Workshops for Brightspace Users
The Office of Online Learning and Academic Technologies is offering the following
workshops throughout the year. Except where noted, all workshops are led by Todd Taylor, Online Learning Manager.
You may sign up for either the live session or the asynchronous online resources.
Register for all sessions here.
January / February Workshops
In January and February, we will be looking to develop fundamental skills in Brightspace:
Adding and Structuring content
Tuesday, January 27 from 11am - 12pm
Thursday, January 29 from 3pm - 4pm
The Adding and structuring content workshop will provide exercises on adding modules, embedding existing videos and
audio files, adding existing graded activities to modules, and adding new pages. You
will also be provided with exercises on moving content within a move as well as how
to change a module title. This workshop will outline how to ensure content is released
to students.
Adding a Syllabus
Tuesday, February 10 from 11am - 12pm
Wednesday, February 11 from 3pm - 4pm
The Adding a Syllabus workshop provides resources and step-by-step instructions to help you setup and configure
your syllabus using the Syllabus tool in Brightspace.
Adding Assignments
Tuesday, February 17 from 11am - 12pm
Wednesday, February 18 from 3pm - 4pm
The Adding Assignments workshop will focus on building out basic assignments in Brightspace. You will be
provided with an example of an assignment. The exercises will outline how to create
a basic assignment with an appropriate title, score, description, submission method,
and visibility.
Setting up the Gradebook
Tuesday, February 24 from 11am - 12pm
Wednesday, February 25 from 3pm - 4pm
The Setting up the Gradebook workshop aims to provide you with a show-and-tell of the gradebook from the perspective
of the student. In doing so, the workshop will aim to explain how the gradebook communicates
to the student their performance. The workshop will then provide exercises on how
to set up the gradebook. First, the workshop will outline the recommended settings
for the gradebook. Then, the workshop will guide participants through the process
of creating high level categories. Finally, the workshop will show how to associate
assignments, discussions, and quizzes with those categories.
March Workshops
During March, we will be looking at accessibility. The workshops will be focused on
fixing specific Brightspace-related issues from the Accessibility Report:
Signaling with Color and Formatting
Tuesday, March 3 from 11am - 12pm
Wednesday, March 4 from 3pm - 4pm
Color is a critical tool for signaling important information to students. A color-related
accessibility issue is also the third most prevalent accessibility issue that is controllable
within Brightspace. The workshop will focus on the accessibility issue:
- “The HTML content contains text with insufficient contrast”
You will fix this issue using the Accessibility Report as well as using the Brightspace color picker. You will also explore a variety of ways to signal information in addition to color.
Describing Images for all Learners
Tuesday, March 10 from 11am - 12pm
Wednesday, March 11 from 3pm - 4pm
A picture is worth a thousand words. Images are a critical tool for communicating
information. This workshop will review how to provide an equivalent experience for
people who cannot perceive images. You will fix two issues:
- “The image does not have a description”
- “The HTML content contains images without a description”
These are the second and fourth most prevalent accessibility issues that are controllable
within Brightspace. You will apply a flow chart to determine if a description is required,
use tools within the Accessibility Report and Brightspace to update alternative descriptions,
convert standalone images to webpages, and add file links for proprietary file types
(PSD, AI, etc) to webpages.
Structuring a Page with Headings
Tuesday, March 17 from 11am - 12pm
Wednesday, March 18 from 3pm - 4pm
Headings do more than simply signal important content. They also influence reading
patterns. This workshop will introduce the “F-shaped” and “Layer-cake” reading patterns,
as well as discuss how headings contribute to the “layer-cake” for both sighted and
unsighted learners.
You will then fix the following issues that are controllable within Brightspace:
- “The HTML’s heading structure does not start at the right level” (5)
- “The HTML content does not have any headings” (8)
- “The HTML content has empty headings” (9)
- “The HTML content has tables that don’t have any headers” (10)
- “The HTML content does not have an appropriate heading structure” (11)
Captioning Audio-Visual and Handwritten Communication (new)
Tuesday, March 24 from 11am - 12pm
Wednesday, March 25 from 3pm - 4pm
Video is often a key instructional tool in Brightspace. Not only does it deliver content,
but it also builds instructor presence, especially in online courses. Some instructors
also scan student work that they hand grade and distribute that feedback through Brightspace.
