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Updates to D2L Brightspace

This page showcases the latest features and improvements in D2L Brightspace. For information about

course availability and D2L access information, please see our D2L Information for Faculty & Staff page.

What is New in D2L?

- September 2024 - 

Improved Evaluation Experience in Assignments and Discussions

With the August release, there is a minor accessibility improvement. Use of an in-browser experience for Assignments and Discussions evaluation tools improves accessibility for screen-reader users and creates visual consistency across Brightspace.

iPad now enabled by default for LockDown Browser

Respondus has now enabled iPad by default for LockDown Browser only. If you are also using Respondus Monitor, you may elect to allow iPad use. As always, instructors should visit the LockDown Browser Dashboard whenever copying a quiz with Respondus enabled into a new course. More information is available in the Respondus section of our D2L Integrations page. 

Updated Workflow to add SCORM files to D2L Courses

The D2L SCORM tool has been updated, providing a new workflow for adding SCORM files. Files added using the new workflow (New/Existing Content Module > Create New) utilize an updated SCORM player. The legacy workflow (Course Admin > Import/Export/Copy > Import) remains available but it is not recommended to use both workflows within the same course. This functionality is available to the D2L roles that can edit content: Instructor, Secondary Instructor, & Non-grade Instructor.

An article is available in the KSU Knowledge Base (keyword: SCORM).  

Previously Announced Updates 

- August 2024 - 

With the July release, there are a few minor updates to be aware of:

Email Status Field Removed from Review Assignment Submission Page

The email status field has been removed from the Review Assignment Submission page. Learners will no longer see a "Confirmation Email Sent Successfully" message when submitting an assignment. Email receipts are still sent and may be found in the learner's inbox. Navigate to the Email Tool (envelope icon above Navbar) and filter by All Messages & sort by newest date. 

Updates to Discussions Tool
  • Deletion and restoration workflows consistent with Assignments have been added for group-restricted Discussions. If a group is deleted, the associated activities are also deleted and may not be restored unless the group is restored. Note: Restoration of a group requires intervention by D2L support and must be requested within 30 days. You may contact the KSU service desk or reach out to the D2L Help Center for assistance. You will need to provide:
    • the name (title, section, CRN) of the course the group was in (or a link to the course)
    • the name of the group that was deleted
    • the date the group was deleted
  • The Learner Reading View has been improved in these ways:
    • The Start New Thread button appears at both the top and bottom of the page to reduce scrolling.
    • The Add Attachments section is opened by default and is wider on the screen.
- July 2024 - 

With the July D2L Release, there are a couple of items to note:

New Minimum Browser Requirements

The minimum supported browser versions are:

  • Chrome 124+
  • Edge 124+
  • Safari 17+
  • Firefox 124+.

The minimum legacy browsers are now:

  • Chrome 81
  • Edge 81
  • Safari 14
  • Firefox 75.

The following browsers are no longer supported: Chrome 66, Edge 18, Safari 11, and Firefox 66.

Reminder: SMS Notifications have been discontinued

As of the end of July, D2L has removed the SMS Notifications service and any associated mobile numbers. The email notification option within your D2L profile will continue to function, or you may continue to receive notifications on your mobile device by using the Pulse app.

- June 2024 Updates -

With the June D2L Release, there are a few feature enhancements:

Assignment Annotations tool gets an update which fixes several defects. Also, the icons have been updated. Note: Safari browsers using versions older than version 15.4 (legacy versions) are no longer supported for the Annotations software.

Direct Upload from Microsoft OneDrive when editing and evaluating an assignment. Files stored in Microsoft storage accounts are directly added to the assignment, eliminating the need for instructors to provide sharing permissions to users.

Updated storage location for feedback attachments When instructors access Assignments, Discussions, or Quizzes, and use the Insert Stuff file picker to attach feedback, those files, previously stored in Manage Files, are now stored in the Feedback Files location. Learners can review their feedback files from the Grades page, just like files attached from Feedback Files. Similar to the feedback files, once feedback is deleted, it cannot be restored.

