Brightspace access open systemwide; time to prepare for summer, fall courses

Faculty and staff throughout the Purdue system are preparing for the launch of the D2L Brightspace learning management system, with access to the system expected to go live at the Fort Wayne and Northwest campuses later this month.

All faculty and staff who use the current system, Blackboard Learn, should begin preparing to transition their materials to Brightspace, but procedures and timelines for each campus vary. To view implementation plans for the Fort Wayne and Northwest campuses, please visit www.purdue.edu/learning-management.

The information below is intended for faculty and staff associated with the West Lafayette campus.

West Lafayette implementation

Brightspace access is now live. West Lafayette faculty and staff can begin building new content or migrating courses out of Blackboard Learn to prepare for full Brightspace implementation at the start of the 2020 fall semester. 

Only courses participating in the “soft launch” of Brightspace are using the system to teach during the spring semester. But all instructors should prepare for the move to the Brightspace, which will be the default system during summer and the only option available at the start of the fall semester.

Faculty and staff are encouraged to start the migration process now, as the differences between Blackboard Learn and Brightspace are significant.

Things to do now:

Summer courses

Brightspace will be the default learning management system for all West Lafayette summer 2020 courses. Summer course instructors should prepare to use the new learning management system. Instructors can opt out if they need to continue using Blackboard Learn during the summer. The opt-out process isn’t finalized, but more information is coming later this month.

Course shells for all summer courses will be loaded into Brightspace at the end of February, but you can get started earlier by requesting to move a copy of your existing course or requesting a new development shell today.

Integration of third party tools and other features

Although Brightspace access is now live and instructors have already begun moving and creating content, the system isn’t fully operational. Work to ensure that third party tools – like HotSeat and WebAssign – will function inside of Brightspace is ongoing. Because of the volume of work required, integrations are being prioritized by the number of students impacted.

A webpage has been created to help keep track of when third party integrations become available, with the goal of having the tools integrated by the start of the summer term.

Workshops/Training

Brightspace open labs:

Brightspace Open Labs: Noon to 1 p.m. every Monday in Beering Hall, Room B286, throughout the spring semester (except during spring break) to help faculty and staff become acquainted with Brightspace. Open labs are designed to be drop-in events, but registration is available.

Upcoming training events:

Live workshops are filling quickly. Those interested in attending a workshop are encouraged to register as soon as possible. Dates include:

A full listing of workshops and webinars on the West Lafayette campus is available.

Request a custom workshop

Purdue educational technologists are available to host custom Brightspace workshops for campus units. Requests should be made as early as possible to ensure that schedules can be coordinated. To request a workshop, send an email to [email protected].

 

Writer: Dave Stephens, technology writer, Information Technology at Purdue, 765-496-7998, [email protected].

Last updated: February 3, 2020