General

Brightspace development courses (i.e., sandboxes) will be automatically created for all instructors at Carleton. Access to Brightspace and user sandboxes begins on February 16, 2021. Users will be able to request an extra sandbox or Brightspace course for Carleton purposes by completing a Non-Academic Course Request Form.

The Carleton Community will learn Brightspace through a range of training opportunities and options.

Teaching and Learning Services will be hosting a series of workshops and events beginning  February 16, 2021 to introduce  Brightspace to the Carleton community and to train instructors, TAs, and students. Staff are welcome to join these sessions as well. To see upcoming training sessions and register for a session, visit the TLS Events page. TLS will also be creating video resources and a Brightspace Support Site to enable Brightspace use on campus.

Documentation, self-directed training, and live events with Brightspace experts can be accessed via the Brightspace Community site under the Learning Centre tab. Visit the Brightspace YouTube channel for self-directed video tutorials on all aspects of course setup and LMS use.

All academic courses for May 2021  will be created in Brightspace by ITS, based on the information in the Banner information system.

Non-academic courses, such as development sites or resource sites, can be requested by completing the Non-Academic Course Request Form on the Brightspace Support Site.

Most existing educational technology tools licensed at Carleton will be integrated into the new Learning Management System.

The following integrations have already been setup in Brightspace for Carleton:

• ARES library reserves
• H5P
• BigBlueButton
• Poll Everywhere (coming May 2021)
• Office 365/Teams
• Mahara/cuPortfolio
• Kaltura/Mediaspace
• Textbook Integrations (i.e. Wiley, Pearson, Nelson etc.)
• Zoom

Brightspace is a cloud-based, software platform for online teaching and learning. Brightspace is owned by D2L (formerly Desire2Learn) and is one of the four major players in the Learning Management System (LMS) higher ed market. Brightspace is Canadian-owned and was developed in Waterloo, Ontario.

In the LMS market, Brightspace provides teaching and learning software systems for K-12, Higher Ed, and Corporate training customers. Brightspace has a broad community of users internationally; all users are on the same version. Within the National Capital Region, Algonquin College, University of Ottawa, and College La Cite all use Brightspace learning management system.

You can connect with the International and National Brightspace Community to share ideas, information and challenges, or to view training videos, via Brightspace Community.

Carleton’s Learning Management System for May 2021 will be called Brightspace. Carleton has chosen not to re-brand Brightspace with a different name, such as cuLearn, to avoid confusion between the new and old system. Documentation, resources and support (24/7/365) for the new LMS will primarily be provided by Brightspace. This means that when users look for support, they’ll know to look for the Brightspace-specific information to find answers to their questions.

You can connect with International and National Brightspace users to share ideas, information and challenges via Brightspace Community. All users of Brightspace are on the same version; although, it may be configured differently at different institutions.

Campus-wide access to Brightspace will begin February 16, 2021. From January 2021 until February, we’ll be working on finalizing tool integrations; configuring the various settings and permissions; building user accounts and courses; migrating cuLearn content; creating training materials and supports; and troubleshooting technical issues. ITS and Teaching and Learning Services will also be engaged in testing of the new system to ensure that it’s working well prior to launch.

As of May 2021, all courses occurring at Carleton will be hosted on Brightspace. The Carleton community can expect communications about training opportunities and events in the Winter 2021 term. Check the TLS events page to see training opportunities and to register for a session.

Campus-wide, technical support by phone, chat, and email will be provided by D2L Brightspace, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. Visit the  Carleton Brightspace Support Site for more information.

Teaching and Learning Services will be offering extensive workshops on the new LMS and its various tools beginning in February 2021. To view upcoming opportunities, and to register for a session, visit the TLS Events page. In addition, TLS will be available for consultations, drop-ins and support sessions to assist with course migration and setup.

Brightspace Support is available via phone/email/chat, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year for all students,TAs and instructors. The Brightspace Service Desk can be accessed from directly within every Brightspace course by clicking Help in the course navbar and choosing Brightspace Service Desk. Visit the Brightspace Student Support Site for instructions on how to do most basic Brightspace tasks. Check out the Student Navigation Video for a tour and introduction to the interface.

Brightspace Support is available via phone/email/chat, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year starting in January 2021. The Brightspace Service Desk can be accessed from within every Brightspace courses by clicking Help in the navigation menu and selecting Brightspace Service Desk.

A Brightspace TA Support website is in development and will be available beginning in winter 2021.

Training workshops and resources will also be available to support TAs via Carleton Central and the TA Central Hub course in Brightspace. For more information regarding TA training, please contact Sam Shortt, Educational Development Coordinator, Teaching and Learning Services.

Carleton University selected Brightspace by Desire2Learn as our new Learning Management System (LMS) following a comprehensive review of LMS platforms and extensive consultations and evaluations with our teaching and learning community. The comprehensive review included campus-wise listening sessions, a Learning Management System Review Survey, a formal Request for Proposal process, on-campus sandbox sessions with presentations by LMS vendors, and a robust evaluation process at the end.  Brightspace was selected as the winning LMS. Carleton will move to Brightspace in May 2021.

Read about the advantages of Brightspace here.

Yes, 5 years of course content from cuLearn is being migrated to Brightspace. Non-migrated cuLearn content will be available by request, and will need to be backed up and imported into the Brightspace course shell. Note that not all tools and activities in cuLearn can migrate to Brightspace. While much of your cuLearn course content will migrate to Brightspace, migrated content may require adjustments to the format and settings.

While cuLearn course content will be migrated, student data (such as discussion posts, assignment submissions, grades, etc.) will not be migrated. Instructors will be able to access student data from cuLearn for a period of time after the migration.

Teaching and Learning Services will be available for consultation and support throughout the transition to the new Learning Management System.