- May Updates - 

With the May D2L Release, there are a few small improvements:

  • Instructor feedback files visible to learners under Grades instead of only on the activity page (Note: not visible to instructors in Grades)
  • Learning outcomes assessment added into the evaluation interface of group assignments
  • Zipping of files now occurs in the background with a notification alert upon completion
- April 2024 Updates - 

With the D2L April release, there are a couple of enhancements to activity tools: 

Quizzes and Question Library:

Additional functions are available for arithmetic question types:

  • ASIN
  • ACOS
  • ABS
  • Log2
  • SINH
  • COSH

Discussions: View attached file feedback
As part of the effort to provide consistent workflows, the Discussion tool's evaluation process is now in line with the Assignment and Quiz tools. Attached file feedback now appears in the Attached Files section for each learner's discussion evaluation and may also be viewed by learners and instructors using the Class Progress tool. Attached file feedback is not accessible from the Grades page. 

- March 2024 Updates -

With the D2L March release, there are improvements to the Add Link Workflows and to Quiz Report Generation.

BrightSpace Editor - consistent link creation workflows
As you may know, there are four ways to add web links using the BrightSpace Editor:

  • Quicklink button on the toolbar 
  • Insert Stuff button on the toolbar
  • Keyboard shortcuts: Ctrl-K (PC) or Cmd-K (Mac)
  • Type link text and select Quicklink icon on formatting flyout toolbar

With this release, the dialogue box now contains the following fields for each creation method:

  • Link - paste in a URL (be sure to delete the pre-filled "http://")
  • Text - link text to access the link
  • Opens in - New Window or Current Window

Additionally, clicking the pencil icon to edit a link now allows you to update the link, text, and/or window setting.


Quiz Report Generation - improved experience for generating quiz reports
These reports now run asynchronously and the instructor is notified when they are available for download:

  • Attempt Details
  • Question Statistics
  • Question Details
  • User Statistics
  • User Attempts
- February 2024 Updates -

With the February 2024 Release, there are some minor visual updates to the interface:

  • A branded footer "Powered by D2L Brightspace" now appears on select pages in Brightspace
  • The question mark icon that appears next to questions in the Question Library has been removed to reduce visual clutter. The folder icon for sections remains. 
- January 2024 Updates -

With the January 2024 Release, there a few feature updates, some interface improvements, and few special notes.

***Feature Updates***

Announcement Tool – Copying Announcements to Other Courses (a new feature from November Release) now offers the option to copy the announcement to another course in a published (instead of draft) state.

Brightspace Editor – Insert Stuff uses a new file picker which allows you to drag and drop files when uploading files from your computer.

Quiz Tool Updates

  • When “Add Availability Dates to Calendar” is selected in Quiz availability settings, both start and end date/time appear in the calendar; previously only one date was shown.
  • Quizzes now clearly mark bonus questions with the word “Bonus” in boldface in the title of the question, and this is visible to the student.
  • Written response questions remain as pending evaluation until being manually graded with clear messaging:
    • For instructors: "not auto-graded; a default value of 0 was assigned"
    • For students: "This question has not been graded" 

***Interface Improvements***

Assignments – improvements for annotations

  • Better messaging for errors and a loading icon for document conversion progress
  • Annotation print format shows the annotation content, not just the icon

Assignments & Discussions – improved messaging

  • Improved tooltip for unsaved changes to evaluations
  • Visible warning if approaching the 300,000 character limit for Feedback

Rubric Evaluation from within the Grades Tool – When assessing an assignment with a rubric from the Grades tool, the evaluator will now see the entire evaluation pane (instead of just a pop-out rubric grid). This is consistent with assessing from the Assignment Submissions page. Note: The evaluation pane may open in a new tab. 

***Special Notes***

  • There will be a planned maintenance window for Kaltura MediaSpace on February 18. More information available on our D2L Information Page/Integrations Page.
  • The New Discussion Creation experience is now the default with no option to opt out. If you need assistance, visit the KSU Knowledge Base and search keyword: Discussion.
  • As first announced in October, the Chat Tool has been decommissioned by D2L. If you have copied over course material that contains Chats in Content, the content topics will remain, but the chats will no longer be available. You will need to reconfigure courses with chat-based content topics. 

