provide inline comments and markup as feedback, right on a student's assignment submission.