Handwritten feedback is often associated with contrast and legibility issues. One
solution is creating a screen recording that summarizes the feedback. For both videos
and screen recordings, captions are critical. You will generate and update automated
captions in ScreenPal.
In sum, this workshop will address two issues:
- “The HTML has videos without captions or with automated captions” (1)
- “The image has contrast issues” (6)
April Workshops
During April, we will look at technology tools and practices to support independent
student work in the face of unwanted AI use:
Independent Student Work - Student Motivations and Unwanted AI Use
Tuesday, April 7 from 11am - 12pm
Wednesday, April 8 from 3pm - 4pm
Do you find that students are turning to Generative AI for answers when working on
your most tried-and-true assignments? This workshop will review where independent
student work fits into your instructional mix and activities. Participants will be
invited to think about those assignments they have relied upon in the past, but now
are heavily impacted by AI usage. Personas will be leveraged to identify reasons for
generative AI usage and help brainstorm possible safeguards.
Independent Student Work - Milestones with AI in Mind
Tuesday, April 14 from 11am - 12pm
Wednesday, April 15 from 3pm - 4pm
Setting milestones in assignments and projects can help instructors get to know their
students' voices and assess their genuine understanding of the material as they work
through it. This workshop will employ process mapping to break a complex assessment
task down into discrete milestones. The proposed task will be an essay or similar
writing deliverable. Milestones will be evaluated using the learning outcomes to distinguish
between critical competency-based tasks and tasks that can potentially be outsourced.
Document histories in Google Docs will be demonstrated and multimodal deliverables–such
as think aloud recordings–will be discussed.
Independent Student Work - Assessment Strategies with AI in Mind
Tuesday, April 21 from 11am - 12pm
Wednesday, April 22 from 3pm - 4pm
This workshop will explore the alignment between learning outcomes and assessment
strategies. Participants will use a course outcomes matrix to evaluate alignment and
the progressive development of skills. For assessment outputs that AI may challenge,
we will draw on learning outcomes to ideate alternative strategies. Finally, the workshop
will consider reflection prompts that may help learners consider the relevance of
their learning. The overall thesis of this workshop is that unwanted AI usage may
be a symptom of tasks that are not aligned with the goals of learners or the course.
Independent Student Work - Expectations with AI in Mind
Tuesday, April 28 from 11am - 12pm
Wednesday, April 29 from 3pm - 4pm
This workshop will explore a framework for writing assignment prompts that are both
human and AI friendly. A goal will be to generate valid and reliable outputs when
these prompts are used with AI. These outputs will represent your baseline. They ensure
instructions and expectations are clear. In contrast, human outputs will allow your
students to contribute their own voice and experiences.
May Workshops
During May, we will be troubleshooting the Grades tool and setting you up for your
next semester with a look at icebreakers for online learning:
Breaking the A-Ice (New)
Tuesday, May 5 from 11am - 12pm
Wednesday, May 6 from 3pm - 4pm
Online courses often have an icebreaker at the start of the semester. Then, it is
all business. This session says whether it is possible to build trust and rapport
through a single interaction. It will explore strategies to weave ice breakers throughout
an online course. Together, participants will ideate ice-breakers for the start of
the semester, preceding small group work, prepping for a midterm or final, and reflecting
on a milestone. The workshop will aim to identify key events during a semester and
how we might build trust and rapport during those events.
Setting up the Gradebook
Tuesday, May 12 from 11am - 12pm
Wednesday, May 13 from 3pm - 4pm
The Setting up the Gradebook workshop aims to provide you with a show-and-tell of the gradebook from the perspective
of the student. In doing so, the workshop will aim to explain how the gradebook communicates
to the student their performance. The workshop will then provide exercises on how
to set up the gradebook. First, the workshop will outline the recommended settings
for the gradebook. Then, the workshop will guide participants through the process
of creating high level categories. Finally, the workshop will show how to associate
assignments, discussions, and quizzes with those categories.
Get Help
If you need assistance with Brightspace, call the SUNY Online Support Services Help Desk (open 7 days per week) at 1-844-673-6786 during the following hours:
Monday - Friday 7:00am-12:00am Midnight EST
Saturday 10:00am-6:00pm EST
Sunday 10:00am-9:00pm EST
If you are having trouble with your FIT Username and Password, call IT for FIT at (212) 217-4357.