Difference between revisions of "Open a Brightspace course"

Revision as of 03:50, 15 March 2020

About this article

This article includes instructions for activating Brightspace courses. It is intended for instructors.

Overview

Because so many instructors use Brightspace, WSU creates an empty Brightspace course shell for every section of every course offered each semester and classlists are loaded automatically. These course shells are set as inactive by default and instructors can choose to activate them if needed. An inactive Brightspace course is visible to instructors in their Brightspace course list, but is not visible to registered students (Fig 1). Once activated, the course is visible to students in their Brightspace course list and they can access the course as long as the course start date has elapsed.

When should Brightspace courses be activated?

Instructors activate their courses manually at their discretion. Generally, instructors wait to activate courses until after they have prepared them for student use by adding content and activities. Note that courses can be activated ahead of their start dates. This allows registered students to see the course on their course list, while still preventing them from accessing the course until the start date has elapsed. This practice may reduce the number of student questions regarding the status of the Brightspace course.

Instructions

There are two options for activating Brightspace courses. First, log into Brightspace with your StarID username and password. Then,...

Option 1: From My Courses

Locate your course in the My Courses list on the Brightspace homepage. If you don't see it listed, select the View All Courses link at the bottom of the list. Hover your mouse over the course image and select the ellipsis icon. Select Pin. Close the All Courses window to return to the Brightspace homepage.
Hover your mouse over the course image on the My Courses list and select the ellipsis icon. Select Course Offering Information (Fig 2).
Scroll down until you see the Course is active checkbox. Check it (Fig 3).
Select the Save button

Option 2: From Course Admin

Open your course by selecting the corresponding course image on your My Courses list.
Select the Course Admin link from the navigation bar at the top of the page
Select the Course Offering Information link under the Site Setup heading
Scroll down until you see the Course is active checkbox. Check it (Fig 3).
Select the Save button

Screenshot gallery

Fig 1. An inactive course with a 1/14 start date
Fig 2. Mouse over the image and select ellipsis
Fig 3. Check Active checkbox, select Save

More information

@@ Line 4: / Line 4: @@
 ==Overview==
-Because so many instructors use {{D2L}}, WSU creates an empty {{D2L}} course shell for every section of every course offered each semester and classlists are loaded automatically. These course shells are set as '''inactive''' by default and instructors can choose to activate them if needed. An inactive {{D2L}} course is visible to instructors in their {{D2L}} course list, but not to registered students. Once activated, the course is visible to students in their {{D2L}} course list and they can access the course as long as the course '''start date''' has elapsed.
+Because so many instructors use {{D2L}}, WSU creates an empty {{D2L}} course shell for every section of every course offered each semester and classlists are loaded automatically. These course shells are set as '''inactive''' by default and instructors can choose to activate them if needed. An inactive {{D2L}} course is visible to instructors in their {{D2L}} course list, but is not visible to registered students (Fig 1). Once activated, the course is visible to students in their {{D2L}} course list and they can access the course as long as the course '''start date''' has elapsed.
-==When Should Instructors Activate Their {{D2L}} Courses?==
+==When should {{D2L}} courses be activated?==
+Instructors activate their courses manually at their discretion. Generally, instructors wait to activate courses until after they have prepared them for student use by adding content and activities. Note that courses can be activated ahead of their start dates. This allows registered students to see the course on their course list, while still preventing them from accessing the course until the start date has elapsed. This practice may reduce the number of student questions regarding the status of the {{D2L}} course.
-Begin by finding the course to activate in the '''My Courses''' widget. (for information on how to pin your courses in the My Courses widget, refer to the [[My Courses widget]] article.) A course image that is grayed out and stamped as ''(Inactive)'' indicates that the course is inactive and cannot be seen by students. '''When students login to D2L, they will only see the courses that instructors have activated.'''
+==Instructions==
+There are two options for activating {{D2L}} courses. First, log into {{D2L}} with your StarID username and password. Then,...
+===Option 1: From My Courses===
+#Locate your course in the My Courses list on the {{D2L}} homepage. If you don't see it listed, select the '''View All Courses''' link at the bottom of the list. Hover your mouse over the course image and select the ellipsis icon. Select '''Pin'''. Close the All Courses window to return to the {{D2L}} homepage.
+#Hover your mouse over the course image on the My Courses list and select the ellipsis icon. Select '''Course Offering Information''' (Fig 2).
+#Scroll down until you see the '''Course is active''' checkbox. Check it (Fig 3).
+#Select the '''Save''' button
-Students: If you do not see a particular course listed in D2L, it could be because your instructor has decided not to use D2L for that course. It could also be that your instructor has not yet activated the D2L course. Your instructors will inform you whether they will be using D2L.
+===Option 2: From Course Admin===
+#Open your course by selecting the corresponding course image on your My Courses list.
+#Select the '''Course Admin''' link from the navigation bar at the top of the page
+#Select the '''Course Offering Information''' link under the Site Setup heading
+#Scroll down until you see the '''Course is active''' checkbox. Check it (Fig 3).
+#Select the '''Save''' button
-==Steps for Activating a D2L Class==
+==Screenshot gallery==
+<gallery widths=300px heights=400px>
+File:Course offering info inactive.jpg|Fig 1. An inactive course with a 1/14 start date
+File:Course offering info select.jpg|Fig 2. Mouse over the image and select ellipsis
+File:Course offering info activate.jpg|Fig 3. Check Active checkbox, select Save
+</gallery>
-[[File:course_activation.png|right]]
+==More information==
+*[[Setting Brightspace course start and end dates]]
-To activate a course, instructors should:
+*[[Preparing for the first week of class]]
+*[[My_Courses_widget|The Brightspace homepage]]
-# Log in to Desire2Learn
+[[category:Course Administration]][[category: D2L]][[Category:Faculty]][[Category:Access]][[Category:Keep Teaching]]
-# Locate your course  in the My Courses search and pin it to your home page (for more information, see [[My Courses widget]].)
-# Return to the home page by clicking the house icon in the top left of the window
-# Roll over the grayed image for the class and a small box with three dots will appear in the top left, select the '''Course Offering Information''' link
-# Select the "Course is active" check-box, placing a check in the box
-# Examine the start and end dates. Adjust if necessary.
-# Select the '''Save''' button
-'''Note:''' Even if a course is set to active, the '''Start Date''' can still prevent students from seeing the course if the start date is in the future.
-<noinclude>
-[[category:Course Administration]][[category: D2L]][[Category:Faculty]][[Category:Access]]
-</noinclude>