UofG OpenEd Documentation & Support

Instructors: CourseLink Tools

The information on this page is intended for instructors using a CourseLink course site.

Posts in I-CL-Communication
Zoom Cloud Storage Retention

Overview

Zoom is a web-based conferencing service available to all instructors teaching during the current semester or for those users who have purchased a license with OpenEd. Users have access to the Zoom Cloud service when provided a Zoom Pro license.

Zoom Cloud is intended for temporary, non-archival storage, to be used during the current or immediate academic term. Instructors and staff are expected to assess those recordings on a routine basis and transfer their recordings to University-approved storage solutions like OneDrive.

Retention Period

Starting September 1, 2022, OpenEd will implement a one-year Zoom Cloud retention period. All Zoom recordings will be retained for one year, keeping up to the matching semester from the previous year. At the beginning of each subsequent semester, the next deletion cycle will begin.

All deleted files will be stored in the owner’s Trash for an additional 30 days. After the 30-day Trash timer expires, the recordings will be deleted permanently.

Examples of Zoom Cloud Recording Deletion Dates

Considerations

  • Be aware: Know the retention period so you can plan accordingly.

  • Backup or transfer your older recordings.

  • Consider automating backups using the Zoom Transfer Tool.

  • Want Reminders? You can enable an alert when recordings will be permanently deleted from Trash. Sign in to https://zoom.us, click Settings and select “Email Notification.” Enable “When the cloud recording is going to be permanently deleted from trash.”

Zoom Transfer Tool

OpenEd has developed a Zoom recording transfer tool to assist you with managing and transferring cloud recordings between your UofG Zoom Pro account and your UofG OneDrive account. The Zoom Transfer Tool makes the process of copying your Zoom cloud recordings to OneDrive simple and offers the option to automate the process for all future Zoom cloud recordings.

University Links Regarding Privacy and Retention

Privacy & Recording Virtual Lectures
Record Retention and Disposition Policy


Additional Resources

Zoom
Zoom Video Tutorials

Related Tools

Need More Help?

If you're still having trouble, please contact the CourseLink Support team for assistance.

 
 
I-CL-CommunicationGreg Sabatine
Classlist-linked Microsoft Security Groups

Classlist-linked Microsoft Security Group

Classlist-linked Microsoft Security Groups are the result of a collaborative project between CCS and OpenEd.

Microsoft Security Groups are used to grant and limit access to various to Microsoft resources such as files stored on OneDrive and Stream videos.

Through CourseLink’s Course Creation Tool, each course site may have a Microsoft Security Group created that will synchronize that course site’s Classlist tool with a Microsoft Security Group via an unique name (i.e. DEMO_1000_01_F22_654321) - a Classlist-linked Microsoft Security Group.

Once linked, the Classlist-linked Microsoft Security Group memberships are updated daily to ensure that any changes to a course site’s class list are also reflected in the corresponding Microsoft Security Group within a 24-hour window. This means that if a user (i.e., a student) is added to or removed from a CourseLink course site’s Classlist tool, they will also gain or lose access to the corresponding resource that was shared using that Classlist-linked Microsoft Security Group within 24 hours.

Please note that instructors and TAs that appear on a course site’s Classlist tool will be added to the security group within 24 hours of its creation. However, students will not be added to the security group until/unless the course site’s start date has passed. This allows instructors to setup shares using Classlist-linked Microsoft Security Groups ahead of class without worry that students will gain access before class begins.

 

Enabling the Classlist-linked Microsoft Security Group

Instructors can enable a Classlist-linked Microsoft Security Group when creating or updating a CourseLink course site using the CourseLink Course Creation Tool.

Once all the appropriate sections for the course site have been selected, instructors will be presented with the option to link the course site with a Microsoft Security Group.

The image shows you where to click to allow the Classlist-linked Microsoft Security Group to be created for the course. The text and check box is in a red box to indicate where to look.

Location of the create CLMSG option.

Selecting the Create and link Microsoft Security Group to this course site’s Classlist tool option will enable the creation and maintenance of a Classlist-linked Microsoft Security Group.

 

Locating and Identifying the Classlist-linked Microsoft Security Group

A unique security group name will be generated once the course site has been created or the existing course has been updated with Classlist-Linked Security Groups enabled.

Please note that the security group name will appear in the success message displayed once the course site creation process is complete.

The image shows where to look for the Microsoft security group text. There is a copy to clipboard button to the right of it.

Locations of the CLMSG code in the course creation success message.

 

You may also locate the security group name for any of your course sites with Classlist-linked Microsoft Security Groups enabled by using the Course Creation Tool’s Update Course option.

A page showing all CourseLink Courses you have access to as an instructor. It has red boxes around the Linked Security group text/code. There is a copy to clipboard button to the right.

Locations of the CLMSG codes on the update course sites section of the CourseLink Course Creation tool.

 

To uniquely identify and easily recognize each security group, its name is automatically generated as an amalgamation of the CourseLink Course Offering Code and the CourseLink course site’s OUID (OUIDs are the last 6 digits of a course site’s homepage URL). For example, if your course code is DEMO_1000_01_F22 and your course site’s OUID (org unit id) is 654321, then your Classlist-linked Microsoft Security Group name will be created as DEMO_1000_01_F22_654321.

