By: Monica Gaertner, Product Manager
With the December 2023/20.23.12 release, we introduce a new major BDS version: 9 (d2l.Tools.BrightspaceDataSets.Version: 9.0). As our Brightspace Data Sets Change Management Policy indicates, we provide a 4-month adoption period for major changes because we recognize adopting major changes requires effort on your end. Please keep in mind that the adoption period will end in April 2024/20.24.4 and anyone who has not already adopted version 9 will be automatically migrated at that time.
As mentioned, due to the impact to clients, major changes are something we try to avoid. However, another goal is to provide data access to our clients in a performant, complete and understandable way. As we made some major changes, we also made some minor changes: namely the introduction of some new columns. In the upcoming major BDS version 9 the following Brightspace Data Sets (BDS) have been affected:
QUIZZES
- Quiz Attempts BDS
- Changes that correspond with Quiz Timing Improvements released in 20.23.7 & 20.23.9:
- Removal of the following columns: GracePeriod and ExtendedDeadline.
- Renaming of GracePeriodExceededBehaviour column to TimeLimitExceededBehaviour.
- Addition of the following column: IsSynchronous.
- Changes that correspond with Negative Grading feature released in 20.23.11:
- Addition of the following column: DeductionPercentage.
- Quiz Objects BDS
- Changes that correspond with Quiz Timing Improvements released in 20.23.7 & 20.23.9:
- Removal of the following columns: TimeLimitGracePeriod, ShowClock, and TimeLimitExceededBehavior.
- Addition of the following column: IsSynchronous.
- Changes that correspond with Negative Grading feature released in 20.23.11:
- Addition of the following column: DeductionPercentage.
USERS
- User Logins BDS
- Removal of the following columns: OrgId and TimeOff.
- Addition of the following column: LoginSource.
The TimeOff column is a calculated field and is therefore being removed from the BDS. This value can be calculated by using the AttemptDate column per user.
Since BDS are generated at the Org level, the OrgId column is redundant and not needed (all records contain the same OrgId).
- Enrollments and Withdrawals BDS
- Removal of the following column: EnrollmentType.
We determined that the EnrollmentType column data was inconsistently being surfaced and therefore we are removing this column until we can consistently surface this data for all Enrollments and Withdrawals.
AWARDS
- Awards Issued BDS
- Removal of the following columns: Type, Credits, and IsRevoked.
- Addition of the following columns: RevokedDate, RevokedReason, RevokedBy, LastModifiedBy, LastModifiedDate, and Version.
Credits are not tracked at the same time Awards are issued, so we are removing the Credits column. Instead, we will be surfacing credits within the Course Awards BDS as this gives parity within the LMS and ensures it is kept up to date. For clients who have adopted Brightspace Data Sets major version 9, the credits will be removed from Awards Issued and will be visible in Course Awards instead, as part of the January 2024/20.24.1 release.
IsRevoked was providing limited information, therefore we are removing it in place of RevokedDate, RevokedReason, and RevokedBy. You can determine if an award was revoked based on the RevokedDate (if a date is provided, then the award was revoked).
GRADES
- Grade Schemes BDS
- Removal of the following columns: GradeSchemeRangeId and IsDeleted.
These columns surface duplicated data and therefore provide no additional value. GradeSchemeRangeId can be retrieved from the Grade Scheme Ranges BDS. IsDeleted can be determined from the DeletedDate column (if a date is provided, then the Grade Scheme has been deleted).
ROLES
- Role Details BDS
- Removal of the following columns: OrgId, ClassListDisplayRoleCategory, ClassListRoleCategory, ClassListRoleCategoryOrder, and Version.
- Addition of the following columns: LastModifiedDate and DeletedBy.
Since BDS are generated at the Org level, the OrgId column is redundant and not needed (all records contain the same OrgId).
ClassListDisplayRoleCategory, ClassListRoleCategory, and ClassListRoleCategoryOrder are fields no longer used within the LMS and therefore no longer provide value.
Version has been removed and replaced by LastModifiedDate to surface more meaningful information.
DeletedBy has been added to surface when a role has been deleted and the newly added LastModifiedDate will be updated to represent the date the role was deleted.
Impact to Insights Report Builder
Please note that if you use Insights Report Builder (formerly Self-Serve Analytics; available as part of Performance Plus) you may be impacted by this major version change. For more information, refer to Updating Insights Report Builder for Brightspace Data Set Major Version 9.
Change management of Brightspace Data Sets Major version has impact within Insights Report Builder. As per our policy, in April 2024, four months after the release of major version 9, D2L will set the new major version as the default BDS version in Brightspace Data Hub and Insights Report Builder (IRB). After this time, only the latest BDS Major Version will be updated in IRB. In July 2024, three months after major version 9 becomes the new default version, D2L will delete older, obsolete versions of BDS in Insights Report Builder. We will also delete corresponding dataflows, cards, reports, and dashboards that use obsolete versions of BDS to avoid having orphaned assets that are difficult to track, maintain, and delete
If you have additional questions about the new BDS Major version 9, please feel free to post in the Data and Analytics Community Group or reach out to your account team for some additional support and to learn about our consulting engagements.