Category: News (Page 3 of 3)

Dear Faculty,

We’ve received some breaking news! The CUNY LMS Transition Team will offer a webinar this Wednesday, Oct. 18 at 1:00 pm entitled “Why Brightspace? A First Look.”

Register Here

All faculty and staff are welcome to attend. This session will be recorded and a link will be posted to our CUNY SPS Transition Site as soon as it’s available. The CUNY Team included this description:

Why Brightspace? A First Look
Please join us for an introduction to CUNY’s next Learning Management System (LMS), Brightspace that will provide an in-depth exploration of the Brightspace learning environment, functionalities, and features. Discover how Brightspace empowers educators to facilitate engaging teaching and learning experiences while ensuring accessibility for every student.

In this webinar, we’ll explore:

1. Engaged Teaching and Learning: Brightspace offers a platform that prioritizes active and engaged learning in the digital realm. Learn how it facilitates dynamic course design, interactive assessments, and collaborative tools that keep students and instructors connected and engaged.
2. Accessibility for All: Ensuring inclusivity is at the core of Brightspace. Learn about its robust accessibility features that make it possible for every student, regardless of abilities or learning style preferences, to access course materials
3. Strengths in Multimedia Content: In today’s digital landscape, multimedia content is key to effective teaching. Learn how Brightspace seamlessly integrates multimedia resources, making it easy to create, share, and engage with videos, interactive content, and multimedia assessments.

Don’t miss out on this opportunity to explore D2L’s Brightspace and learn how it can elevate your teaching and inspire your students in the digital age. Join us for this webinar and embark on a journey towards innovative, engaging, and accessible education.

Are you interested in getting involved in the LMS transition? Our four SPS implementation committees – Communications, Technical, Training & Support, and Pedagogy & Practice– are still accepting volunteers! It’s not too late to get involved and join a committee.

Please visit the Brightspace Transition site or reach out to us at brightspace@sps.cuny.edu for more information.

All the Best,
Your OFDIT Team

Progress is underway in our transition to Brightspace: core staff training began and the implementation committees have started to organize their work. In September, OFDIT staff attended train-the-trainer and LMS admin workshops. More advanced training continues, along with development of resources for faculty and student training. We are looking forward to getting access to our own SPS “node” within the CUNY system, so that we can explore course and user management.

We’re also pleased to share that the four implementation committees – Communications, Technical, Training & Support, and Pedagogy & Practice– have kicked off and started to organize their work. It’s not too late to get involved and join a committee.

Please visit the Brightspace Transition site or reach out to us at brightspace@sps.cuny.edu for more information.

Date: Thursday, September 14, 2023 at 12:09 PM
To: SPS@LISTSERV.CUNY.EDU <SPS@LISTSERV.CUNY.EDU>
Subject: Blackboard to Brightspace Transition

Dear CUNY SPS Community, 

We are excited to announce a new chapter in online learning here at CUNY SPS. You might have heard that we are making a major transition from Blackboard to a brand new learning management system (LMS). CUNY’s choice for the next-gen learning experience is D2L Brightspace.

A CUNY-wide committee of students, faculty and staff chose D2L’s Brightspace for many reasons. Brightspace is all about making the learning journey smooth and straightforward. It packs some powerful tools, lets you customize content, and offers robust support to guide users along the way. Plus, it works with the third-party tools we use here at SPS, allowing for seamless integration.

The LMS transition is a CUNY-wide effort, led by the CUNY Office of Academic Affairs in collaboration with CUNY CIS. You can keep updated with the overall transition project by visiting the CUNY LMS Transition website. 

Here at CUNY SPS, the Office of Faculty Development and Instructional Technology (OFDIT) has been planning the key steps to make this a smooth transition for our School. This Fall semester is earmarked for planning, communication, and training of core staff. In the Spring 2024 semester, we will be rolling out training for all faculty and students, and will start moving our course sites over to the new platform. By Summer 2024, the transition of CUNY SPS courses to Brightspace will be complete and SPS courses will be offered in Brightspace for the first time. From now until the summer launch, we will update you regularly on the transition, implementation, and training.

We are eager for you to be a part of this journey, as your perspectives and insights are crucial for a successful transition. We have set up four implementation committees to help guide and inform decisions, and want to extend an invitation to all SPS community members—faculty, staff, and students—to join one or more of these committees to help make this transition as seamless as possible. Please visit the CUNY SPS Brightspace Transition site to learn about each committee and sign up. Everyone at CUNY SPS is welcome!

We look forward to working with you in this important and exciting project. Please join an implementation committee, follow the CUNY SPS Brightspace Transition site for updates, or contact us at brightspace@sps.cuny.edu for questions and feedback.

Best regards,

Ruru Rusmin

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Ruru Rusmin
Assistant Dean of Faculty Development and Instructional Technology
CUNY School of Professional Studies