NOTE: Once the security group is created, please do not attempt to modify your CourseLink Course Offering Code to alter the name, as the group name is locked on creation.

Once created, Classlist-linked Microsoft Security Groups are synchronized with the appropriate CourseLink site’s Classlist once nightly.  Security groups must be enabled before 7:00 pm to be included in the nightly update. Creation and processing of security group memberships are completed by 8:00 am the next day.

 

Using the Classlist-linked Microsoft Security Group

To assign a Classlist-linked Microsoft Security Group to a resource, such as an O365 document, or video stored on OneDrive, use the Share with option within the application and search for the group code that was generated in the CourseLink Course Creation tool (i.e., DEMO_1000_01_F22_654321).

Searching for the CLMSG in OneDrive’s share window. The image has a red box around the fields (who can view, a search bar...) important to the user.

Searching for the CLMSG in OneDrive’s share window.

NOTE: Security groups are considered People when searching and will not appear if you try to share using My Groups in Microsoft Stream.

An Image searching for the Classlist-linked Microsoft Security Group it can be seen in the dropdown menu.

After searching for the Classlist-linked Microsoft Security Group it can be seen in the dropdown menu.

Sharing to a Classlist-linked Microsoft Security Group can be done for each individual file or resource you wish to share with that group . If you are using OneDrive to store files you plan to share with your class, you may share specific files, or share a folder that contains multiple files with the corresponding Classlist-linked security group. If you share a folder with a security group, you can then simply copy a link for any file in that folder and share it with anyone on your CourseLink course site’s Classlist via the Content tool, email, etc. You will not need to share each file in that folder individually with the security group.

Please note that files in shared OneDrive folders inherit the permissions of the folder. This means that if the folder is shared to the security group and the allow editing option is enabled, then everyone on the course site’s class list (including students) will be able to edit and delete any shared files/documents from that folder. Any deleted files or folders will be placed in the owner’s OneDrive Recycle Bin and can be easily restored by the owner with all the original share permissions within 93 days . If the folder is shared to the security group with view only access, then everyone on the class list (including students) will not be able to edit or delete files/documents shared from that folder. The exception being the instructor, provided they are the owner of the file, or anyone that has been granted additional edit permissions by the file/resource owner.

 

Expiration of Access for Classlist-linked Microsoft Security Group Members

Security groups are cleared of non-instructor level members (students, TAs, guests, etc.) as of the access end date for the associated CourseLink course site. This means that when a user can no longer access a course site due to the passing of its end date, they will also lose access to any files or services (OneDrive documents, Stream videos, etc.) shared via the course site’s Classlist-linked Microsoft Security Group.

The files or services shared to that security group will be otherwise unaffected and the owner(s) will maintain access. Instructor-level users, those with the Instruct-facilitator or Instruct-build-grade roles on the Classlist tool, will also maintain membership to the security group and access to any shared files or resources after the access end date of the course site.

 

Deferred Students and Classlist-linked Microsoft Security Groups

If a student is granted deferred access to a CourseLink course site with the Deferred Student role within 18 months of its end date, they will be automatically re-added to the Classlist-linked Microsoft Security Group associated with that course site within 24 hours. This will restore access for deferred students to any resources previously shared for that course, provided they have not been deleted or had the share to the security group removed by their owner.

When a student’s deferred access to a course site ends, they are removed from the course site’s Classlist tool, which in turn will also automatically remove them from the associated Classlist-linked Microsoft Security Group within 24 hours.

 

Deletion of Classlist-linked Microsoft Security Groups

Classlist-linked Microsoft security groups are automatically deleted 18 months after their associated course site’s end date has passed.

Once the security group is deleted, any access provided to shared files or services through that group is also removed.

Only the Classlist-linked Microsoft security group is deleted. The files shared to that group are unaffected. The files/resources and any other sharing permissions associated with them are not impacted when the security group is deleted.

Please note that even after the security group is deleted, the owner’s files/resources on OneDrive may still indicate that the security group share exists, but the files/resources will no longer be shared as the security group no longer exists.

Need More Help?

If you're still having trouble, please contact the CourseLink Support team for assistance.

 
 
I-CL-CommunicationOwen Wooding
Zoom

What is Zoom?

Zoom is a video conferencing tool that allows users to interact with others in different locations by streaming through audio and video. Instructors can use Zoom to deliver online lectures to students in real time. Zoom is accessible from a tablet, a smartphone, or a computer. Users have the ability to share their screen, use a camera or microphone, use a text-based chat, participate in a breakout room and a variety of other tools to encourage active learning. Zoom will help to actively engage students through virtual teaching and learning.

If you will be teaching your course remotely, you will want to use Zoom Meetings in your CourseLink course.

Visit the Zoom website for information about its features.

Zoom Pro License

A Zoom Pro License can be used by instructors for teaching purposes. To obtain a Zoom Pro License and activate your Zoom account, contact CourseLink Technical Support.

Enabling Zoom on CourseLink

1. Navigate to the Content area of CourseLink and type Zoom in Add a module. Save by clicking Enter.

A red circle is around the number one which is to the right of the "Add a module" button.

2. Enter the Zoom module. Add a direct link to Zoom by opening the Existing Activities dropdown and select External Learning Tools.

A red circle is around the number two which is to the left of the "External Learning Tools" dropdown menu option.

