As an Instructor, your course preparation directly impacts your learners’ success. This guide walks you through the most common questions and fixes at the start of term.
Learn how to prepare your content, configure assessments, publish grades, and resolve common start-of-term issues.
Most popular resources for Instructors getting started with Brightspace
Here are some of our best introductions to Brightspace for instructors.
Resource | Description | Link |
|---|
New Brightspace Instructor Learning Path | A structured learning path through D2L Academy featuring self-paced modules designed to help you succeed in planning, building, and facilitating courses. | New Brightspace Instructor Learning Path |
Brightspace Guided Training Courses (Instructors) | Collections of short tutorials, animations, and interactives guiding you through key Brightspace tools—ideal for learning specific tasks quickly. | Brightspace Guided Training Courses (requires Community account) |
Getting Started with Brightspace (D2L Academy) | A list of all free downloadable resources across several D2L Academy Courses that can be accessed and downloaded for use in your own Brightspace environment. | Downloadable D2L Academy Resources |
Brightspace Resource Guide (Higher Ed) | A PDF one-pager tailored for higher-ed instructors. Includes essential resources like D2L Academy tools, community webinars, tool maps, and more. | HE Instructor Resource Guide |
Higher Education Instructor Knowledge Base | A centralized hub of topic-specific help articles—everything from course setup to grading, content creation, and learner engagement. | Higher Ed Instructor KB |
Instructor Tutorials Playlist (YouTube) | A curated playlist of instructional videos covering navigation, tool usage, content creation, grading, and more—great for visual learners. | Instructor Tutorials Playlist |
Getting Started with Brightspace Data: Instructor Usage | A step-by-step guide for using Brightspace export data to track instructor engagement—includes downloadable Excel templates for visualization. | Getting Started with Brightspace Data |
Getting Started with Analytics Builder | A course help you get started with D2L Analytics Builder. | Getting Started with Analytics Builder |
Most Frequent Instructor Activities at Start-of-Term
This section lists the most common activities Instructors perform during the beginning of each semester, with links to resources to instructions you can use to accomplish each.
Create and Configure a Quiz
Give Special Access or Extra Attempts for Quizzes
To grant special access or extra attempts for a quiz, follow these steps:
- Open the quiz and go to Availability Dates & Conditions.
- Select Manage Special Access.
- Select Add Users to Special Access.
- Adjust date/time or attempt settings as needed.
- Click Save.
Important: If your institution uses Respondus LockDown Browser, you must enable it in the Respondus Settings section for the quiz. Remember to inform learners in advance that they must download and install the LockDown Browser before attempting the quiz.
Reset or Delete a Quiz Attempt for a Learner
To make it possible for a learner to attempt a quiz again, you must delete their previous quiz attempts.
Before you start, make sure the quiz is no longer in progress.
- On the navbar, click Quizzes.
- On the Manage Quizzes page, find the quiz you need to reset attempts for.
- In the option menu for the quiz, select Grade.
- Click to select the attempts you want to delete.
- At the top of the list of quiz attempts, click Delete.
Important: If your institution uses Respondus, learners must still launch the quiz through the LockDown Browser when they try to take the quiz again.
Submit an In-Progress Quiz for a Learner
When a learner forgets to click Submit during a quiz, their quiz attempt appears to be missing and you may need to submit the quiz on their behalf.
To submit a quiz attempt for a learner, follow these steps:
- On the navbar, click Quizzes.
- On the Manage Quizzes page, find the quiz you need to submit for the learner.
- Click the dropdown next to the quiz, and then select Grade.
- On the Users tab, click Show Search Options.
- From the Restrict to drop-down menu, select either All users or Users with attempts in progress.
- Locate the in-progress quiz for the learner.
- To submit the quiz on behalf of the learner, click Enter Quiz as User icon and then click Submit.
Set Up and Manage Assignments
For instructions on creating, organizing, and configuring assignments, linking assignments to grades, and setting release conditions for an assignment, see:
Create Assignments
Submit Assignments on Behalf of a Learner
Note: You must have the required role permissions granted to your role to impersonate another user. Contact your administrator for more details. While impersonating another user, you are restricted from using the Google Workspace integration or viewing the Google Workspace Widget.
Submitting an assignment on behalf of a user involves impersonating the learner from the Classlist and then submitting the assignment for them.
- To impersonate a student, go to Classlist and find the learner you want to submit the assignment for.
- In the options menu for the learner, click Impersonate and then click Yes to confirm. In the upper right, the system updates to show the user profile and permissions of the learner you are impersonating.
- Go to Assignments.
- Click the folder.
- Click Add a File and upload.
- Submit on behalf of the learner.
- To stop impersonating the learner, select your profile picture then select X next to the user name.
Organize the Gradebook
For guidance on creating categories and grade items, choosing calculation methods, and controlling visibility, see:
Set Up and Manage Grades
Link Quizzes or Assignments to Grade Items
Manage Course Content
D2L offers several resources to help you create accessible, engaging courses in Brightspace. If you're getting started, you can find free Community announcement templates to welcome students, guidance on making sure your written communications are accessible, and free HTML templates for courses.
If your institution supports Creator+ features, you can find best practices for using them to create instructional material here.
Manage Discussions
For guidance on how to create forums and topics, manage visibility of Discussions, or link discussions to the Gradebook, see:
Create and Manage Discussions
Activate a Course
Copy Course Components
For guidance on how to copy course content, quizzes, discussions, or other settings from one course to another, see:
Copy Course Components
Add or Update LTI Links
To add or update LTI links in a course, follow these steps:
- In Content, select Existing Activities > External Learning Tools to add the LTI link.
- Test the link after adding to ensure functionality.
Troubleshooting Common Instructor Issues at Start-of-Term
This section lists the most common problems instructors request help with during the start of each new semester, with guidance and resources for resolving each.
Authentication and Access Issues
When you encounter problems with authentication or access, follow these steps:
- Confirm that you have the correct login URL for Single-Sign-On (SSO) or Brightspace Local Login for your institution.
- Use your institution’s password reset tool to reset your password.
- If your organization uses SSO, verify that your institution credentials are correct.
Course not Active or Visible to Learners
If learners report that your course is not visible or active, follow these steps:
- Go to Course Offering Information and select the Course is active check box.
- Verify start and end dates are correct, and not in the future.
Missing or Inaccessible Content
If you observe that content which learners should have access to is missing or inaccessible, follow these steps:
- In the Content tool, confirm that the missing topics or modules are not hidden.
- Review and adjust Release Conditions and start/end dates.
Discussion Visibility Issues
If you observe reports from learners that they cannot view or access Discussions which should be available, follow these steps:
- In Discussions, make sure the forums or topics learners are visible and that any availability dates are correct.
- Adjust release conditions if needed.
Duplicated Course Components After Course Copy
If you notice duplicated course components after you copy components from one course to another, make sure that you only select the course components you need before selecting Copy.
Getting support
- Brightspace Instructors and Faculty: For support, please consult the help resources provided by your institution, including your help desk or support options available within Brightspace..
- New to D2L Brightspace? Join the Brightspace Community! You’ll find tutorials, tips, and support from peers and experts. Stay updated and get answers fast—register today!
We’re here to help you have the best possible start to your semester!