Semester Start: Frequently Asked Questions
Who can my students contact if they need help?
Students can contact the CITL Support Centre for assistance.
Who can I contact if I need help?
If you need technical assistance with Brightspace, such as adding accounts, or any other technical problems, you can contact the CITL Support Centre.
If you need assistance with using the tools in Brightspace, please contact the Teaching and Learning Exchange at tlx@mun.ca.
Is Brightspace used widely for on-campus courses?
Yes. Over 500 on-campus courses use Brightspace.
What aspects of the course can teaching assistants access?
TAs have access to the Classlist, Grades, Quizzes and the Assignments tool. They cannot upload content. For information on different roles in Brightspace and privileges associated with them, please visit this resource.
Can teaching assistants (TAs) get access to my course in Brightspace?
Yes. TAs can be given access to your courses. You can easily add a TA to your Brightspace course by using the Course Site Enrollment Tool.
Why is my course site blank? I thought I would see everything I had set up last semester.
Each term you will get a new empty course site for the courses you are teaching. You can then copy all of the content and settings from a previous offering into your new course site. This only takes a few seconds. For information on how to transfer components from a previous course offering, visit our resources on copying course components.
How do my students get access to the course site?
Once students register for your course in Banner, the course will automatically appear on their list of courses in Brightspace.
If I teach multiple sections, will I have a separate course site for each section?
By default, a separate course site is created in Brightspace for every course section in Banner. However, if you are teaching multiple sections of the same course or if your course is cross-listed, you have the option of creating a single Brightspace course site that combines all the sections. If you choose that route, all sections of the course you are teaching will share the same course site. Also, you will only have to maintain one course site instead of multiple ones. You can learn more about this on our combining sections page.
Instructors cannot combine course sections themselves. Please contact CITL Support Centre to make your request.
Where do I go to log in to Brightspace?
There are several ways to access Brightspace:
- Go directly to online.mun.ca.
- Go to Memorial’s homepage, click Log In in the top right corner and select Brightspace.
- Log in to my.mun.ca, go to the Employees tab at the top of the page, and use the Brightspace Login widget.
Do I have to get ANOTHER username and password?
No. All you need to log in to Brightspace is your MUN login ID and password (the same password you use to login to my.mun or to access webmail).
Can I get a Brightspace site for testing and development?
Yes. Please contact CITL Support Centre to make your request.
How do I get a Brightspace course site for my course?
If you are teaching a course in the current semester, you will automatically be provided with a Brightspace course site. Once you are listed as the instructor in Banner (Memorial’s student registration system) each semester, a Brightspace course site will be automatically created for you for each of your courses.
What is a course shell?
A course shell is an older term used to refer to the Brightspace site for your course.
What is Brightspace?
Brightspace (formerly known as D2L) is Memorial University’s learning management system. It is a web-based technology, which means that you and your students can access a course in Brightspace from any device, from anywhere, at any time. It is a convenient ‘one-stop shop’ with many different types of tools to assist you in the delivery and facilitation of your course.