Brightspace

Vorteile

Everything about this software is super user-friendly they think about the student when they made this it’s not hard to years. It’s not hard to follow as long as you do the tutorials and follow what they say. At the beginning you can’t go wrong there’s nothing negative I can say about it. I’ve never had any issues using this and I’ve used this software at two different colleges. Hands down the best.

Nachteile

There’s only one thing that I kind of don’t really understand is the virtual classroom thing I’ve still not understood why some places use the virtual product classroom and sign the right space software and some don’t but I think that’s more of a college preference instead of a software preference to bright space

Vorteile

So user friendly, easy to navigate, aesthetic but also functionally designed

Nachteile

Email system is a little archaic, could be changed to a chat system

Vorteile

Nothing , hard to find anything good about this platform

Nachteile

Everything . Such time consuming platform. Have used many but this is by far the worst most time consuming one. It does not make my already busy schedule less busy, too many clicks and not well through.

Vorteile

I enjoy the way in which the content or each class is organized.

Nachteile

I am not a fan of the amount of email notifications sent by Brightspace (discussions, announcements, etc.). If you do not want to receive any of these notifications, you have to unsubscribe from each thread. It is timely and clutters the inbox.

Vorteile

Very trustable
Visibility of team productivity
Helpful students reports

Nachteile

Hard to assemble
Negotiation complicated
Small support

Vorteile

It's easy to add content and grade. Organization of a course is logical, and it doesn't require a lot of training to use, whether from an instructor or student standpoint.

Nachteile

Zeros are entered automatically for quiz and test questions that must be manually graded, which causes my students to stress at their initial grades. Keeping the initial grade hidden until those questions can be addressed would be nice.

Vorteile

Nothing. See comments below about experiences.

Nachteile

Everything. See comments below about experiences.

Vorteile

Using the program means you don't have to re-invent the wheel. It's a great and well-designed educational program that I use as a university prof.

Nachteile

There are a few little things such as color coding for certain assignments that I still don't fully understand. But it's not critical.

Vorteile

I like that you can attend classes on your phone or on your computer using brightspace.

Nachteile

Viewing the instructor, power point , and the chat is not possible. You can only do either the chat view slides or the teacher.

Vorteile

The ease of use.. it was so simple... Everything was in good placement too

Nachteile

It was hard to get back toy college page

Vorteile

It has many of the same features of other LMS options, such as Blackboard and Angel. It has many advantages over a product such as Moodle. It's easy to understand and the cleanest user interface of all major college LMSs

Nachteile

It needs a video class option, similar to Blackboard UltraCollaborate

Vorteile

Brightspace is straightforward and to the point. Developing courses in Brightspace is simple and the end result is quite beautiful and attractive for students.

Nachteile

Brightspace lacks many features of other LMSs such as Canvas and Blackboard.

Vorteile

There’s a lot of different things to access from this software

Nachteile

It’s not that user friendly, I have a hard time navigating thru it.

Vorteile

Overall, Brightspace allows educators to design useful online courses that enable students to succeed and achieve a degree from the comfort of their homes if reaching a campus is not a possibility.

Nachteile

Brightspace has attempted to integrate a video feature where a course can be held online through a video platform however this feature is constantly lagging and still needs much work before it will function well.

Vorteile

The most impactful features of BrightSpace are discussion opportunities, auto-grading, and navigation.

Nachteile

The cost of the LMS is the only drawback.

Vorteile

This app has everything students can use to avoid failing deadlines. It helps students to keep all critical data in one place, so it makes them more organized and aware of the education process. In Brightspace you can drag and drop all kind of files, as well as rearrange them, so new content can be easily seen. For teachers, it is also easy to create different types of tests or quizzes without spending much time or many resources. Brightspace is a well-known LMS and is used across our college as the learning management platform. It is used to distribute the different type of information, assignments tests, which makes the education process for both students and teachers more convenient.

Nachteile

This app lacks an intuitive interface. It is difficult to get used it, and it requires time to understand how to activate one feature or another. You need time to customize your interface; otherwise, it will be cluttered and even more complicated to use. There is an option to create discussions, but it is hard to organize them. It also would be nice to have a video chat option so that some lectures can be given online. Tech support can be improved, as it is not helpful and it usually blames users instead of fixing the problem.

Vorteile

I love how user friendly this software is. As a daily user, I can easily navigate the different portals on this software and find all my class's resources quickly. It is very organized, and has great assessible features such as clear text, and high contrasting colours. Grades are easily accessible, and there offer all features necessary to succeed in your course, eg. discussion boards, class list, attendance, course content etc.

