What’s New in Brightspace?

1. Brightspace Learning Environment – Older Browser Versions Not Supported

This release updates the list of retro or legacy browsers (specific older versions of supported browsers). If you are using a browser below the latest updates, the “Your browser is looking a little retro” warning message will appear. The browsers include:

• 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)

2. Release Conditions – ‘Replies Only’ option added to release conditions for Discussions 

With this update, a new option – ‘Replies Only‘ – has been added to release conditions for Discussions. Instructors can now choose to release (or nor release) course material based only on a specific number of replies a student has posted in a discussion forum.  

Previously the only available options were ‘New Threads Only‘ and ‘Threads and Replies‘.

3. Rubrics – Option to ‘Save’ or ‘Discard’ incomplete evaluations

When evaluating an assessment with an associated rubric, instructors can rely on the ‘auto-save’ feature that periodically records changes made to the rubric. At any point, instructors have the option to either click Save as Draft or Publish the evaluation, along with the information in the rubric.

Before this update, if an instructor navigated away from the partial evaluation window without clicking click Save as Draft or Publish, the auto-saved information in the rubric became automatically became visible to students. Since this update, if an instructor attempts to navigate away from the evaluation window before publishing or saving a draft, a dialog window will pop up prompting them to either save or discard the changes made to the rubric.   

1. Media Library – ‘Bulk Actions’ available

The ability to perform bulk actions was previously not available in the Media Library. Now, instructors can perform the following actions ‘in bulk’:

• Delete files
• Restore files in Media Library > Recycle Bin.

2. Quizzes – Add quiz availability dates to course calendar

In the new quiz creation interface, instructors now have the ability to add quiz availability dates to the Brightspace course calendar. Previously, only the Due Date was automatically added to the calendar. With this update, the Start Date or the End Date can also be added to the calendar. To do so, instructors need to open the Availability Dates & Conditions menu and select the Add availability dates to Calendar checkbox.

NOTE: Here is a reminder of how calendar events are generated in response to availability dates set in quizzes:

• If you set the Start Date and End Date for a quiz, only the End Date will be added to the calendar.
• If you set only the Start Date for a quiz, the Start Date will be added to the calendar.
• If you set only the End Date for a quiz, the End Date will be added to the calendar.

3. Quizzes – Additional paging options

Two new paging options are available in the Timing & Display menu in the new quiz creation experience. Instructors can choose to display 5 questions per page or 10 questions per page. The change optimizes instructors’ options when building quizzes with page breaks.

When changing paging settings for older quizzes, there will be a Use legacy paging option which will keep the current paging selection.

4. Rubrics – Keep track of changes to assessed rubrics with enhanced visual cues

To maintain the integrity of assessments, any rubric that has been used to assess a grade item is locked. However, there may be incidences where it is necessary to add or update the text in a rubric without changing any points, or without adding or deleting any criteria or criteria levels. The text in the rubric, including criteria names and descriptions, level names, and default feedback, can continue to be updated after the rubric has been locked.

When an instructor makes a change to a previously assessed rubric, it is updated with a blue highlight and the text ‘Edited’ in the lower right corner. When the user saves and closes the rubric, the edit indications no longer appear.

NOTE: It is not possible to edit the name of the rubric using this feature.

NOTE: It is only possible to make changes to assessed rubrics that are created in the current course or are copied from another course. Shared rubrics remain locked.  

1. Brightspace Learning Environment – Older Browser Versions Not Supported

It is strongly recommended that users access Brightspace using the latest version of the following supported browsers:

• Chrome 93 (released in August 2021)
• Safari 13 (released in September 2019) 
• Firefox 91 (released in August 2021)
• Edge 93 (released in August 2021)

D2L will no longer support older versions of these browsers or test the Brightspace Learning Environment against them. While users can continue to access Brightspace using older browser versions, doing so will generate a warning message, and users may experience potential issues with the appearance, functionality, or security of the system.

2. Discussions – New Evaluation Experience Universally Enabled

The new discussion evaluation experience is ON by default. Instructors no longer have the option to switch to the classic discussion evaluation interface.

3. Discussions – Rubric Selection Dropdown When Using Multiple Rubrics

To make the discussion evaluation interface consistent with the assignment evaluation interface, a rubric dropdown menu has been added to the evaluation menu. When instructors use more than one rubric to evaluate a discussion topic, they can now select which rubric will be used to calculate the Overall Grade.

NOTE: The score transfer from the rubric to Overall Grade does not occur if the option to Allow assessment of individual posts is selected.

