Overview
There are two main pathways to share files with students in Brightspace: uploading the file or inserting the file as a link inside another item. Adding files to your Brightspace course site using the Upload Files pathway makes content compatible with Ally, an accessibility tool in Brightspace. Ally provides instructors information about the accessibility of course materials and offers choice and flexibility for how students engage with content. The Upload Files pathway results in accurate Ally accessibility ratings of PDFs, Microsoft Office, and Google Suite files in your course and offers access to Ally’s alternative formats, whereas inserting a file through a link does not. We recommend the Upload Files pathway for uploading syllabi and other important files to your course, with subsequent references back to the file (such as in a to-do list or an announcement) placed in the course using the Brightspace Insert Quicklinks tool.
Upload Files Pathway
To Upload a File From Your Computer
From inside a Content Module, click Upload/Create and select Upload Files:
Select the file from your computer:
View Uploaded File
Your file will appear in the content area like this, with the file format displayed under the title:
The file will open when students click the title and content will display automatically in the Document Viewer. When a file is uploaded this way, Ally can check all the file’s content and provide an accurate accessibility rating, displayed in Ally’s gauge icon:
and the file content is available in alternative formats via the “Alternative formats” button:
These steps can be followed when uploading any PDF or Microsoft Office File (Word, Powerpoint, Excel) from your computer.
To Upload a File From Google Drive
From inside a Content Module, click Upload/Create then Upload Files:
Select Google Drive:
You will be prompted to sign in to your Google Drive:
Select the file you wish to upload. Brightspace will convert it to the analogous Microsoft Office file (Docs to Word, Slides to PPT, Sheets to Excel) and it will be added to the Manage Files area of your course.
NOTE: this will only allow student access to a copy of the selected file and not your entire Google Drive.
View Uploaded File
Your file will appear in the content area with the file format displayed under the title. Files added through Google Drive will display as analogous Microsoft Office files:
The file will open when students click the title, and content will display automatically in the Document Viewer. When a file is uploaded this way, Ally can also check all the file’s content and offer the content in alternative formats via Ally’s “Alternative formats” button.
To Insert a Quicklink to an Uploaded File
If you want to link back to a file that has already been uploaded using the Upload Files pathway, use the Insert Quicklink button.
In the Brightspace editor for a content topic, announcement or discussion board, use the Insert Quicklink button, which can be found in the toolbar either as a standalone icon or in the More menu (+) if the editor window is narrow.
Select Content:
Select the uploaded file you would like to link to:
View Uploaded File
This will create a Quicklink in your content topic, announcement, or discussion board:
When students open the Quicklink, they will be brought to where the file was originally embedded, with access to Ally’s alternative file formats:
Caution: Insert Stuff Pathway
NOTE: Using other Brightspace pathways (such as Upload/Create >Create a File>Insert Stuff button), inserts the file only as a link within another item. Since Ally does not analyze or offer alternative formats for files added in this way, this method of adding files is not recommended for important files, such as a syllabus, to your course.
Adding a file from your computer using the Insert Stuff button:
results in only a link to the file embedding:
You will still see Ally’s alternate file format icon and a rating displayed for a linked item, too. However, with a file added in this way, Ally is only providing the alternative format access and accessibility check for the text of the hyperlink only, not for content of the file:
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