Brightspace has several key features that allow for easy navigation between different pages and course content.
The majority of the article is directed towards students, however, the core navigation tools are also utilized by the instructor version of Brightspace. See the Navigation for Instructors section at the end of this article for more information.
Navbar, Top Navbar, and Homepage Buttons
The top of Brightspace course pages contain many useful tools that can used to quickly access different pages.
- University Logo: Clicking this will redirect you back to the Brightspace homepage.
- Course Name: Clicking this will redirect you to the specific course’s homepage.
- Top Navbar: From left to right, contains the Course Selector, Message Alerts, Subscription Alerts, Update Alerts, and your profile.
- Navbar: This is one of the most important navigation tools. Inside Brightspace courses, the navbar options allow you to access different parts of the course. These options act as drop-down menus for different pages.
- Communication: Includes Announcements, Calendar, Discussions, Email, Groups, and Virtual Classroom.
- Content: Includes Content and Checklist.
- Assessments: Include Assignments, Quizzes, Discussions, Video Assignment, Self-Assessments, Surveys.
- Grades: Includes Grades, Class Progress and Awards.
- University Policies: Includes links to Springfield University Policies and West Plains University Policies.
Course Homepage
Each course homepage has widgets and tools that display important content.
Visual Table of Contents Widget - displays the bulk of your courses content, all of which is controlled by your course’s instructor.
Announcements - displays announcements sent out by your instructor.
Work To Do - displays assignments hat have upcoming due dates.
Activity Feed - displays the latest posts from your instructor, and could house assignments, announcements, lessons and other resources.
Calendar - displays upcoming events, usually due dates. Note: depending on how assignments are structured, they may not be displayed within the course calendar.
Single Profile Widget - displays information your instructor as chosen to share about themselves.
Accessing Course Content
There are multiple ways to access course content. Using the navbar, you can click Content, then click Content from the dropdown menu.
You can also utilize your course’s Visual Table of Contents Widget, by clicking on one of the tiles, which till direct you to its page.
The Content page within a Brightspace course will allow you to access most, if not all, of a course’s material.
Parts of the Content Page
- Search Topics Bar: This tool allows you to search through the course’s content to find specific pages, files, assignments, and other pieces of content.
- Bookmarks: Your bookmarked pages will be viewable here. Any topic page can be bookmarked for easy access later.
- Course Schedule: Displays upcoming scheduled events or due dates for your course.
- Table of contents: Displays the course’s modules, which can be expanded or collapsed to view the course’s material.
- Course Modules: This section contains a list of the modules for the course. Modules are like folders for course content and are created by instructors. Modules can have other modules inside of them, called submodules. If you have any questions about a course's module organization, it is best to contact the instructor.
Accessing Assignments and other Assessments
Assignments, quizzes, discussions, and other types of assigned tasks can usually be found within the content page of a course. However, if you want to view the course’s assignments without other modules, they can also be accessed directly through the Assessments tab on the navbar.
Note: accessing an assignment, quiz, or discussion this way will take you directly to the submission page. You may need to open the assignment’s module for any additional information or material.
Navigation for Instructors
Generally, navigation tools are similar for both students and instructors. The exception being, of course, that instructors also have control over the course.
Notably, the navbar also contains different menus which allow access to different course management pages.
- Course Admin: Provides access to course settings and tools.
- Communication: Includes Announcements, Calendar, Email, Intelligent Agents, Groups, and Virtual Classroom.
- Content: Includes Content, Checklist, Manage Files, and Media Library.
- Assessments: Provides quick access to Assignments, Quizzes, Discussions, Video Assignment, Self-Assessments, Surveys, and Portfolio.
- Grades: Includes Grades, Quick Eval, Class Progress, Rubrics, Awards, and Attendance.
- University Policies: Includes links to Springfield University Policies and West Plains University Policies.
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