- System Updates affecting D2L (posted December 2023) -

Authentication Change for Local Login to D2L

Due to security concerns, KSU UITS is decommissioning local authentication for D2L Brightspace using your NetID and password. Changes to authentication settings in D2L will affect two areas of use – local login URL and Respondus 4.0 quiz publishing.

Local Login URL

You will no longer be able to login to D2L using either of these local login link(s):

https://kennesaw.view.usg.edu/d2l/local 

https://kennesaw.view.usg.edu/d2l/login?noRedirect=1

Instead, you’ll need to use this link which will require DUO authentication:

https://kennesaw.view.usg.edu/d2l/home

You may wish to bookmark this link or bookmark the D2L Information Page which has a button to link to the D2L login page.

Repondus 4.0 Quiz Authoring Tool (not LockDown Browser/Monitor)

If you use Respondus 4.0 to publish quizzes to D2L, you will need to update your server connection settings in the application. This is a one-time adjustment. For steps on how to do this, please visit the D2L Integrations Updates page and view the topic Update Respondus 4.0 Quiz Authoring Tool Publish Settings.

Attention SoftChalk Users - Migration to Enterprise SoftChalk Cloud platform is complete

The migration to the new Enterprise SoftChalk Cloud platform is complete.

You may access the new Enterprise SoftChalk Cloud platform with your KSU credentials at the following link:

https://kennesaw.softchalkcloud.com/

Note: If you do not have an account, an account will automatically be made for you when you login with your KSU credentials.

The Digital Learning Innovations team stands ready to assist you in updating any existing links you may have copied into an upcoming course.

DLI Contact Information: call the main line at 470-578-7550 or submit a 1:1 request

Detailed information about the Enterprise SoftChalk Platform including steps to update links is available on our D2L Integrations Page. Scroll to the SoftChalk section. 

- November 2023 Updates -

Announcements – Copy announcements to other courses

With the November release, you will be able to copy announcements to other courses.

To access this feature:

  1. Navigate to the announcement you want to copy.
  2. Click the dropdown arrow next to the announcement name and select Copy to Other Courses.
  3. A window will open showing a searchable list of potential destination courses. Place a check next to the name of each desired destination course (max of 10 at once) and click the Next button.

Things to Note:

  • The copied announcement will be in a draft state in the destination course and must be published.
  • What copies?
    • Attachments should copy
    • Dates may need adjustment 
      • start date seems to default to the current date regardless of the start date in the origin announcement
      • end date - a future end date seems to copy; a past end date is ignored
    • Release conditions do not copy
  • The origin course will be in the list of destination courses. If selected, it creates a copy within the origin course but follows the same pattern as copies in other courses in terms of the draft state and what will or will not copy. If copying an announcement within a course, the Copy option may be more efficient because it opens an editing window to adjust dates and status during the copy process. 
Assignments and Discussions – Review key assessment information when using Publish All

With the November release, you may notice the addition of a Publish All button above the submissions table for Assignments that is similar to the Publish All Feedback option which already exists on the Assess Topics page for Discussions.

For both Assignments and Discussions, the Publish All dialog is improved and standardized to show key information about learner evaluations. Dialog messaging notes complete and incomplete learner evaluations and other key information such as how many learners have feedback and how many learners or groups are assigned to an activity. Previously, the Publish All dialog did not display any information about learner evaluations or other key information.

To Access the Publish All button, you must be on the evaluation page:

  • For Assignments: Click the dropdown next to the assignment name and click View Submissions.
  • For Discussions: Click the dropdown next to the topic name and click Assess Topic.

Notes about Publish All in Assignments:

  • There must be a submission in a draft state for the Publish All button to be active.
  • After clicking Publish All, you may need to refresh the page to see the evaluation status updated. 

- October 2023 Updates -

Small Improvement to HTML Editor - text direction attribute

With the October release, you will be able to adjust the text direction attribute per page instead of only per text selection.

