Start of the Semester: Top Brightspace Tips!
Every course at Stony Brook University (with the exception of the School of Medicine) has a Brightspace course and your students are automatically added (and removed if they drop) for you.
This Information is Intended for:
Instructors,
Staff
Created: 08/02/2022 Last Updated: 11/09/2024
Before Semester
- By default, your course is unavailable to your students. Please make your course available before the semester starts.
- If you are teaching a course with multiple sections and want to only maintain one course site, you can request the sections to be merged by submitting a ticket
- Keep in mind that students from all sections will appear in your Grade Book if we merge your courses.
Course Setup
- Set up your Grade Book FIRST so that you can easily attach assignments to it as you add them.
- This will allow grades to be calculated automatically, which makes it easier for Final Grade calculation at the end of the semester.
- Add content (including your Syllabus). We highly recommend you utilize the Learning Objects Repository (LOR) to add syllabi statements.
- Add your TA to your class.
- Create an Announcement to greet your students (or send an email from the "Classlist" tool).
- Make sure your students know about the Brightspace Mobile App, Pulse.
Reusing Previous Courses
- You can reuse course information from a previous semester.
- If you have Assignments posted, you DO NOT have to manually update all deadlines. Use Manage Dates to update quickly.
- Third Party tools, such as Echo360 & VoiceThread, will need to be re-linked.
- Directions are available here.
- Make sure you remove any old content from your new Brightspace site.
Useful Tips
- You can use View as Learner to view your course from a Student perspective.
- You can Pin Courses on your Brightspace home page.
SUNY and Academic Technology Services are here to help you!
online.suny.edu/help | service.stonybrook.edu
1-844-673-6786 | 631.632.9800 (option 2)
Supported By
Brightspace Support via SUNY Helpdesk
Phone: 1-844-673-6786
Customer Engagement and Support