Semester Start Checklist

To ensure your Brightspace course is fully prepared and ready for students at the start of semester, please complete the semester start checklist below. This checklist covers essential steps to provide a seamless learning experience for your students.

 

View your course on your phone

Many students use their phones to access course content on Brightspace. Try viewing your course content on your own mobile device to see if any content you’ve created is inaccessible.

Things to consider:

      • Does your content reflow?
      • Is the font large enough?
      • Does important information appear at the top on your course homepage?

Preview your course as a student

Previewing your course in advance will give you a sense of what your students see when they are navigating through your course. In addition to previewing your course you can also preview quizzes, assignments and grades.

Watch this playlist demonstrating how to preview Brightspace content as a student.

Add a welcome announcement

A detailed welcome message or video at the beginning of the course introducing the instructor, course objectives, and what students can expect sets a warm, engaging tone and clarifies the course’s purpose.

Here are instructions on how to create a Welcome Announcement.

Review accessibility features

Check that your course meets accessibility standards. Use the Brightspace Accessibility Checker to determine if content pages are accessible.

Click here for more information about the Brightspace Accessibility Checker.

Provide your contact information

Opening avenues for communication, and providing easy access to those channels supports learner-instructor interaction, and facilitates engaging in supportive contact and interaction, a key component of social presence.

Test multimedia elements

Ensure all videos, audio files, and interactive elements work correctly on various devices and browsers.

Check all hyperlinks

If time permits, click all your hyperlinks to ensure they are working properly. Brightspace content that is copied from other courses can sometimes contain broken Quicklinks or broken Topics.

Verify assessment settings

Double-check the settings for quizzes, assignments, and discussions. Ensure due dates, availability dates, and grading settings are correct.

Set your Brightspace course to Active

Your course is not automatically available to your students. It needs to be set to Active AND the semester needs to have officially started.

Follow these instructions to set your course to Active.

Talk to EdTech

If you have questions about setting up your course, organizing content, using tools, or the accessibility of your course, please contact EdTech to arrange a review of your Brightspace course.

Contact edtech@langara.ca for more information.

License

Quick Start Guides for EdTech Tools Copyright © by Briana Fraser; dianethompson; Julian Prior; Katherine Cheung; Susan Bonham; and Luke McKnight. All Rights Reserved.

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