Personalization – Welcome to Brightspace Resources

1. Go to Course Home on the Navbar (or go to Course Admin > Announcements)
2. From Course Home, scroll down to the Announcements widget, click on the dropdown menu, and select New Announcement.
3. On the Announcement page, add a Heading (your subject) and Message (the body) of your Announcement.
4. Set a Start Date (when you want the announcement to be visible to students) and an End Date if you want (when you want the announcement to disappear, if at all)
5. Click Publish

How I do notify/email select students automatically for Not Doing/Viewing Something?

Let’s pretend finals are creeping up on you and your students. You have provided a study guide to assist in preparing for the final. Half the students have looked at it, but half haven’t. You would like to send an announcement, but only want the announcement to appear for those students who have not looked at the study guide.

Send an announcement with a release condition and {FirstName} replace string for personalization.

How do I create a release condition?

Release conditions allow you to create custom learning paths for students by setting conditions a student has to fulfill before being allowed to access specific course material or activities. When you attach a release condition to an item, you create rules which restrict users from seeing specific items or content until they meet certain criteria.

For example:

– Students can only take the quiz for week 3 if they have received a passing grade for the quiz in week 2.
– Students will not be able to see the final exam until they have submitted all the previous assignments or activities
– Students are required to view the week’s materials before they can post to the week’s discussion topic.
– Students who received a passing grade item on an activity will be able to submit to an extra credit assignment

Release conditions are available in nearly every tool or item type in Brightspace including Content, Assignments, Quizzes, Discussions, Announcements, Awards, Intelligent Agents and more.

Note You must attach the release condition to the item, topic, or activity you want to make available based on the specific criteria. For example, if you want students to be able to see assignment B only after scoring a passing grade on assignment A, then you will attach the release condition to assignment B. That assignment will be hidden from students until they meet the condition of earning a passing grade on assignment A.

To Setup Release Conditions

In Content, click the drop down arrow next to the topic name or the module name you wish to attach a release condition, and select Edit Properties in Place, then click into the Add Dates and Restrictions section to “create and attach” release conditions.

In the Assignments, Discussions or Quizzes tool, click on the drop down arrow next to the item name and select Edit, then click on the Restrictions tab to create an attach release conditions.

1. Click Create and Attach

2. Select the Condition Type (for example, “Score on a Quiz”)

3. Select the Condition Details (for example, Quiz name, criteria, and grade)

4. Click Create

Note Visit Brightspace Community for more criteria information.

5. You can add additional criteria if desired. Select whether you want all conditions or any conditions to be met, and then click Update.

Warning If you use release conditions in your course, make sure to let your students know right at the start, or in the areas where you include them. That way they will know that not all content is available to them yet and that they themselves are responsible for "unlocking" all the content in the course. If you do not communicate this, they may not know they are missing content or activities for completion.

For additional details and a complete list of Release Condition Types, visit the Brightspace documentation.

April 3, 2019/by Elissa Tobin

Brightspace communication, engagement, Personalization

How do I use Replace Strings?

Replace Strings allow instructors to personalize course content and communication in Brightspace by incorporating the student’s name, for example, into announcements, content, or intelligent agent templates. Essentially, anywhere you find the HTML Editor*. The use of replace strings can help the instructor build better relationships with students, increase engagement levels, and improve the overall learning experience.

Replace strings are particularly useful within the following:

– Announcements
– Content descriptions (modules, topics, etc.)
– Intelligent Agent templates
– Grades when adding bulk feedback

In your HTML Editor, use the curly bracket {} to enclose the string of text.

Here is an example of an announcement using the {FirstName} replace string and the {OrgUnitName} replace string.

Note *Replace Strings DO NOT work with "Send Email" in Brightspace.

Most Common Replace Strings for Announcements, Content and Topics

Replace String	Description	Example
{FirstName}	first name	John
{LastName}	last name	Smith
{UserName}	CCC username	jsmith999
{ExternalEmail}	CCC email address	jsmith999@student.ccc.edu
{OrgUnitName}	Course name	Fall 2019 English 101 A

Most Common Replace Strings for Intelligent Agents

Replace String	Description	For use in
{InitiatingUser}	the user that meets the agent’s criteria	Email address field
{InitiatingUserFirstName}	first name of user that meets the agent’s criteria	Email body
{InitiatingUserLastName}	last name of user that meets the agent’s criteria	Email body
{LastCourseAccessDate}	the date the initiating user last accessed the course	Email subject or Email body

For more information about Replacement String options and examples, please visit this page on Brightspace Help.

How do I edit my course title?

Go to Course Admin-> Course Offering Information

March 7, 2019/by Elissa Tobin

Brightspace, Course Management Customization, engagement, Personalization

How do I edit my homepage for my course that I am teaching?

Note You cannot change the background color on your homepage. The color scheme is standardized for the background for two primary reasons – accessibility, and to ensure the course works well on any device

The course homepage for your course is the landing page when students access the course. You can add various widgets, such as Pearson, calendar, tasks, etc. to the homepage.

Go to your course -> Course Admin -> Homepages
Use the drop-down menu menu next to an existing homepage, Copy.
Edit the Copy.
- Under Widgets, click Add Widgets to add the appropriate widgets to your homepage. Note, more than one widget can be added to one panel of the home page
Save & Close.
Set your edited homepage as the active page.

Or

Contact your TIS or CoHelpDesk@ccc.edu.

Checklist

Create a checklist

Tips

Engagement

Keep students informed

To be connected, encourage use of Pulse App

Use Video Note to connect with your students

Use an Activity Feed or Announcements

Use Intelligent Agents to automatically email your students

Email everywhere

Provide Feedback

Chat

Gamify learning

Award student achievement use Badges or Certificates

Guide learning

Modify your course Homepage Widgets

Use Checklists

Personalize learning

Use Replace Strings

Use Release conditions to regulate information flow

Enhance with apps, web content, and External Tools

Secure Open Educational Resources(OER)

More Information

Recently Updated Articles

To Setup Release Conditions

Most Common Replace Strings for Announcements, Content and Topics

Most Common Replace Strings for Intelligent Agents

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The course homepage for your course is the landing page when students access the course. You can add various widgets, such as Pearson, calendar, tasks, etc. to the homepage.

Or

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