Your inbox may be filling up with communications about Missouri State’s transition to the Brightspace learning management system. Given that we’re currently cruising through the busiest time of the academic year, it’s possible that you haven’t had a chance to give those emails much attention.
Never fear: We sat down with Nancy Gordon, director of the Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning (FCTL), to ask the most burning questions about how to move courses to Brightspace.
Q&A
Academic Expressions: What would you tell me if I were a faculty member who wasn’t able to attend any of the training sessions you held at FCTL. Am I on my own now? Or are there resources that can help with the transition from Blackboard to Brightspace?
Nancy Gordon: We’re hosting open labs on upcoming Fridays. [Access the open lab schedule here.] You can also schedule one-on-one assistance with Stacy Rice (senior instructional designer) or Eric Taylor (instructional designer-educational technology), and they’ll walk you through the process. [Schedule with Stacy or with Eric.]
AE: What if I need assistance outside normal business hours?
NG: On the main menu, there’s a link that says “Guided Training.” This is a course with bite-sized tutorials. There’s also a virtual chat within the platform. If you get stuck, use the virtual chat. It’s AI, and it can direct you toward more information. If you have a bigger issue that can’t be solved with this tool’s suggestions, your question will get routed through the help desk. This is a 24/7 service. We purchased these resources to help with the transition.
How and When to Transition to Brightspace
AE: Real talk: How hard is it to move courses from Blackboard to Brightspace?
NG: The migration process itself is easy. [Access a how-to on course migration here.] Depending on how a course is organized in Blackboard, things may not translate to Brightspace in a “one-to-one” way, so you’ll want to review and check all the content. Courses that are set up very simply in Blackboard are likely to migrate to Brightspace without many complications. If a course is set up in a way that’s more complicated or if it has many auxiliary assets, it might need more attention once it’s migrated to Brightspace.
AE: How should I get started with this transition?
NG: I recommend creating a source course. This is essentially like a sandbox, where you can load content and experiment with course design. [Request a source course here.] We’ve also created a checklist that will help you make sure you know everything you need to know to manage your courses from Brightspace. [Access “Brightspace Readiness Checklist” here.]
AE: For a lot of faculty, this is the absolute busiest time of the year. If you’re focused on finishing the semester strong, can you put this off until summer?
NG: Everyone needs to be aware that after May 31, we will no longer have access to Blackboard. You won’t be able to download gradebooks or course materials from Blackboard after May 31.
AE: Wait, what? We won’t have access to Blackboard after May 31?
NG: Our contract with Blackboard is ending, so we won’t be able to access Blackboard after May 31. And beginning with intersession courses that start on May 13, all courses will be in Brightspace. So if you’re teaching an intersession course, you need to build it in Brightspace.
AE: Just as a thought experiment, let’s imagine that I’m not able to make this happen before May 31. There’s someone who can help me, right? Someone with a top-secret, emergency code that can get my content out of Blackboard?
NG: No, no one will have access after May 31. We would always want to help! But in this case, our contract with Blackboard is ending, so we simply can’t access that platform after May 31.
Three Actions to Take Right Now
AE: So what do I absolutely, positively need to do before May 31?
NG: There are three things I recommend doing, even if you can’t completely build out your courses in Brightspace. First, download your gradebooks from Blackboard. [Access a how-to on downloading gradebooks here.] If you don’t do this, you won’t have access to that information after May 31. We recommend downloading gradebooks for at least the 2023–24 academic year. Next, request a source course. Then you can migrate all of your course content into the source course. It doesn’t have to be pretty because it’s only for your use. You can even come to an open lab and get someone to help you with the migration. If you do these three things before May 31 — download your gradebooks, request a source course and migrate your content into the source course — then you can take your time building out your courses for the fall.
AE: What about students? What should I do if they need help using Brightspace?
NG: We’ve created a resource page specifically for students. They also have access to the 24/7 virtual chat, so please encourage them to use it. And people are very positive about the Brightspace app, which is a big plus for students as they manage their coursework.
AE: Remind me again why we’re making this change.
NG: We’re confident that changing our LMS will create a better learning experience for students and a more robust teaching environment for faculty. For example, Brightspace has video tools and ample storage for videos. This means that instead of having to create and house videos on another platform, you can do it all within the LMS. Features and benefits like this should be big time savers.
Faculty who are already using Brightspace have told us that they find it easier to upload and create content in this platform and that it offers a more intuitive look for students. We’ve also received positive feedback about all the support resources — the guided trainings and virtual chat.
Brightspace Resources
Around Campus…
The College of Business (COB) recently filled two endowed chairs. Dr. Wes Friske, associate professor of marketing, was named the Endowed Chair in the College of Business. Dr. Seth Hoelscher, associate professor of finance, economics and risk management, was named the Dr. Robert W. and Charlotte K. Bitter Endowed Chair.
“Endowed chairs and professorships are established to recognize outstanding scholarly achievement and assist in retaining faculty who distinguish themselves — not only through research but also in the areas of teaching and service,” says Dr. David Meinert, COB Dean. “Drs. Friske and Hoelscher excel in all three areas. Through their high-quality research, they’re bringing prestige to Missouri State and the College of Business.”
Friske expressed gratitude for the appointment, calling it “an important milestone in my career because it validates years of dedication to scholarly research. More importantly, it provides me with the financial support I need to maintain effective research programs in marketing and the marketing/entrepreneurship interface.”
Hoelscher agrees. “I am truly honored by this recognition and excited about the opportunities it brings for my research,” he says. “It marks a significant milestone for me personally and offers a valuable platform to further my research in corporate finance, commodity markets and disclosures. I want to thank the Bitter family and other Missouri State supporters for making opportunities like this possible. The community of support at Missouri State is unmatched, and I look forward to engaging with this community in new and exciting ways, thanks to this opportunity.”