To locate this option:

  1. Within the Brightspace Editor, click the dropdown next to the plus sign (Other Insert Options) on the  tool bar.
  2. Select Attributes.
  3. Select the new Page Attributes tab and scroll down to Text Direction.
  4. Use the drop down to toggle between Default, Left to Right, and Right to Left.
Banner added to announce the upcoming End of Life for the Chat Tool

With the October release, you will see a banner on existing D2L Chats letting you know that D2L will decommission the Chat tool as part of the January 2024 release which will occur at the end of January. If you copy over course material that contains Chats in Content, the content topics will remain, but the chats will no longer be available. You will need to reconfigure courses with chat-based content topics.

- upcoming -

New Discussion Experience Becomes Default with the December Release

The New Discussion Experience has been available since May of this year with an opt-out option. With the monthly release at the end of December, it will become the default interface and there will no longer be an option to opt out. For more information about the New Discussion Experience, please visit the KSU Knowledge Base and search keywords: navigate new discussions.

- September 2023 Updates -

Tips for Using Synchronous Quizzes

As announced in July, D2L now offers a Synchronous Quiz option where instructors may configure a quiz to start and end at the same time for all participants (except those for whom special access has been set). The default Quiz type is still asynchronous, which means that a student may begin the quiz any time within the availability dates/times that have been set (start/end). If you wish to use the new synchronous quiz type, the quiz type may be changed using the Timer Settings option in the Timing & Display menu of the Quiz authoring interface. A Knowledge Base article on this topic is available here or by visiting the KSU Knowledge Base and searching keyword: quiz timing.

Here are some ideas to note and consider when utilizing a synchronous quiz with the auto-submit option selected:

Timing 

  • Once the start time of the quiz arrives, the timer will begin to count down for every student whether the student has accessed the quiz or not.
  • If a student enters the quiz after the start time, the student will have the time remaining in the quiz available, not the full time allowance (as is the case with asynchronous).

Example: Synchronous quiz (set to auto-submit) begins on October 1 at 10:00 AM and students have 30 minutes to complete the quiz which will be automatically submitted at 10:30 AM. A student who starts the quiz at 10:10 will have the remaining 20 minutes to work.

  • A student who does not enter the quiz between the start time and the automatically configured end time (based on time allowed) will not be able to attempt the quiz unless multiple attempts are configured or you provide special access for that student. 

 Communication to Students 

  • There are currently no special icons to indicate to a student when a quiz is configured to be synchronous so it is recommended that you convey this information clearly to students using means such as:
    • add it to the quiz title/description
    • add a "synchronous" category to organize the quizzes page
    • use a course announcement or the syllabus to explain how a synchronous quiz is different and to indicate which quizzes will be synchronous
  • END DATE - Be mindful of the automatically configured end date/time when using auto-submit. To avoid any confusion, do not add an end date in the Availability Dates & Conditions menu unless it matches the calculated end time. 
    Example: The calculated end time for the exam is 10:30 AM. If you were to set an end date of 11:00 AM in the Availability Dates & Conditions menu, it would appear to the student that the quiz would be available for them to enter up to 11:00 AM when in reality their opportunity to enter the quiz would have ended just prior to 10:30 AM.
    • The calculated end time will be available to students if they click the quiz name to see the quiz details. 

Exceptions

  • These recommendations apply to synchronous quiz type with auto-submit enabled. Alternatives to the auto-submit options include:
    • Flag as "exceeded time limit" and allow the learner to continue working
    • Do nothing: the time limit is not enforced
  • Special Access can be set for synchronous quizzes as needed.

- August 2023 Updates -

Pin Announcements (feature improvement)

D2L now allows you to pin announcements so that they will remain at the top of the list in the Announcements widget in your course.  

Rubric Instructor View (interface improvements)
  • Mobile App Evaluator View To reduce scrolling and offer more control over display in the mobile app, instructors can now collapse the containers for Rubrics, Grades & Feedback, Outcomes, and Competencies. Each component is open by default but can be toggled open or closed by selecting the triangle beside the name of the container.
  • Pop-out Rubric Details To provide a more complete context for learner evaluation, rubric pop-outs now provide activity details including activity title, course name, and learner name. These details were not previously visible in pop-outs.
Class Progress (interface update)

When looking at Class Progress, the Absent Period information has been added to the top of the screen for Login History, Course Access, and System Access reports. Absent Period indicates the number of days since the learned last logged into Brightspace.          