4. Brightspace Pulse – Updated Subscription Notifications for Discussions

Subscription notifications in Brightspace Pulse are now consistent with subscription notifications in Brightspace Learning Environment. Students now receive all replies to discussions they are subscribed to as well as @-mentions in discussion threads from the Notifications > Subscriptions tab in Brightspace Pulse.

5. Date and Time Picker – Improved Date and Time Selection

There has been an update to the calendar that opens when instructors select Start, Due, and End Dates for assignments, quizzes, grade release etc. The changes include:

• The Set to Today button has been renamed Today. The function of this button has not changed – selecting it sets 1) the current date and 2) either 12:01 AM or 11:59 PM, depending on the context.  
• A new Now button has been added. Selecting this button sets the current date and time.
• The Today and Now buttons only appear when a date and time are required. When only a date is required, only the Today button appears and functions the same as the Now button.
• The Clear button remains unchanged.

1. Content – Print and Download Buttons Available in Fullscreen Mode

When viewing a content topic in a fullscreen mode, users now have access to the Print and Download buttons located in the top right of the page. Previously, the options to print and download were only available in the main content view, but not in fullscreen mode.

2. Intelligent Agents – New Functions Added

Improvements have been made to the Intelligent Agents tool:

• The option to create Categories has been introduced, which allows for better organization of intelligent agents.

• The Bulk Edit function to edit agent details (name, category, and active/inactive status) is now available.

1. Announcements – ‘Copy’ Function Now Available

Instructors can now quickly duplicate an existing announcement in a course, edit it, and publish it as a new announcement. A copy can be made by clicking the down arrow next to the announcement title and selecting Copy. The copy will include the content of the original announcement, as well as attached files and release conditions (if any).

NOTE: This function only works within a single course; it does not allow to copy announcements between courses.

1. Groups Tool

• Group Creation Now a Background Process

Creating groups using the Groups tool in Brightspace may take several minutes, especially if numerous groups are being created. With this update, group creation will run ‘in the background’, so instructors can navigate to other areas of the course while the process is taking place. The instructor will receive a notification once the groups have been created. 

• Groups: Pagination

Pagination has been introduced to the Groups tool, and the maximum number of groups that can be displayed on a page has been limited to 200.

2. Intelligent Agents – New Features Added

The following features have been added to the ‘Create Agent’ page:

• The page now contains collapsible sections for Scheduling, Criteria, and Actions.

• More options for delivering agents have been added – in addition to options to run an agent Daily, Monthly, or Annually, agents can now be scheduled to run Hourly, or One-Time Run.

• Instructors can now set the specific time of day when a scheduled agent should run.

This month’s updates are mostly esthetic and do not affect functionality of the Brightspace system for instructors or users.

1. ‘New/Edit File’ opens in a new browser tab

Previously, when instructors created or edited a file/page by going to Course Admin > Manage Files > ‘New/Edit File’, the file opened in a dialog box. In order to be fully visible, this dialog box had to be moved or expanded.

With the current update, selecting ‘New/Edit File’ opens the new file in a new browser tab instead of a dialog box.

2. Rubrics

Several changes have been made to the functionality of the Rubrics tool.

• When selecting a rubric for an evaluation activity (e.g., an assignment), instructors can now view the rubric description in the rubric picker (if a description is available).

• If a rubric is associated with an activity, instructors evaluating the activity can now see the description for each level of achievement in the evaluation criteria. The description can be viewed by hovering the cursor over a particular level within a criterion.

• When the status of a rubric is changed to ‘Archived’, the rubric:
  • Cannot be added to new assessment activities (this has not changed).
  • Is not listed under Assessment > Rubrics for instructors to view or edit.
  • Can still be used to evaluate an activity if the rubric was linked to it BEFORE it was archived.
  • Remains visible for all activities evaluated BEFORE the rubric’s status was changed to ‘Archived’ (both students and instructors can review the feedback provided in the rubric).  
  • Is clearly labelled with the ‘Archived’ tag in all places where the rubric is visible. However, the ‘Archived’ status is only visible to instructors, not students.

3. Brightspace Pulse App only supported on Android 6 / iOS13 and above

The Brightspace Pulse App is now only supported on the following mobile operating systems:

• Android 6 and above
• iOS13 and above

Support for versions before Android 6 or iOS13 will no longer be provided.

• Outdated browser alerts

With this update, Brightspace users attempting to access the system using outdated web browsers will receive a prompt to update their browser to the newest version. This change has no impact on the ability to access Brightspace – users can opt to continue using older browser versions, but some Brightspace features may not work properly.  

