Hidden Gems in Brightspace
By Kerri Lambert, Instructional Technology Teacher Specialist
Brightspace can be overwhelming. There are so many ways to do things that it’s easy to get stuck in a rut and stick with what you know. But there are several hidden gems that are easy to use that will help you and your students get more out of our virtual classroom space. Here, in no particular order, are some of OIT’s favorites:
Brightspace has a glossary feature that has a lot of classroom potential regardless of the grade or content that you teach. Teach younger students? Use it to create a glossary of frequently used and misspelled words. Teach older students? Create a running vocabulary list. The glossary allows you to insert images, videos, and text directly into the definition. Even better though, it allows you to link to a content topic within Brightspace, so you can connect the vocabulary word in the Glossary to where you taught the concept in the course. Found under Course Admin, the Glossary tool can be added to the NavBar for easy access by students and teachers. For directions and a video tutorial on using the Glossary tool, click here.
Curious if students are accessing your content? Wondering how long they are spending on a task? You can quickly access these statistics by selecting the gear beside the “+New Unit” button in Content. The initial page gives you an overview of the average time users have spent in content, and even breaks it down by specific modules and topics. Want more details? Select the number of users who have visited that particular content and Brightspace will tell you who those users are, the last time they visited, the number of visits, and their average time spent. This is a great tool to help you understand what is and isn’t working in your course, or what topics your students need more help with.
Found in that same gear mentioned above, you can quickly preview how content looks to your students. When you select the “Preview as a Student” option, Brightspace will open another tab so you can see what is/isn’t available to students. When you’re finished, simply close the tab and you can pick up right where you left off. Keep in mind, this preview option only allows you to see Content as a student. If you navigate to another part of the course, you will be viewing it as an instructor.
So there you have it. A few hidden gems within Brightspace that will hopefully help you take your use of Brightspace to the next level!
Brightspace can be overwhelming. There are so many ways to do things that it’s easy to get stuck in a rut and stick with what you know. But there are several hidden gems that are easy to use that will help you and your students get more out of our virtual classroom space. Here, in no particular order, are some of OIT’s favorites:
The Glossary- Create a virtual word wall that students have access to 24/7.
Brightspace has a glossary feature that has a lot of classroom potential regardless of the grade or content that you teach. Teach younger students? Use it to create a glossary of frequently used and misspelled words. Teach older students? Create a running vocabulary list. The glossary allows you to insert images, videos, and text directly into the definition. Even better though, it allows you to link to a content topic within Brightspace, so you can connect the vocabulary word in the Glossary to where you taught the concept in the course. Found under Course Admin, the Glossary tool can be added to the NavBar for easy access by students and teachers. For directions and a video tutorial on using the Glossary tool, click here.
Content Reports- Track the data
Curious if students are accessing your content? Wondering how long they are spending on a task? You can quickly access these statistics by selecting the gear beside the “+New Unit” button in Content. The initial page gives you an overview of the average time users have spent in content, and even breaks it down by specific modules and topics. Want more details? Select the number of users who have visited that particular content and Brightspace will tell you who those users are, the last time they visited, the number of visits, and their average time spent. This is a great tool to help you understand what is and isn’t working in your course, or what topics your students need more help with. 
Preview as Student- See what Students See
Found in that same gear mentioned above, you can quickly preview how content looks to your students. When you select the “Preview as a Student” option, Brightspace will open another tab so you can see what is/isn’t available to students. When you’re finished, simply close the tab and you can pick up right where you left off. Keep in mind, this preview option only allows you to see Content as a student. If you navigate to another part of the course, you will be viewing it as an instructor. 
Video Notes- Record a message for students without leaving Brightspace
Sometimes, it’s just easier to tell your students something rather than typing it out. That’s where video notes come in handy. Found under insert stuff in any HTML page, video notes allow you to record up to 30 minutes of video that will be posted directly into an announcement, activity feed (parents will see it), content pages, etc; even assignment and assessment directions can be done with a video note!Insert Stuff- Easy way to insert well, stuff!
Video note is not the only thing you can find under that Insert Stuff button. Use the options found here to easily insert links to Wixie projects, Google files, and YouTube videos. Students also have access to the insert stuff button when responding to discussion boards or assignments. So, yes- students can use Video Notes too!So there you have it. A few hidden gems within Brightspace that will hopefully help you take your use of Brightspace to the next level!