  • Login History indicates a login to Brightspace, not the course
  • Course Access indicates a login to the course
  • System Access indicates each Brightspace access via browser or Pulse app
    • begins at login, app launch, or return after 30 minutes of inactivity
    • access ends after 30 minutes of inactivity

- July 2023 Updates - 

Improvement to Quiz Timing Features

D2L is updating the quiz creation and quiz taking experiences to simplify existing workflows and add useful new quiz timing options. These quiz timing improvements are available to you now.

    1. Quiz Timing Improvements & Auto-submission – The changes include auto-submission, simpler quiz setup, and the removal of obsolete quiz timing options such as the grace period.
    2. Quiz Taking Improvements – Improvements to the Quiz taking experience including show/hide quiz timer and improvements to the Quiz results view.
    3. Synchronous Quizzes – The D2L Quiz Tool now supports both asynchronous and synchronous quizzes. The new addition of synchronous quizzes enables instructors to set up a quiz where the quiz timer starts on the start date for all learners rather than when the learner launches the quiz (asynchronous). The quiz timer then ends for all learners at the same time.

For detailed information, please visit the KSU Knowledge Base and search “D2L Quiz Timing.” 

D2L Media Library

D2L Media Library provides a central access point for all audio and video created within D2L and for some uploaded media. It provides basic editing capabilities such as adding chapters or captions and selecting sections of video to hide from viewers. Any change made to a video file in D2L Media Library will be reflected anywhere that video file appears in D2L Brightspace. For this reason, extreme caution should be used when editing or deleting media files using D2L Media Library.
 
While D2L Media Library provides convenient access for quick video recording and editing tasks, the recommended app for instructional video is Kaltura MediaSpace due to:

    • superior editing and captioning capability
    • capacity for adding instructional elements such as quiz or hotspot link
    • ability to collaborate, organize content, and share public links

For detailed information, please visit the KSU Knowledge Base and search “D2L Media Library.”

Minimum Versions for Supported Browsers

The July update increases the minimum supported browser versions to: Chrome 112+, Edge 112+, Safari 16+, and Firefox 112+. The minimum legacy browsers remain at: Chrome 74, Edge 74, Safari 13, and Firefox 67. For an optimal experience that offers better performance, accessibility, and security, D2L recommends that all users access Brightspace with the latest version of their supported browser. 

Minor Interface Improvements to Note
  • Edited images now retain their original name + time stamp
  • Discussion availability information is displayed below the Topic title; hovering provides more settings detail

May 2023

There are some exciting changes coming to D2L tools in May of 2023. Please see information about each below:

New Quiz Experience will become the default on May 12, 2023

As part of the D2L commitment to provide consistent workflows, the D2L Quiz Tool interface has been updated to look more like the Assignments Tool interface. Instead of tabs, expandable menus are now arranged for a one page view. For detailed information, please visit the KSU Knowledge Base and search “D2L Quiz.”

Please note that beginning May 12, 2023, the new D2L Quiz Experience will become the default interface for the Quiz tool and the opt-out option will no longer be available.

New Discussions Experience becomes available with an option to opt out

In keeping with the recent goal of standardizing workflows, D2L has released the New Discussions Experience. This new interface aligns with the Assignment and Quiz Tools and will become available to you in May of 2023. You will have the option to opt out (and provide feedback directly to D2L) until the new experience becomes the default interface in a few months. An overview of the interface is available here. Information about opting out if available here.

Assignment Tool – update to availability options

The Assignments Tool availability options will soon include additional options when a start or end date is set. These options determine visibility and access. There is also a checkbox to select whether to add start and end dates to the calendar.

In addition, you may set default visibility/access settings for assignments and discussions in your course. You will find this option at Course Admin > Site Setup > Availability Date Defaults. As always, these global settings can be adjusted for individual activities

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