1. Assignments: Undo and Redo functions added to the annotations tool

Previously, instructors using the Brightspace annotations tool to evaluate assignments could only delete annotations (e.g., retract a comment, delete an underline) in two ways:

• by using the eraser tool, or
• by selecting an annotation and clicking the trash can icon.

With the current update, Undo and Redo buttons have been added to the annotations toolbar, which greatly improves the process of removing and restoring annotations.

2. Assignments: ‘Show All Users’ becomes the default view for Submissions List

Before this update, when instructors navigated to the Folder Submissions list for an assignment, they could only see the names of students who had made a submission. Now, the submissions list includes the names of all students enrolled in the course, regardless of their submission status. Students who have submitted work have a link to their submission associated with their name.

If an instructor wishes to restrict the list by applying a specific filter (e.g., to view only students with submissions), they can do so in the following way:

1. Click on Show Search Options next to the search box. 
2. Select the desired option from the Submissions drop-down menu.
3. Click the magnifying glass icon in the blank search field to apply the new filter.

3. Quizzes: ‘Disable Right Click’ option removed

The Disable Right Click option has been removed from the Quizzes tool. The option is no longer available in Quiz Setup, and will not function for existing quizzes where it was previously applied. D2L provides the following rationale for removing the Disable Right Click option:

“This option was previously intended to allow Instructors to disable right-clicking during the time a learner was taking quiz, thus making it more difficult for learners ability to copy or print the quiz and share it with others. However, as browsers have reduced the ability for web sites to control end-user behavior, the Disable Right Click setting could not necessarily be applied to all students, and it provided a false sense of security around quiz content.”

4. Quizzes – Ability to restore deleted quizzes added

Beginning with this update, instructors are able to restore previously deleted quizzes. This option is available in the Quizzes tool by clicking More Actions and selecting Restore from the dropdown menu. The list of deleted quizzes will display along with the option to restore them to the list of active quizzes.  

NOTE: This feature can only be used with quizzes created since the August 2022 update. Quizzes deleted prior to this update can only be restored by submitting a request to the D2L team. Details can be found here.

Which quiz properties get restored?

• All quiz settings
• Previous quiz attempts
• Grades/feedback
• Learning outcomes (if any)

Which properties do not get restored?

• The link between the quiz and the grade book (if one existed previously). The link will need to be re-established. For instructions on how to do it, please visit our resource Configuring Quiz Settings and click ‘Assessment Tab’.

5. Brightspace Editor – Use the new ‘Insert code’ function to insert code snippets directly into content

Instructors can now insert code snippets directly into the content being created using the Brightspace HTML Editor. To do this:

• Open the Brightspace editor (e.g., ‘Create a File’ in the Course Content tool)
• Click the plus sign (i.e., Other Insert Options) in the editor’s toolbar
• Select Insert Code from the menu
• Open the menu in the top right corner of the editor’s window and select your programming language
• Insert code into the interface to format before adding it into the editor.

Previously, instructors had to use the <code> tag and build out their own code before inserting a code snippet into the editor.

NOTE: The ‘Insert Code‘ option is not available in the Quizzes tool.

• Quizzes – ‘No time limit’ option added

‘No Time Limit’ option has been added to the timing restrictions for Brightspace quizzes. This option is now the default setting for newly created quizzes, while the timing restrictions for quizzes created before this update remain unaffected. The ‘No Time Limit’ option is helpful for quizzes where instructors want to give students as much time as they need to complete the attempt.

Students taking a quiz with ‘No Time Limit’ can see the time allocation on the ‘Quiz Summary’ page displayed before the quiz is launched. Also, students will not see a countdown timer while taking the quiz.

• Brightspace Pulse – Controlling push notifications enabled

With this update, students are able to choose which push notifications they want to receive on the Brightspace Pulse app. Previously, it was not possible to limit or control notifications.

1. Groups – Descriptions available for self-enrollment groups

When setting up groups for self-enrollment, instructors can now use the ‘Description’ field to enter general instructions for the entire group category (previously descriptions had to be entered for each individual group within the category). Students can view the instructions before selecting a group for self-enrollment, whereas before they could view them only after joining a group.

2. Groups – Improved warning when deleting groups

Instructors deleting a group category will now get a warning with information on how many assignments and discussion activities will be deleted along with the group category. Such warning can prevent accidental deletions of associated activities.