3. From the list of available LTI Links, select Zoom. This will allow you and your students to access Zoom meetings through your CourseLink course.

Note: If you have a Zoom account linked with a personal email account, it will not upgrade to the PRO version or integrate with CourseLink.

A red circle is around the number 3 which is to the right of the Zoom link/button.

How to Create a Zoom Meeting

Once you have created an account, you can return to your CourseLink course.

1. Enter the Zoom module and click on the Zoom tool. Click Schedule a New Meeting.

Note: The first time you use Zoom, you may have to “allow” Zoom to integrate with your course.

A red arrow is pointing to the "Schedule a New Meeting" button. This step is indicated by a red circle is around the number one which is above the button.

2. Enter meeting topic. This will be prepopulated with your course name and code.

3. Select the starting date, time, and duration of your meeting.

4. Decide if you want to schedule a Recurring meeting and select the dates for meetings as well as the ending date.

Note: If you do not select Recurring meeting, you will need to individually enter each meeting time. If you choose recurring meeting, the same meeting ID will be used for all meetings.

A red circle is around the number two which is to the left of the topic text. A red circle is around the 3 one which is to the left of the timing options. A red circle is around the number 4 which is to the right of the recurrence option.

5. After you schedule the meeting, you will see more options for your meeting. They are explained here:

  • Registration: This is not needed. This requires students to register for the class ahead of time. Leave this unchecked.

  • Video: If you would like yourself and/or students to be able to activate their camera, you can indicate that here. During the live session you will have the ability to toggle cameras on/off.

  • Audio: “Telephone” means microphone here. You will likely want your mic activated, and possibly your computer audio. Check both.

  • Meeting options: You have the ability to Mute participants upon entry and Record the meeting automatically. You may also want to check more of these boxes.

A red circle is around the number 5 which is to the left of the schedule a meeting options.

6. Click save when you are finished. Go back to the Zoom module, and you will see all of your scheduled meetings displayed.

Additional Resources

Zoom Cloud Storage Retention
Zoom Video Tutorials

Related Tools

Need More Help?

If you're still having trouble, please contact the CourseLink Support team for assistance.

 
 
I-CL-CommunicationGuest User
Intelligent Agents
 

About Intelligent Agents

Intelligent agents are customizable messages automatically emailed to individual learners when they fulfill a particular task. For example, an instructor may choose to set an intelligent agent to let a student know when they have missed a deadline on an assignment.

Intelligent agents require initial set up (which can take less than 5 minutes!), then they work all on their own, in the background of a course. Modify the language in the messages as needed, to suit your audience.

Common Use Cases for Intelligent Agents

Here are some of the most common situations where using an Intelligent Agent (IA) might be beneficial to your learners:

  • Hasn’t accessed course in 2 weeks

  • Incomplete tasks on a checklist

  • Completed all tasks on a check list

  • Earned 80% or higher on quiz/assignment

  • Failed test

  • Late assignment

  • No posts authored in discussion topic

  • Received a grade/feedback on an assignment

  • Once a learner has reached a topic page in a long course to indicate half way or almost finished

Replace Strings

Replace strings help personalize the message being sent, such as addressing the email to the learner’s first name or indicating the date that a specific user last logged in the course. There are several replace strings that can be used in Intelligent Agents - here is the complete list. It is important to note, though, that some can be used only in the body of the message while others can also be used in the subject.

Creating Intelligent Agents

Tutorial Videos

Content Tool FAQs

Related Tools

Need More Help?

If you're still having trouble, please contact the CourseLink Support team for assistance.

 
 
I-CL-CommunicationGreg Sabatine
Video Note

What is Video Note?

Video Note is an option available to instructors and students to create short videos of up to 30 minutes in length. Video Note is available with the following tools:

  • Announcements

  • Content

  • Discussions

  • Dropbox

 

How to use Video Note in Announcements

  1. Select the drop down arrow next to the Announcements tool on your course homepage (the first widget located under the course banner image).

  2. Select New Announcement.













  3. Add a title for your announcement in the Headline field.


  4. Select the Add Stuff icon










  5. Select the option for Add Video Note.








  6. You will have two options available - Record Webcam Video or Upload File (if you already have an existing video that you would like to use).







  7. If you’d like to Record Webcam Video, scroll down to where it says New Recording.

  8. Click the New Recording button to start your recording.

    Note: if this is the first time you are using the tool the browser will ask you to allow webcam permissions. Please enable this permission.




  9. Click Stop Recording when you are done with your video.





  10. Review your recording at this step. If you’d like to try again click New Recording to restart the process. If you are satisfied with the recording click Next.








  11. Add a Title and Description for your recording (optional).

    Click Next.





  12. Click Insert










  13. You should now see the recording appear under the Content section of the Announcement.







  14. Select Publish to make the video available to students.

The image has the dropdown menu for the announcements.
A red box is around the insert stuff button.
This image is a insert stuff window highlighting the Add Video Note option.
The insert stuff window on the Add Video Note page. It has a black box where the video would be after clicking and selecting the upload video button.
The insert stuff window with a new recording button.
Insert stuff button with the new recording button and next button with a blue background.
Insert Stuff window on the Add Video Note page. There is options to set the title and description.
Insert stuff window on the Add Video Note: Properties page. Can preview the post here and the blue insert button is located here.
The new announcement with a black video. The announcement title is "Announcement Title" and there is a blue publish button.
 

