How Brightspace Makes Teaching More Flexible

A flexible learning environment isn’t a nice-to-have anymore; it’s a must. 

There are tools within D2L Brightspace that make it easier for teachers to deliver their lessons exactly how they want to, in ways that reach students how they need to be reached. 

In this article, we’ll cover how teachers can use release conditions, the Portfolio tool and the New Quiz Creation Experience to maintain flexibility in their classrooms. 

Release Conditions 

A flexible classroom is student centered, not teacher centered. Enter: release conditions. 

Release conditions are a set of rules that teachers can set in Brightspace to hide content until certain circumstances are met. For example, a teacher might set a condition that students can’t access a quiz until they’ve read through a certain module. This prevents students from jumping ahead, ensuring that they know the content as the teacher intended before they test their knowledge. 

Teachers can also use release conditions to help students progress at their own pace through classroom activities. This means that learners who are passionate about or quick to understand materials can stay engaged and move on to the next activity rather than waiting for the students who might need a little more time. 

Portfolio 

Brightspace adds another element of flexibility with the Portfolio tool. 

This tool helps students gather artifacts of their achievements over time, enabling them to easily reflect on their own progress throughout a course or grade and from year to year. 

It also helps teachers be flexible when it comes to grading. Rather than gathering physical evidence and hanging onto it until it’s graded, teachers can use the Portfolio tool to accurately assess student achievement when it’s most convenient for them. 

Another bonus: Portfolio gives teachers an easy opportunity to track student progress and growth over time. They can even see students’ own reflections. With so many kids in their class or classes, it can be difficult for teachers to keep track of everything that their students are working on. With Portfolio, when teachers sit down to do their grading, they can get a fuller view of what students have done. 

New Quiz Creation Experience 

The New Quiz Creation Experience is an alternative to the Classic Quiz Experience in Brightspace. Now teachers can create a fully customizable quiz in a single window. Whether for formative or summative assessments, quizzes allow for efficient tracking of where students are and what their next steps should be. 

Teachers can use settings like time limits, IP address ranges, release conditions and availability dates to specify exactly who should be taking quizzes and when. That makes the quiz fully customizable depending on a class’s needs. It helps all students reach their full potential rather than risking anyone getting left behind by an inflexible school system. 

As an added benefit, educators don’t need to wait until quizzes are graded to give students feedback or alternative directions. Instead, some of these actions can be preset by combining quizzes and release conditions.

Whether for formative or summative assessments, giving quizzes through Brightspace helps teachers easily track where their students are and what their next steps are. 

Unlock the Power of Brightspace 

You deserve a flexible classroom and so do your students. Do you have half an hour to learn some practical Brightspace tips and tricks? Register for our webinar, “Using Brightspace as a Learning Hub.” 

Written by

Chase Banger

Chase Banger is a Content Marketing Specialist at D2L. An award-winning journalist and former communications specialist, he has a passion for helping people through education.