3. Media Library – Quickly access, create, edit, and manage all audiovisual content with Media Library

This update introduces Media Library – a consolidated repository for all video and audio files created in or uploaded to Brightspace using the Record Audio, Record Video, Video Note, Content Tool. The new Media Library management tool allows instructors to do the following:

• Record new content directly in the tool
• Filter content based on type
• Update file information, such as the title and description
• Edit video timelines using the editor
• Add chapters to video content
• Create manual and automated captions for video content
• Download audiovisual content to a device
• Preview content
• Delete files

To access your Media Library, click the cog icon in the top right corner of the screen in Brightspace and select ‘Media Library’ from the menu.

4. Media Library – Ability to create content with webcam recordings

There is a new webcam feature available in Media Library, which allows instructors to create video and/or audio-only content directly within Media Library.

To make an audio or video recording, go to your Media Library in Brightspace. Click Add, then Record Webcam.

In the pop-up window, click New Recording to create a video. To record only audio, toggle the Audio only switch to ON.

5. Media Library – Ability to generate transcripts for audio & video recordings in Media Library

This new feature allows for captions and transcripts to be generated for video and audio recordings created in the Media Library. Students can also download these transcripts with the new Transcript View feature. To generate captions and transcripts, do the following:

• Once you make your video or audio recording in the Media Library, click Next.
• Give your recording a title and select a language from the list.
• Select Automatically Select Captions Transcripts
• Click Finish.

Students viewing or listening to the recording will now have the option to view captions and/or download the transcript.

6. Media Library – Ability to generate transcripts for audio & video recordings in Media Library

Before this update, rubrics that have been used for evaluation became locked and could no longer be modified in any way. With this new feature, instructors are able to edit the text (spelling errors, wording, etc.) in rubrics previously used for evaluation. NOTE: Structural changes such as adding/deleting criteria cannot be made to these rubrics.

• Quicklinks & Media Library – Easily find audio-video content with new Media Library filters

When composing content in a Brightspace HTML editor (e.g., in Discussions, Content, Assignments), instructors and students have the ability to add video and audio files by selecting Insert Quicklink > Media Library in the editor’s menu bar.

With this update, users can more easily locate their Media Library files they wish to include by using filters. (Previously, they had to scroll through all the files to find the ones they needed). The filters include:

• Content Type: (video or audio)
• Source: Where content was added from (multiple filters can be selected):
  • Content: AV content uploaded from the Content tool.
  • Media Library: AV content uploaded or created in Media Library.
  • Audio or Video Note: AV content created using Audio and Video Note.
  • Capture App (not available to Memorial’s users). 
  • Imported: AV content added from course imports.
  • Other: Filter by content added prior to the addition of source tracking.
• Date Modified
• Date Created

To insert a media file to an HTML file being created, users need to:

• Open the HTML Editor in any of the Brightspace tools (Content, Assignments, Discussions, Quizzes etc.).
• Click the Insert Quicklink icon in the menu at the top.

• Select Media Library from the menu.

• Click Filters and select the one(s) to be applied.

1. Rubrics – Completion status indicated in a collapsed tile

When grading assignments, discussions etc. that have an associated rubric, instructors can now see if the rubric is complete even when the Rubrics tile is collapsed in the evaluation mode. Previously, the rubric’s completion status was only visible if the Rubrics tile was expanded. The collapsed tile now displays the score and indicates if any criteria have been left ungraded.

2. Assignments – Restricting file types acceptable for submission

Instructors can now specify what file types students can upload through the Assignments tool. A restriction can be set when creating or editing an assignment. The setting is available in the Submission & Completion section of the Assignment creation window under Allowable File Extensions. Instructors can choose one of the options provided in the menu, or select Custom File Types to create their own list of acceptable file extensions.

Options available in the menu include:

1. No Restrictions
2. PDF only
3. Annotatable files (any file type that can be viewed and annotated using the Annotation tool in Assignments)
4. Files that can be previewed without any conversion (e. g., .HTML, .MHT, or .BMP)
5. Images and videos
6. Custom file types (instructors manually enter file extensions allowable for submission)

If a restriction is set, students will be able to see what file types they are allowed to submit for their assignment. If they attempt to upload a file from outside the list, they will receive an error message indicating that the file type they are trying to submit is invalid.

3. Discussions: New Discussion Evaluation Experience

Evaluation of discussion contributions now has a similar interface to the New Assignment Evaluation Experience. Then new interface is currently optional and can be turned off/on by clicking the down arrow in the top right corner of the screen. The old interface will become unavailable at the end of 2021, therefore instructors are encouraged to leave the new interface on in order to become familiar and comfortable with its layout.