How to use Video Note in Content

  1. Go to to Content section of your course and enter the content module you would like post in.


  2. Click the button for Upload / Create and select Create a File from the drop down.











  3. Enter a Title for your video


  4. Select the Add Stuff icon.










  5. Select the option for Add Video Note.








  6. You will have two options available - Record Webcam Video or Upload File (if you already have an existing video that you would like to use).









  7. If you’d like to Record Webcam Video, scroll down to where it says New Recording.

  8. Click the New Recording button to start your recording.

    Note: if this is the first time you are using the tool the browser will ask you to allow webcam permissions. Please enable this permission



  9. Click Stop Recording when you are done with your video.







  10. Review your recording at this step. If you’d like to try again click New Recording to restart the process. If you are satisfied with the recording click Next.






  11. Add a Title and Description for your recording (optional).

    Click Next.





  12. Click Insert.












  13. You should now see the recording appear under the Content section of the post.










  14. Select Save and Close to make the video available to students.

The upload/create button was pressed and a dropdown menu can be seen. It is highlighting in light blue "Create a File".
The Create a File page and it is highlighting in a red box the insert stuff button.
Insert stuff page with a few options. It is highlighting in a light blue Add Video Note.
The insert stuff window on the Add Video Note page. It has a black box where the video would be after clicking and selecting the upload video button.
The insert stuff window with a new recording button.
The insert stuff window with the stop recording button with a blue background.
Insert stuff button with the new recording button and next button with a blue background.
Insert Stuff window on the Add Video Note page. There is options to set the title and description.
Insert stuff window on the Add Video Note: Properties page. Can preview the post here and the blue insert button is located here.
The new announcement with a black video. The announcement title is "Announcement Title" and there is a blue publish button.
 

How to use Video Note in Discussions

  1. Go to to Discussion section of your course and enter an existing Discussion Topic you would like post in.

    .

  2. Click the button for Start a New Thread.




  3. Enter a subject for your video


  4. Select the Add Stuff button.






  5. Select the option for Add Video Note.








  6. You will have two options available - Record Webcam Video or Upload File (if you already have an existing video that you would like to use).







  7. If you’d like to Record Webcam Video, scroll down to where it says New Recording.

  8. Click the New Recording button to start your recording.

    Note: if this is the first time you are using the tool the browser will ask you to allow webcam permissions. Please enable this permission





  9. Click Stop Recording when you are done with your video.





  10. Review your recording at this step. If you’d like to try again click New Recording to restart the process. If you are satisfied with the recording click Next.





  11. Add a Title and Description for your recording (optional).

    Click Next.







  12. Click Insert.











  13. You should now see the recording appear under the Content section of the thread.






  14. Select Post to make the video available to students.

The discussions page in the Ask Your Instructor and TAs forum. There is a blue start a new thread button.
On the thread there is an insert stuff button in a red border box.
Insert stuff page with a few options. It is highlighting in a light blue Add Video Note.
The insert stuff window on the Add Video Note page. It has a black box where the video would be after clicking and selecting the upload video button.
The insert stuff window with a new recording button.
The insert stuff window with the stop recording button with a blue background.
Insert stuff button with the new recording button and next button with a blue background.
Insert Stuff window on the Add Video Note page. There is options to set the title and description.
The new thread with a black video. The announcement title is "Announcement Title" and there is a blue publish button.
 

How to use Video Note in Dropbox

  1. Go to to Dropbox section of your course and either Edit an existing Folder, or create a New Folder.


  2. Enter a Name for your Dropbox folder.



  3. Select the Add Stuff button.





  4. Select the option for Add Video Note.








  5. You will have two options available - Record Webcam Video or Upload File (if you already have an existing video that you would like to use).








  6. If you’d like to Record Webcam Video, scroll down to where it says New Recording.

  7. Click the New Recording button to start your recording.

    Note: if this is the first time you are using the tool the browser will ask you to allow webcam permissions. Please enable this permission



  8. Click Stop Recording when you are done with your video.






  9. Review your recording at this step. If you’d like to try again click New Recording to restart the process. If you are satisfied with the recording click Next.





  10. Add a Title and Description for your recording (optional).

    Click Next.






  11. Click Insert.











  12. You should now see the recording appear under the Instructions section of the folder.









  13. Select Save and Close to make the video available to students.

On the dropbox folder there is an insert stuff button in a red border box.
Insert stuff page with a few options. It is highlighting in a light blue Add Video Note.
The insert stuff window on the Add Video Note page. It has a black box where the video would be after clicking and selecting the upload video button.
The insert stuff window with a new recording button.
The insert stuff window with the stop recording button with a blue background.
Insert stuff button with the new recording button and next button with a blue background.
Insert Stuff window on the Add Video Note page. There is options to set the title and description.
Insert stuff window on the Add Video Note: Properties page. Can preview the post here and the blue insert button is located here.
 
 

Need More Help?

If you're still having trouble, please contact the CourseLink Support team for assistance.

 
 
I-CL-CommunicationOwen Wooding
Webex

What is Webex?

WebEx is an online tool designed to facilitate online meetings, online classes, student group work and other collaborative coursework.

