With the start of the semester next week, you might find the following information about Brightspace helpful.

Run the Grades Setup Wizard

Grades Setup Wizard needs to be run for each course and will help you configure Grades to suit your approach to evaluation. This is also where you would provide your students with access to the Final Grade column so they can track their progress throughout the semester.

When you access Grades within your course for the first time, the Setup Wizard loads, however if it doesn’t, click Setup Wizard tab in Grades.

Learn more about setting up your gradebook in Brightspace

If you have already run the Setup Wizard, you may not have been aware of a new feature that was recently added called Automatic Zero. This feature allows a score of zero (0) to automatically be applied when a student does not complete an activity after the due date has passed. To apply this setting, you may need to re-run your Setup Wizard. Learn more about Automatic Zero on the Brightspace Blog.

Activating your Course

Once the semester begins you will need to make your course active so your students can access the course materials.  Learn how to make your course available from the Knowledge Base article: Activating your Brightspace Course.

Turnitin

With the move to Brightspace the university had to select a new tool for checking plagiarism. Turnitin is now integrated into Brightspace. For instructions on how to apply Turnitin to an Assignment visit Assignments and Turnitin. You may also be interested in these additional resources:

• Overview of Similarity Report Experience
• Accessing the Similarity Report in Brightspace

Where to Get Help

Brightspace Virtual Assistant

The Brightspace Virtual Assistant is a 24/7 support tool that is integrated directly into the platform. It provides immediate access to help documentation, step-by-step guides, and video tutorials for all Brightspace users. You can also connect directly with live agents and open support tickets.

The Knowledge Base:
Brightspace articles and how-to guides housed on the Missouri State website.

Brightspace Guided Training
Located on the institutional navigation bar when you first access Brightspace. The Brightspace Guided Training is a self-paced program that includes instructional videos and step-by-step walkthroughs for many of the features you will use as an instructor.