Originally published Sept. 5, 2019
Key Dates and Information
End of Life Date: January 2020
The Version 1 (V1) Turnitin integration for Brightspace has been in maintenance mode for around 3 years. In July of 2018, a lot of investment was made to the V2 integration to bring that version up to par with V1, plus adding additional enhancements.
Why are we making this decision?
D2L is committed to innovation and creating a platform that enables inspired learning experiences. Unfortunately, legacy technology can hold us back from offering the best solutions, and V1 of the Turnitin integration is one of those technologies. It is used by a very small number of Brightspace users, however, it slows down D2L’s ability to release new features and improve existing features for V2 as we are spending time still supporting an old version.
What is the impact and transition plan?
Even though V1 users make up a small overall percentage of Brightspace users, we recognize that this change might be of concern for some organizations. Hence, we are providing a 5-month period for the change. Additional resources to help your organization through the transition have been prepared and are available in Brightspace Community.
Frequently asked questions
Can I prepare for this change ahead of January 2020?
Yes, you have the option to move over to V2 at any time following the instructions on the Brightspace Community. There is no need to wait until January to make this shift. In fact, we recommend that you transition as soon as possible. The process to migrate over is very simple and does not require any assistance from D2L and only minor assistance from Turnitin to attain an updated Account Id and Shared Key. If you would like more hands-on assistance, we are here to help! Reach out to your D2L Customer Success Manager and/or comment on the Community article linked above, and we will engage with you immediately.
What makes V2 so great? What enhancements have been made?
Details of improvements that were made to the V2 integration can be found on the Brightspace Community.
How will this impact Instructors and Learners?
Both Instructors and Learners will get access to the improved features and functionality which will only bring them value to their experience with the integration! While the updates are pretty intuitive, you may want to offer some training or training materials for Instructors so they know how utilize the newest features. Turnitin has great resources available online that you can utilize any time. There are also Learner centric resources as well. If you can’t find what you are looking for, or require additional assistance in rolling out any training to your organization, please engage with your D2L CSM and we will be happy to assist.
What about any assignments that have historically used V1? Will Instructors and learners still have access to the feedback that has been left on those submissions?
Yes, all V1 historical assignments will still be available. To ensure that this is the case, do not disable V1. Instead, you simply need to enable V2 as well and then the following will take place:
After V2 is enabled
- Assignments that used V1 historically will still have access to past results
- Open Assignments actively using V1 will continue to use V1
- New Assignments created will default to using V2 going forward
How Can You Provide Feedback Related to This Change?
Leave a comment on this blog article!