 

How to Login to Webex

  1. To login into Webex, please use your browser to go to uoguelph.webex.com


  2. Click on Sign In and provide your @uoguelph.ca (or @guelphhumber.ca) e-mail address.

    This will take you to the University’s single sign-on page.







  3. Please enter your UoG username and password and click on Sign in.











  4. You are now connected to your Webex profile.

WebEx1.png
Single sign on page for the university of Guelph. Username and password is being asked for.
Your Webex Profile. This lists upcoming meetings.
 

Schedule a Class or Meeting (single or recurring)

This image shows the user scheduling a new meeting.
This image has the user setting up the recurrence of the meeting every week on Thursdays.

  1. Click on Schedule.

  2. Enter a name for your meeting in the Meeting Topic field (E.g. Biology 101)

  3. Keep meeting password unchanged or change as desired

  4. Set date and time for the session you are trying to book

    o   If this is a recurring meeting, please check the Recurrence field to open the options

  5. In the attendees list, enter names (or e-mail addresses) of students that should attend your session. 
    *If you have a list of comma (or semi-colon) separated e-mail addresses, you can copy and paste them into the field.


    *See also: Alternative Method of sending meeting to large number of participants”*

  6. Click on Save to complete the scheduling.

 

Start your Webex Class or Meeting

The image has the meeting time from 11:30pm - 12:30am and the start button is located to the right.
The image is asking the user to confirm their audio and video connection with a green Connect Audio and Video button at the bottom.

  1. On your webex home page, find the session you want to start under “Upcoming Meetings” meetings.

  2. Click on “View all meetings” if you can’t see the session you are looking for on the initial list.

  3. Click the “Start” button on the session you want to launch.

  4. Students are able to join your session, once you started it.

  5. When prompted, choose your audio and video preferences and then click on “connect Audio and Video”.

 

Start your Webex Class or Meeting

Image has the options that the host would have during the meeting like share screen.
Image shows what happens after clicking share screen button. It makes you select what you want to share.
Image shows the options the host has when sharing the screen. They can stop by clicking "Stop Sharing".

  1. To share content, click on the Share button (box with arrow pointing up)




  2. Choose what to share from the options presented
















  3. After you share your screen, the control panel will move to the top of the screen and look like this

 

Recordings

  1. To record your session, click the Recorder button (circle with red dot)


  2. Ensure the option Record in cloud is selected before you click Record



  3. Click on the X to close the recording window.


  4. To end or pause recording, click on the recorder button again for options.

    o   Ending a meeting will also stop the recording.


  5. To access your recording, go to your Webex home page

  6. Click on Recordings on the left hand side

  7. Choose the recording of your session


  8. To edit what is available when shared, click the More button (circle with 3 dots) and select Edit. From here you can remove components of your recording, if so desired.









  9. To access the link to the recording, click on the share button on the right side






  10. Copy the link and paste to Courselink as required.

    Note: To restrict access to the recording to “UoG only”, click on “Anyone with the link can view this recording” and switch to “People in my company can view this recording”

Check “advanced options” for further ways to customize your meeting (e.g. chat & participant list views)

  • Meeting Options

  • Attendee Privileges

Image has the options that the host would have during the meeting like recod meeting.
Image shows the options the host has when sharing the screen. They can stop by clicking "Stop Sharing".
Image has a Recorder window with the dropdown option Record in cloud option selected. A red Record button is at the bottom.
The image is the My Recorded Meetings.
Image show the Edit Recorded Meetings page with editing options that changes what students see from the meeting.
The image is on the Share recording options. You can enter emails to share with people and add a message. When you are ready click save

Options to consider

  • Scheduling options > Require account

  • Audio connection options > Entry and Exit tone : No tone

  • Note: if you want to allow someone to start the meeting in your absence, click the silhouette beside their name to highlight them (e.g.: your TA for the class)



 

Best practices

The preferences page

  • Use a headset with microphone if you are the host/presenter.

  • After the meeting is started, click on Participant > Mute on entry

  • Participant > uncheck entry & exit tone

  • Set recording preferences:

 

Related Tools

 

Need More Help?

If you're still having trouble, please contact the CourseLink Support team for assistance.

 
 
I-CL-CommunicationOwen Wooding
Virtual Classroom

What is the Virtual Classroom tool?

The Virtual Classroom meeting space allows instructors, trainers, and learners to engage each other with livestream video. Instructors can engage a large audience and connect up to 7 simultaneous webcams. 

Use Cases:  

  • office hours

  • training sessions

  • live lectures

Accessing the Virtual Classroom Tool

The Virtual Classroom is not one of the default links in the navigation bar of your CourseLink course site, therefore you will need to add it your navigation bar. To do so please follow the instructions provided in the Customize Navbar section.

For Distance Education (DE) courses, the link appears under the drop-down menu of the Tools link on the navigation bar (provided that the course is using Dropbox).

Location of the Dropbox link on a DE course site

 

Using the Virtual Classroom tool?


Click Virtual Classroom. This will take you to the Virtual Classroom page.


Within the menu, select Scheduled Meetings.

schedule meeting red button with a white plus in the middle.

SCHEDULE

Once you are on the Scheduled Meetings page, you can add a new Virtual Classroom session (Click the Plus icon in the lower right corner).

