Brightspace is the educational platform that you will be using throughout your time at the University of Akron. This is where your professors will post content, grades, assignments, and any other information that you will need for class. It is very important that students understand how to use this platform to succeed to the best of their ability. 

You can access Brightspace through MyAkron. From there students should enroll in Brightspace orientation, a Brightspace tutorial course. When you are on the welcome page you should see a tab labeled “Discover.” When you select discover, a course labeled “Diving into Online Learning – Brightspace Orientation” should be the first course to pop up, open the course and enroll.

Basic layout and tabs: 

Home 

Home is where your professor will post announcements to your class. This is also where you can easily see “Work to Do” for the week. When you open any course, it will automatically open on the home tab. This is where students are also given all the necessary contact information for the primary professor. 

Content 

The content tab is the page you will be accessing the most. This is where your professor will be posting all the content in the class. Every professor organizes this page a little differently, some post content by the week, some by assignments, and some post in categories. Either way content is the primary tab that helps you stay up to date and on track with assignments and course content. Also, something to note; professors have the administrative ability to see how long you spend reviewing content, videos, or time spent working on assignments. This is mainly for participation grades and points.

Assessments 

Assessments include a drop down with the following categories: Assignments, Awards, Checklist, Competencies, ePortfolio, Rubrics, Quizzes and Exams, Self Assessments, Surveys, Video Assignments, and Work to Do. 

You will most likely not need to utilize all these tabs, the most important ones to note are Assignments, Quizzes and Exams, and Work to Do. 

Assignments are where you will find all your assignments assigned throughout the whole semester and grades with feedback from your professor. This is also where you will upload your work to the assignment folder. Quizzes and Exams is where you will find all your quizzes and exams for the semester. Work to Do is a due date calendar for you to follow, it will show you everything that has a due date for that class. 

Grades

Your professor will post all your grades under this page as well as have feedback on your work. Some professors will even have a grade calculator at the top so you can track your grade throughout the semester. 

Communicate

If you need to get in touch with your professor, instructors, or even a classmate, this is where you will find that information. Under this tab you can find all announcements posted by your professor, a calendar for the class, a class list of everyone in your class including professors and instructors along with their contact information. Discussions is very important depending on your class. If your professor assigns discussion boards this is where you will find them, one thing to note about discussion boards is they will not show up in “Work to Do,” nor will Brightspace send you a notification that they are due soon. Check your class syllabus or wherever your professor will post the due dates for these (they will tell you) to make sure you don’t miss one. 

Resources 

The resource tab will be the same for every course. This is where you will find every resource Brightspace has to offer, including tech support, tutoring resources, UA policies, and so much more. 

Tools 

Under tools you can view your attendance and your class progress (grade progress.) You will also find your course evaluation under this tab; you will fill this out pertaining to the professor and course during the last few weeks of the semester. As well as recorded lectures, if your professor includes them in the classes content. 

Again, enroll in the Brightspace course under discover. It will teach you all you need to know, step by step. Whether students are online or in-person, staying on top of your schoolwork is never easy. With understanding your academic platforms and good communication with professors and faculty, you are sure to succeed and stay as stress free as possible. 

Some advice from the Sr. Instructional Designer, Ling Qian: 

Our University of Akron’s Student Government voiced and aided the university to change the opening dates for classes. Now courses are open three days before the semester starts.  

“This is a great opportunity for our students to log onto courses earlier to go through the content and take a look,” Qian said.. 

You should first look through the syllabus that should be under content. And then, the grade book to get a feel for your assignments in the course. As well as any other content your professor has posted. 

If you log onto Brightspace and see that your professor has nothing available yet, you should contact your professor. All contact information will be found under the communication and class list. 

“Students have the authority to ask,” Qian says. 

Online courses can be a more flexible option for those that have a busy schedule, but they can be a bit confusing to navigate for the first time. It is important to note that the same standards are set in place for in-person as well as online courses. It is also important when taking an online course to go through the content regularly, time management is especially crucial with online. 

If you are having technical difficulties with Brightspace, whether that might be that your assignment won’t upload or you can’t find content that you know is posted, utilize Brightspace’s 24-hour IT support. No matter where you are on Brightspace there should be a chat box at the bottom of each page. When you click on it a chat will open where you have the ability to talk to a AI bot. If this doesn’t seem to be able to help your situation it will ask you to fill out a ticket. This ticket will put you in contact with a real IT person that is sure to get you back on your feet. 

You can also e-mail the University of Akron’s IT support team as well. Qian recommends you label your e-mail “I have a Brightspace question,” that way the team knows exactly how to help

Contact and Support 

Ling Qian, Instructional Designer: [email protected] 

Brightspace support: [email protected]  1-877-325-7778 

UA Technology support: [email protected] (located on the 1st floor of Bierce Library)