Dear Faculty,
Our new LMS, Brightspace, made quite a splash this semester, with predominantly positive reports from students and faculty about ease of use and visual appeal. We were happy to see everyone diving right into designing and delivering content in summer courses, and we look forward to Fall semester going swimmingly, too! This month’s newsletter includes guidance for prepping your Fall course sites, links to additional training resources and to registration for our new Brightspace Basics training course, along with a call to join our Faculty Advisory Board for the coming year and to submit any Faculty Tips you might have to share after your first experiences with Brightspace! Finally, we invite you to our virtual event, Brightspace Day in August on 8/15! We look forward to continuing to pool our knowledge of our new LMS as the year unfolds, so we can support and exceed our goals of excellence in teaching and learning at CUNY SPS!
Steps for Course Prep
You can refer to our Migration Checklist and Migration Guide when preparing your course site for the new semester. While many of the adjustments listed in the Checklist will have been completed by the time your live site is ready to personalize, you’ll need to make sure you:
- Post your welcome announcement
- Fill out your Instructor Profile Widget
- Upload your Fall syllabus/course schedule
- Ensure all due dates reflect upcoming semester’s calendar
On the SPS Faculty Community site, you will find an array of SPS quick guides from our OFDIT team, and you can refer back to Brightspace Essentials units on adding content, rubrics, discussions, quizzes, grading, and video to assist you with finalizing your courses for the Fall semester. Thank you for your work to give students the best experience possible as they start the term!
Brightspace Day August 15th – Please Join Us!
Are you ready for Brightspace? All students, faculty, and staff are invited to join us for Brightspace Day on Thursday, August 15th.
The OFDIT Team will facilitate activities to ready you for a smooth transition to our new learning management system, Brightspace. Drop by and take the opportunity to log in, explore the environment, and ask us anything! For Faculty/Staff, are you working on your course or have questions? Drop in and ask us anything about Brightspace. For students, come by to see half-hour demos of the new Brightspace learning environment and explore the Getting Started in Brightspace course.
Brightspace Basics
We are pleased to announce the launch of Brightspace Basics for CUNY SPS Faculty, a self-paced course hosted in Brightspace that is designed to help you learn how to navigate Brightspace and use its tools to optimize your teaching experience. This is another option for anyone who would like to enhance their comfort using the Brightspace instructor tools. If you choose to complete all the modules and quizzes, it should take about 4-6 hours and you can earn a Certificate of Completion.
To enroll in Brightspace Basics, from the CUNY SPS home page navbar, choose Discover, then select from the list of courses, or search for “Brightspace Basics for SPS Faculty.” Once you find and enter the course, you can submit an enrollment request. Please see these detailed enrollment instructions.
Brightspace Open Office Hours
Throughout August, OFDIT is also offering Open Office Hours in morning, afternoon, and early evening sessions. Drop by office hours as often as you like to get a question answered! Check our Brightspace Office Hours page for the weekly schedule and the link to join.
Brightspace Training for Faculty
CUNY Central’s ongoing series of facilitated training sessions focus on getting started, creating quizzes, engaging students, the Brightspace gradebook, and more! Register for as many sessions as you like – you’ll receive a recording of the session in case your schedule changes or just as a helpful reference later on. Central also maintains a YouTube channel playlist of training sessions, and new videos have recently been added that address frequently asked questions on assignments, quizzes and discussions!
Brightspace Resources for Students
You may want to take note of these resources for students so that you have them at your fingertips to share with your students if they run into difficulty using Brightspace in the first few weeks of the semester.
All SPS returning students are enrolled in Getting Started in Brightspace for SPS Students, a Brightspace course that covers how to navigate, how to stay organized, how to communicate with peers and instructors, how to complete assignments and quizzes and post in discussions, accessibility features, and how to get help. All new students are enrolled in New Student Orientation, an analogous course. You can remind students that these courses are a great way to learn about Brightspace.
For Brightspace support questions, students, like faculty, can use the virtual assistant chatbot that is available throughout Brightspace (it’s the speech bubble icon on the bottom right corner of the screen) or contact Brightspace’s CUNY-dedicated support line anytime at 1-888-895-2511. Students can also get help by contacting the SPS Help Desk at helpdesk@sps.cuny.edu or (646) 664-8592. (Faculty should contact OFDIT at facultysupport@sps.cuny.edu).
Events and Announcements
for SPS Faculty
OFDIT Faculty Advisory Board:
Call for Nominations (2024-26 Cohort)
Nominations are now open for the 2024-2026 cohort of the OFDIT Faculty Advisory Board. Established in 2021, the board plays a crucial role in shaping our programming and event planning. Consisting of six faculty members from diverse academic programs, along with two ex-officio members from the Office of Student Disability Services and IT, the board actively engages in assessing faculty needs, promoting faculty development, and participating in the selection process for the annual Adjunct Teaching Excellence Award.
Interested in serving on the FAB? Nominate yourself (or a colleague) by filling out our nomination form. Three new members will join the board in the fall, and your involvement is highly valued.
Virtual Workshop: Learning Mindsets for Student Motivation
This month and next, check out the CUNY Learning Mindset Modules for Student Success, a series of professional development modules developed by CUNY faculty members and the CUNY Innovative Teaching Academy (CITA) team. The asynchronous, self-paced workshop focuses on three learning mindsets (Mindset GPS) that enhance student motivation and success. You will receive a certificate of completion after finishing all course activities!
Call for Faculty Corner Submissions
If you have a pedagogical tip from your new experiences in Brightspace (in 200 words or less!) that you are excited about, we would love to hear from you and add your submission to our next Faculty Newsletter! You can use our Faculty Corner Submission Form to submit your pitch.
As always, OFDIT is here to help! We are available for one-on-one support and are also happy to schedule a Zoom call to discuss any questions you may have. Don’t hesitate to reach out to us at facultysupport@sps.cuny.edu.
All the Best,
Your OFDIT Team