Name the meeting, then enter the date and time. If you would like the meeting to start immediately, select Now. Moderators can also enter meetings 10 minutes early to get started before others arrive.

Note: Depending on your organization’s membership, your maximum number of users may vary. You can also share up to 7 simultaneous webcams.

schedule meeting settings. It has title, timing options, cancel and save at the bottom.

Depending on your organization’s setup, you may or may not have the options highlighted in gray in the image above. If you do have these options, expand the button below to learn more.

When you are ready, click Save.

schedule meeting settings. It has title, timing options, cancel and save at the bottom.

Once the meeting is scheduled, you can invite others – as well as edit or cancel the meeting. When the meeting time arrives, you will launch the Virtual Classroom meeting. 

Edit or Cancel

To Edit the date/time or Cancel, click on the vertical ellipsis on the right-side of the meeting name to bring up the needed menu: 


To prepare for your Virtual Classroom meeting, learn more about the features available to you. 


VIRTUAL Classroom Basics


PRESENT & COMMUNICATE


SETTINGS & TROUBLESHOOTING

 

Tutorial Videos

Virtual Classroom FAQs

Related Resources and Programming:

Coming Soon!

 

Related Tools

 

Need More Help?

If you're still having trouble, please contact the CourseLink Support team for assistance.

 
 
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Surveys

What is the Surveys Tool?

Create surveys and use the statistics tools to monitor current course trends, seek opinions, and assess user satisfaction.

Surveys are an excellent way to solicit feedback from users regarding any aspect of your course. For example, they can be used as a method of collecting course evaluations, mid-year reviews, or researching users’ learning style and content delivery preferences.

Accessing the Surveys Tool

The Surveys tool is not one of the links found on the default navigation bar of your in-class CourseLink course site. The Surveys tool will need to be Added to your Navbar.

A red arrow is pointing at the Surveys tool link

For Distance Education (DE) courses, the Surveys link appears under the drop-down menu of the Tools link on the navigation bar (provided that the course is using Surveys).

A red arrow points to the Surveys Link
 

Using the Survey Tool

For the most up-to-date information on how to use the Surveys tool, please follow the links below to the Brightspace Help documentation site.

Monitor course trends and assess satisfaction

 

When and why should you consider using the Surveys tool? 

Create surveys and use the statistics tools to monitor current course trends, seek opinions, and assess user satisfaction. Surveys are an excellent way to solicit feedback from participants regarding any aspect of a course. For example, use surveys as a method of collecting course evaluations, mid-year reviews, or researching people's learning styles and content delivery preferences.

 

Related Tools

Need More Help?

If you're still having trouble, please contact the CourseLink Support team for assistance.

 
 
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Groups

What is the Groups Tool?

Create group work areas for users with the Groups tool. You can use Groups to organize users’ work on projects and assignments.

Users can belong to multiple groups within the same course. For example, each user can simultaneously belong to a group for class projects, a group for special interest discussions, and a group for advanced users. Each group can have its own Discussion forums, Dropbox folders, and Locker area to work in. You can grade members of groups individually or as a team.

Accessing the Groups Tool

The Groups tool is one of the links found on the default navigation bar of your CourseLink course site and can be accessed directly from that link.

For Distance Education (DE) courses, the Groups link appears under the drop-down menu of the Tools link on the navigation bar (provided that the course is using Groups).

 

Using the Groups Tool

For the most up-to-date information on how to use the Groups tool, please follow the links below to the Brightspace Help documentation site.

Working with Groups

Groups and Discussions

 

groups vs. Sections

If you want users to see all users and content for a course but be a part of a group for a specific project or activity, use the Groups tool. However, if you want users to only see learning materials and users from their own section, use can use the pre-populated sections included in your course site. Those sections reflect the section enrolments sent to CourseLink from the Registrar’s Office and are updated daily.

To organize users' work on projects and assignments or to create special work areas for users with different learning needs, use the Groups tool.

Additional Groups Tool Tips

  • Users can belong to multiple groups within the same course

  • For each group, you can create separate discussion forums, Dropbox folders, and Locker areas to work in

  • Note that the grade assigned via a group Dropbox folder will cascade to all group members, but that grade can be adjusted individually via the Enter Grades page after it is transferred

  • Before setting up groups, consider how you want to organize them. The following factors can affect how users enroll in groups:

    • Setting groups up before or after you've enrolled users

    • Enabling auto-enrollment in groups

    • Enabling randomization of users in groups

    • Enabling self-enrollment in groups

    • The Enrollment Type you choose

  • When possible, try to set up groups after the majority of users enrol in your course. This gives you a better idea of how many users you are organizing and how many groups you need. Setting up groups after enrollment can also ensure better distribution of users between groups.

  • For users to enroll in groups automatically, the can be auto enrolled into groups permission must be enabled. Contact your site administrator if you experience difficulties.

  • When using self-enrolment groups, please note that students will not be able to remove themselves from a group once they have selected it, but the instructor or TA can remove them from the group allowing them to re-enrol in a new group

 

When and why should you consider using the Groups tool? 

The Groups tool in CourseLink is a powerful feature for managing students and facilitating collaborative learning. You should consider using it in the following scenarios:

Group Assignments and Projects

  • When: You want students to work together on assignments, projects, or presentations.