1. Assignments – Preview available

If instructors or students attempt to upload security-restricted file types in the Assignments tool or in the Manage Files area, they When grading assignments in the Assignment Evaluation mode, instructors have access to a preview that displays the assignment from the perspective of a student. The preview is available by clicking the More Options menu (‘…’) in the top right corner of the evaluation screen and selecting Preview Activity from the dropdown menu. The preview opens in a new browser tab and includes instructions, dates, restrictions, and options for submission. Note: Instructors cannot edit the assignment from within the preview window.

Instructors can also access the assignment preview feature from the Assignments Folders page by:

• going to More Actions
• selecting Preview from the dropdown menu, and
• clicking on the assignment they wish to preview.

2. Course Import – Course import history available

Instructors can now view the history of course import attempts for courses by going to:

• Course Admin
• Import/Export/Copy Components
• View Import History

Available information includes original package names & names of the original creator as well as the status and time of the import attempt.

1. Assignments & Manage Files – Warning when uploading restricted files

If instructors or students attempt to upload security-restricted file types in the Assignments tool or in the Manage Files area, they will receive a warning message saying “This file extension is not allowed” (Assignments) or “This file extension is not allowed for security reasons” (Manage Files). See the chart below for a list of security-restricted file extensions.

ASA ASAX ASCX ASHX ASMX ASP ASPX AXD BAT

CDX CER COM CONFIG CS CSPROJ DLL EXE IDC

INI JSL LICX REM RESOURCES RESX SHTM SHTML

SOAP STM VB VBPROJ VJSPROJ VSDISCO WEBINFO

2. Content – Changes to the PDF inline viewer

The PDF inline viewer is a tool used in the Content area of Brightspace to view all converted documents in a .pfd format. As a part of the current update, some features of the PDF inline viewer have been moved from the bottom to the top of the document being viewed, which reduces the need for scrolling.

3. Brightspace Email – Increased limits for ‘To’ and ‘CC’ fields

The number of email addresses that can be added to the ‘To’ and ‘CC’ fields in a single Brightspace email has been increased from 50 to 200.

1. Assignments – New Assignment Creation Experience universally enabled

The new assignment creation experience is ON by default. Instructors no longer have the option to switch to the classic assignment creation interface.

2. Brightspace Notification Alerts – Alerts in the minibar persist for 90 days

Message, Subscription, and Update icons, located in the minibar at the top of Brightspace pages, provide information about new activity in the course: Brightspace email, discussion posts, content or grades etc. By clicking the icons, users can now view alerts from the last 90 days, while previously all alerts disappeared after 7 days. As before, clicking the icons opens a dropdown menu with five most recent alerts in the selected category, with the option to load more.

3. Intelligent Agents – Ability to copy intelligent agents between courses

The number of email addresses that can be added to the ‘To’ and ‘CC’ fields in a single Brightspace email has been increased from 50

• Intelligent Agents can now be included when importing, exporting, or copying courses/course components. Previously, copying intelligent agents between courses was not possible, and agents had to be recreated in every new course.
• When Intelligent Agents are copied from one course to another, all settings and restriction associated with them are also copied except for release conditions. If instructors want to keep release conditions they have attached to intelligent agents in one course, they must select “Release Conditions” when copying/importing from that course. The only release conditions that will not copy between courses are ones associated with the Classlist (e.g., group enrollment).

• Intelligent agents copied from one course to another are disabled by default, and instructors must manually enable them in the new course. It is recommended that instructors review release conditions and other associated settings before enabling intelligent agents.

4. Brightspace Email – Clicking ‘To/Cc/Bcc’ launches address book

In the ‘Compose’ window of the Brightspace email, the three recipient options (To, CC, and Bcc) are now links. Clicking ‘To’, ‘CC’, and/or ‘Bcc’ when composing an email launches the user’s address book in a new window. Once the email recipient(s) is/are selected, they are added to the respective fields.

Users can continue to compose messages by going to the Address Book first and selecting the recipients from the list.  

5. Quizzes – Revised language terms and descriptions

Some of the terminology and descriptions in the Quizzes tool have been revised in order to improve clarity and to make them more intuitive to both instructors and students. Some examples include:

• In the Create/Edit Quiz area > Assessment tab:
  • ‘Automatic Grade’ has been changed to ‘Automatically Publish Evaluation’, and
  • ‘Auto Export to Gradebook’ has been changed to ‘Synchronize to Gradebook’
• In the Grade Quiz area > Questions tab, ‘Blind Marking’ has been changed to ‘Hide Learners’ Names’

A detailed list of language term updates in quizzes can be found here.

Note: There has been no change to the functionality of or the settings within the Quizzes tool.