With the beginning of the fall semester here at Richland Campus, changes are happening everywhere. From a new building under construction on the east side of campus to new students and organizations and the new switch from Blackboard to D2L Brightspace.
Some may be wondering, what is Brightspace, and why in the world did we switch? Brightspace is an online dashboard not dissimilar to Canvas that allows students to view all their classes in one place, as well as to offer an environment with more options for learning. Brightspace offers online textbook integrations, class updates and, most importantly, a way to track assignments for the students with much to do.
As for why the switch, Blackboard was simple to navigate and use, but it had many issues both with updates and errors. As many students have experienced, Blackboard would have system-wide errors that would render students unable to work on assignments or read their textbooks. And for Richland, the ability to work online has become a staple in most courses.
After asking around and listening to students, the overall experience seems to be mostly good. Sixty-four percent of students surveyed have enjoyed Brightspace, having no issues with the platform, whereas 29% have reported some difficulties and mixed feelings on the matter. A few students reported experiencing glitches with their courses, resulting in not being able to view the proper information. However, they all agreed that new bugs come with a new system. The remaining 7% had no opinions or disliked Brightspace altogether.
When asked how students felt about navigation in Brightspace, the majority felt that it was very intuitive, with information easily found and accessible. And if they couldn’t find something, the ability to find answers was within reach. Some students said that Brightspace can be a little clunky in terms of reaching third-party sites such as MyLab, McGraw, or Pearson’s Learning. However, they had no other complaints.
For the professors, feedback has been mixed. Some professors have found Brightspace to be extremely helpful in their classes, while others are having more difficulty just understanding where or how to do certain things. Despite this, they are attempting to learn the program, and most if not all have high hopes for the software.
For those still learning their way around Brightspace, there are two functions that are highly recommended by students. The first is a tab on the website called Class Progress that allows students to view a breakdown of all assignments and grades in that course. It makes for a good way for students to check their status and keep track of where they are in their studies.
The second and most important feature of Brightspace is that it has a connected app called Pulse. This app is compatible with all devices and simply requires students to log in with their student email. After that, students will receive mobile notifications and be able to view their courses and assignments straight from their phones and tablets.
So, while the switch from Blackboard to Brightspace has been a learning process for students and staff, it’s important to make sure that you become familiar with the interface, as Brightspace is here to stay. It’s recommended that when you have questions, or find an answer to one, share it with your peers so that the transition goes even smoother for those involved.
