Brightspace is default system for West Lafayette summer courses; Blackboard users must opt-out

Instructors on the West Lafayette campus who are teaching courses during the summer should prepare now to use the D2L Brightspace learning management system, which is replacing Blackboard Learn.

Brightspace will be the default learning management system for summer courses – meaning live courses will only be loaded into the Brightspace LMS. Instructors who have a pedagogical reason to continue using Blackboard can opt out of Brightspace for summer courses by completing the form found here. The deadline to submit an opt-out request is April 27 for Maymester and the first module, and June 1 for all other summer modules.

Brightspace will be the only system available to West Lafayette instructors during the Fall 2020 semester. The last day for instructors to access Blackboard Learn is Aug. 17.

All summer courses are scheduled to be loaded into Brightspace by Feb. 28, but instructors may not see courses on their Brightspace page until they are assigned by their department’s scheduling deputy. Visit purdue.brightspace.com to log in to the new system.

Some third-party apps currently integrated in Blackboard Learn may not be available in Brightspace by this summer. To see a complete list of tools, and their current status in Brightspace, click here.

Also, because of licensing or technical issues, some tools currently available in Blackboard Learn may only be available in Brightspace this summer. Details are pending, but announcements will be made as more information is available.

In general, the best practice is to prepare to teach summer courses in Brightspace, as most support and effort are going to prepare the system for full implementation by the start of the fall semester. 

Instructors can prepare their courses in Brightspace by building new course content in a development course shell (best for building from scratch or to create course used by multiple instructors), or by requesting the migration of their course content from Blackboard (which will move your Blackboard course materials into a Brightspace developmental shell). Instructors are encouraged to build their courses in a development shell, and then copy this content into the live course shell as each new term/semester begins.

Have questions about Brightspace? Talk with the faculty who are using it

Faculty using Brightspace to teach this spring as part of the “soft launch” will be the feature speakers at the next Tech Today event from 11:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m., Friday, March 6, in Room 3121 of the Wilmeth Active Learning Center.

Purdue faculty, graduate students, and administration personnel are invited to attend the event, which will include the opportunity to ask questions about Brightspace and learn from educational technologists who are helping to implement the new learning management system.

Seating is limited, and attendees are encouraged to register.

Get support: Open labs, workshops, videos

Get your questions about Brightspace answered at weekly open lab work sessions, where educational technologists are on hand to answer questions and provide one-on-one support.  Open labs are held from noon to 1 p.m. every Monday in Beering Hall, Room B286. Open labs are designed to be drop-in events, but registration is available.

Spend Spring Break with Brightspace

On campus during Spring Break? Use that time to get ahead with Brightspace by attending open labs and workshops designed to help instructors build and navigate their courses. Events are: 

Additional workshops scheduled for March and April can be found by clicking here.

Campus contacts

To stay up-to-date with implementation plans and to find resources for learning how to use Brightspace, visit www.purdue.edu/learning-management.

Have questions about the Brightspace? Contact implementation team members at:

West Lafayette: innovativelearningteam@purdue.edu

Fort Wayne: adam.dircksen@pfw.edu

Northwest: oit@pnw.edu

Global: chiefacademicofficer@purdueglobal.edu

Writer: Dave Stephens, technology writer, Information Technology at Purdue, 765-496-7998, steph103@purdue.edu.

Last updated: February 25, 2020