  • Why: The Groups tool enables you to organize students into teams and assign group-specific tasks. Each group can have its own dedicated workspace, including discussion boards, file sharing, and group Dropbox folders, making it easier to manage submissions and interactions.

Discussion-Based Collaboration

  • When: You want students to engage in smaller, focused discussions.

  • Why: Smaller groups allow for deeper interaction, encourage participation, and help shy students feel more comfortable contributing. The Groups tool can automatically create private discussion areas for each group.

Benefits of the Groups Tool:

  • Flexibility: You can create groups manually or allow D2L to auto-enroll students.

  • Integration: Groups integrate with other D2L tools like Assignments, Discussions, and Quizzes.

  • Efficiency: Streamlines managing group activities and tracking progress.

Using the Groups tool helps create a more organized, collaborative, and engaging learning environment, particularly for courses with diverse interaction and teamwork needs.

Tutorial Videos

Groups Tool FAQs

Related Resources and Programming:

Coming Soon!

 

Need More Help?

If you're still having trouble, please contact the CourseLink Support team for assistance.

 
 
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Classlist

What is the Classlist Tool?

Use the Classlist tool to view who’s enrolled in your course, check users’ online statuses, send email messages, view shared locker files, and read their blogs if they have one.

Depending on your permissions, the Classlist tool enables you to add or remove course participants, change user roles, create new users, and import users from a TXT or CSV file. You can also use the options in the context menu beside each user’s name to view user progress and view group enrollments.

Accessing the Classlist Tool

The Classlist link can be found within the Course Admin link on the navigation bar.

 

Using the Classlist Tool

For the most up-to-date information on how to use the Classlist tool, please follow the links below to the Brightspace Help documentation site.

The Classlist tool is a convenient starting point for viewing information about the users in your course site. For example, you can check who’s online, view profiles, and check group enrollment.

You can also view the Enrollment Statistics, which provides a summary of course enrollments and withdrawals, as well as access the User Progress tool.

Below you will find some additional useful information about the Classlist tool pertaining to User Progress, Enrolment Statistics, and Class Engagement.

Viewing User Progress

Use this feature to view the progress of users enrolled in your courses. For more information on User Progress, see User Progress.

  1. On the Classlist page, click View Progress from the context menu (down-facing arrow) of the user you want to view

  2. To view progress on a specific progress indicator, click the indicator from the Reports List and the report will display under Report Details

  3. Click the expandable and collapsible links to expand or collapse the report detail



 

Viewing Classlist enrollment statistics

The Enrollment Statistics area provides a summary of course enrollments and withdrawals.

On the Classlist page, press the Enrolment Statistics button.

 



Class Engagement

The Class Engagement tool provides instructors with a quick overview of how engaged their students are with CourseLink. The tool helps instructors identify students who may be at risk, but it is not fool-proof. While it can inform an instructor who has or has not accessed their site or posted in discussions, it cannot inform an instructor how long a student spent on their site when it was accessed or what the quality of their discussion contribution may have been. This will still require a human eye and informed analysis.

To launch the Class Engagement tool, click Classlist on your navigation bar (or from Course Admin), then click the Class Engagement button.

 

  • To alert instructors about low class engagement, a notification tile indicates the number of learners who have not visited the course in the last 7 days. Clicking the tile filters the class list to display the learners who have not accessed the course during this period of time.

  • To view course progress at a glance, a bar chart tile displays the grade distribution within the course, with each bar representing a grade range. Clicking a bar filters the class list to display the learners in that grade range. To dismiss the filter, click Clear. NOTE: Since most course sites grade systems are set to automatically score empty grades as zero, the grades displayed are not reflective of their overall grade in the course to date, but rather of their current final grade.

  • Clear visual indicators display when filters are applied to metrics. For example, clicking a range in the grade distribution tile displays the Current grade filter with the specified grade range. Instructors can dismiss an active filter they are no longer interested in by clicking X in the filter.
    If multiple, discontinuous grade ranges are selected in the grade distribution tile, the Current grade filter displays without a grade range.

  • Use the search bar to filter the class list by learner name. You can type a name, user ID, or learner number.

  • A class list in table format displays the following information for each enrolled learner:

    • Name (full name and CourseLink username)

    • Current grade

    • Last visited (date of the last course visit)

    • Discussions (indicates the number of threads started by each user and the number of replies posted by each user)

  • Clicking a table entry displays more information in the Class Progress tool. For example, clicking a user’s name displays the Progress Summary in the Class Progress tool, which provides detailed information about course progress using tracking indicators such as quizzes, surveys, and login history

 

Email Classlist

  1. Select the Email Classlist button.

  2. Select the tab for the type of user that you would like to send the email
    to (either All, Students, Instructors, Teaching Assistants, or Guests).

  3. Click the Send Email button at the bottom of the page.

  4. A pop-up menu will appear where you can draft your email. The users
    selected in the previous step will be listed as Bcc recipients by default.

Image show the classlist with the Email Classlist option in a red box

5. Enter a title in the Subject line and add your email text under the Body section.

6. There is a an option to upload Attachments below the the Body section. Note that file sizes are limited to 10 MB.

7. Once you are ready to send your email, scroll back up to the top and click the Send button.

 
 

Classlist – View user pronouns next to names to further personalize learning

Classlist can now display users’ pronouns next to their names.

