Introducing Creator+ on Brightspace

D2L launches the Creator+ package and extends the Brightspace Editor with new features to help you create more dynamic customized content in your course. In addition to all the basic Brightspace Editor features, these Creator+ features make it easier for non-technical users to customize content to meet their needs.

What is it?
Instructors can now build dynamic content and media experiences with these new easy-to-use tools that appeal to the love of learning, improve comprehension, and achieve higher engagement for instructors and learners.

Creator+ offers the following 4 main tools for content creators to enhance their course content:

• Insert Elements enables users to create dynamic content following instructional design best practices, easily and seamlessly. Examples are Accordions, Click and Reveal, Timelines, and Flip Cards.

• Practices can be used to deepen comprehension and reinforce concepts using formative practice questions in Content HTML topics. Examples of Practices are Multiple Choice, Sequencing, Sorting, and Fill in the Blanks.

• Advanced Media using Capture App to quickly capture screen and video learning assets that can be automatically captioned, edited, and used across your courses.

• Creator+ content templates that you can easily edit with Creator+ tools to get started quickly.

How Can I Learn More?

Visit Creator+ and Media Library on the Studio webpages!

Enroll in our Creator+ Best Practices course on Brightspace! To enroll, go to the SMU Brightspace Homepage, on the NavBar click Discover. Find the Creator+ Best Practices course in Featured, select it and Enroll. Once in the course, navigate to Content where you will find videos and demos of each element and practice.

If you have any questions or need some guidance on how to use these new tools, please reach out to the Software and Application Support Centre – SAS@smu.ca, or drop by our office at AT 107.

Creator+ Information Sessions:

Monday, December 19, 2022 - 11am

Join Zoom Meeting
https://smu-ca.zoom.us/j/84650257688?pwd=MllwTWx5VnFkU3JEaW02TEduNTNEdz09&from=addon

Meeting ID: 846 5025 7688
Passcode: 984489

Tuesday, January 10, 2022 - 2pm

Join Zoom Meeting
https://smu-ca.zoom.us/j/88509521784?pwd=c0hNa3I2UUk1M3VGaU0wNmJDMHgvQT09&from=addon

Meeting ID: 885 0952 1784
Passcode: 985569

Upcoming changes to the Brightspace Homepage and Course Homepage

The Saint Mary’s Brightspace homepage and default set-up for your course homepages are getting a refresh! On August 22, you will see a new layout on the Brightspace homepage and find some new widgets on both. These changes will not affect any work you have already done in your Fall courses.  

Image on the Left shows the current Saint Mary’s Brightspace homepage. Image on the right shows the default course homepage.

What’s new on the Brightspace homepage – We are adding a few new widgets: Quick Eval (for instructors) and Work To Do (for students). With these new widgets, students and instructors will be able to keep track of work they have to do!  

The Quick Eval widget shows a quick snapshot of outstanding Assignments and Quizzes that need your attention. You can quickly get to those submissions to grade and submit feedback to students from the widget. For more information on how to use Quick Eval, you can download our How-To Guide HERE.  

With the Work To Do widget, students can see any outstanding and upcoming Quizzes, Assignments, and Discussion deadlines. By adding this widget to the Brightspace homepage, students will be able to get a snapshot of their upcoming deadlines for all their courses in one spot!  

What’s new on the Course homepage – In addition to adding the Work To Do and Quick Eval widgets to the course homepages, we are introducing the Course Overview widget. This new widget is only visible to instructors and is part of the recently launched Brightspace Insights. As an instructor, you can see snapshot view of Course Access, Class Engagement, and other useful features. For more information on this widget, please visit our website HERE to view our Insights Instructor Guide and Top 10 Ideas on Learner Analytics. 

Want to customize your course homepage? The SAS (Software & Application Support) can help you with that! We can create custom widgets for your course, like a Welcome to the Course widget and an Instructor Contact Info widget. We also have widgets like Slim Announcements that is a slimmed down version of the News tool. If you are interested in adding any of these widgets to your courses, contact us at SAS@smu.ca.