Users can choose whether to display their pronouns to other users in the Account Settings > Pronouns menu. They must check the Allow others to see my pronouns check box for their pronouns to display in Classlist.

Previously, the only location where pronouns displayed was in a user’s profile card.

When pronouns can be found in the classlist. It is to the right of the students name in a red box.

Classlist – Easily access and view sections for specific users

Instructors can now use the Classlist tool to view groups and sections. Previously, instructors could only view section enrollments using various filtering and sorting work flows or by searching within the Sections tool.

The view groups and sections dropbown option in a red box
 

Tutorial Videos

Classlist Tool FAQs

Related Resources and Programming:

Coming Soon!

 

Related Tools

Need More Help?

If you're still having trouble, please contact the CourseLink Support team for assistance.

 
 
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Announcements

What is the Announcements tool?

The Announcement tool enables you to create news items that help communicate course updates, changes, and new information to your users quickly and effectively. Since Course Home is the first page that users often see when they log in or access their courses, the Announcement widget is a good area for displaying important information.

Announcement items appear in the Announcement widget, but CourseLink users can also receive instant notifications about postings through email and SMS (text messages). Please note that students do have the ability to turn off their announcement notifications as well as block them from specific course sites.

Accessing the Announcements Tool

The announcements tool is available via a widget on the default course home page of a CourseLink site. The options can be accessed from the widget using the context menu (down-facing arrow) to the right of the title.

 

It can also be accessed via the Course Admin link from a course navigation bar by following the steps below:

  1. Access the course site

  2. Select Course Admin on the navigation bar

  3. Select Announcements (if the tools are sorted by category, Announcements will appear under the Communication heading)

 

Using the Announcements tool

For the most up-to-date information on how to use the Announcement widget, please see the the following links on the Brightspace help documentation site.

 

When and why is it a good idea to use the Announcements tool?

The announcements tool is a great way to communicate and engage with students outside of class time.

That said, it is important to remember that students will only see an announcement if they access your course site or if they have opted to receive notifications via email or text, so it is best not to rely on the tool for any communication that all students should receive in a timely fashion. For communications such as that, it would be best to email the entire class via the Classlist tool.

Be careful not to over-use the announcements tool. Students accounts in CourseLink are set to receive email notifications for new announcements from all their course sites by default. If you are posting multiple announcements several times a day, students may become frustrated by the volume of emails and block your course site from their notifications reducing the likelihood that they will see your announcement.

Reminders

Throughout the semester it can be beneficial to post announcements concerning important dates such as assignment due dates, lab times, meeting locations for excursions, etc.

EncouragemenT and Directed Study

An announcement can be a great way to let the class know when you are impressed by their work. Similarly if after grading an assignment or seeing the results of a quiz you notice that the majority of the class is struggling with a specific concept or theory, an announcement can be a great way to direct students to supplemental materials to reinforce those concepts.

Making Connections with Relevant Current Events

In some disciplines current events can often intersect nicely with course materials and provide students with a real world example of how the material they are studying can be applied in real world situation. Creating an announcement to provide some context as well as a link to a news article or video can be a great way to engage students and encourage critical thinking.

Tutorial Videos

Announcements FAQs

Related Resources and Programming

Coming soon!

 

Related Tools

  • Turnitin

  • Grades

  • Rubrics

  • Groups

  • Content

 

Need More Help?

If you're still having trouble, please contact the CourseLink Support team for assistance.

 
 
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Discussions

What is the Discussions Tool?

Use the Discussions tool in your course to encourage students to share thoughts on course material with their peers. You can set up forums and topics for students to ask questions, discuss course content and assignments, and work together in assigned groups.

Accessing the Discussions Tool

The Discussions tool is one of the links found on the default navigation bar of your CourseLink course site and can be accessed directly from that link.

Location of the discussions link on a face-to-face course site

For Distance Education (DE) courses, the link appears under the drop-down menu of the Tools link on the navigation bar (provided that the course is using Dropbox).

If you are using a custom navigation bar and the Discussions link has been removed, you may re-add it. For more information on that process, please see our Navigation Bar page.

New Discussions Experience: Creating an open topic

The default setting for a topic is “open”.

Although the message under Group and Section Restrictions says, “Only selected groups or sections can view this topic”, as long as you don’t restrict the topics to specific groups, it will remain open for all students. This is a somewhat confusing message.

Location of Manage Restrictions button highlighted on the discussion topic settings.

You can verify that the discussion topics are open to all students by reviewing the Group and Section Restrictions and confirming that “Restrict topic” is selected (confusing language) and none of the options below are selected.

The Group and Section Restrictions for a discussion topic. The select who will see this topic area is highlighted and none of the options are selected.
 

Using the Discussions Tool

For the most up-to-date information on how to use the Discussions tool, please follow the links below to the Brightspace Help documentation site.

Getting started with discussions

Moderating Discussions

Assessing Discussions

Creating a graded topic

When creating the topic select the Assessment tab. You will see an option to link the thread to the grade book and give the thread a score.

Assessment tab for discussion thread


 
 

Tutorial Videos

Discussion Tool FAQs

Need More Help?

If you're still having trouble, please contact the CourseLink Support team for assistance.

 
 
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