Nachteile

The notifications are quite overwhelming, every time any professor makes any adjustment to their course you get a notification that piles up throughout the day. Moreover, the notifications for upcoming assignments are sometimes inconsistent, as assignments not done through the D2L will not show up at all, causing confusion for upcoming work to be done for the student.

Vorteile

BrightSpace includes all of the typical features of any LMS. However, D2L has improved the platform over time and has made the system more intuitive and user friendly. I also use CourseDen (the higher ed version of BrightSpace) for my college courses and the features are essentially the same with a few differences. However, the two platforms are enough alike that, once you know one system, learning to use the other one is a cinch. The features allow for very specific customization of assessments, discussions, and other features. I have built my own courses within the LMS, so I am familiar with a majority of the features and capabilities of the LMS.

Vorteile

This Learning Management System is GOOD but not the best. It is great that D2L and Brightspace have an easy-to-use portal that differentiates between student, instructor, and even TAs. However, the options that come with competitors like CANVAS are far superior...

Nachteile

CANVAS, a competing LMS, provides more external resource use, such as Virtual Office Hours during Conferences, and even grouping students into smaller groups to use MS Office through Collaborations. Brightspace is user friendly for students but more difficult to manage for administrators/teachers.

Vorteile

I like the complex features that are offered by this LMS. Course creators can embed external sources, create several nested modules and access plenty of documentation. Users can also access content on nearly all browsers and operating systems.

Nachteile

There is a steep learning curve, and it can be difficult to even access basic course information as a learner, or to even find out how to create a single module for students as an administrator. The issues related to mobile access, Safari, and flash are still present in this LMS as well. It will be difficult to access certain pages, and some external links do not allow you to access them either.

Vorteile

I use D2L, Moodle, and Blackboard in my multiple jobs. D2L is the most visually attractive of these, and the "drag and drop" functionality of course building makes things much easier than in Blackboard, for example.

Nachteile

When grading, I wish the rubrics appeared in the margin of same tab as the assignment, rather than a separate pop-up window, though this is already an improvement from earlier iterations.

Vorteile

I really like the feature where you can open up quizzes or surveys for individual students. I use this when I have set a time/date for an item to close by and then students give me a valid excuse, then I can open it back up for them for whatever length of time I choose for them to complete the assignment. I also like that it is easy for a skilled user to navigate.

Nachteile

Even though I know how to navigate through the online set up now, it is sometimes troublesome for my students because there are just so many different options and different ways to navigate to the same thing. I usually have to do a short run through on how to use the software before the class begins and then I always have those that reach out with numerous questions regarding how to find something. This too has to do with the laziness of some students since I had no problem teaching myself how to use it.

Vorteile

The ease of use. Some of it may be how my university has set it up for the faculty, but I can jump right into a classroom and figure out what to do next. Grading is easy.

Nachteile

I think the Discussion area could be set up a little more user friendly. For instance, It's a little hard to see what discussions have been responded to and where I need to put my focus in responding back to students.

Vorteile

As an administrator at my previous employer, I appreciated the flexibility to change pretty much anything that I wanted in the system. The ability to change what things were called in the system were very nice. In the most recent version that I had used, Brightspace had taken steps to make some changes on how system settings were handled to update the interface. Previously, the interface of the DOME was one of the most painful parts of the system.

I also appreciated the service desk that Brightspace has built up over the last three years. When I began using Brightspace, items could get lost very easily with the technical teams, but after some difficult issues, Brightspace has turned around a great deal, and updates to tickets were timely and applicable for a while before I stopped using it.

Nachteile

I found that there were little things that Brightspace did not do well. For instance, workflows between different tools were very different based on the time that the original tool was designed. This led to user frustration and an increase of time training users on the common functions of the LMS. I also found that Brightspace tended to minimize small updates or fixes in order to focus on major updates. While major updates are important to survive in the field, sometimes known bugs would remain for years without a fix.

Vorteile

The simplicity of navigation is amazing. I have to navigate through multiple courses within Brightspace, and it's very well organized and categorized. Which makes school all the easier. There is never any confusion regarding what I am trying to find, and how to find it.

Nachteile

The only negative thing I can say about Brightspace is the inability to access previous courses and work submitted within the courses. With that being said, I believe that is a school-based setting, and not a fault of Brightspace.

Vorteile

When used well it is great to have everything I need all in one place, course readings, assignments and lecture content is easily accessible

Nachteile

The bar along the top takes up so much space on IOS that it is difficult to read PDFs, I wish this was a feature I could toggle on and off.

Vorteile

Brightspace was useful tool while I was in college

Nachteile

It was difficult to navigate while I was trying to do easy tasks on the app

Vorteile

D2L is always looking ahead and improving and adding new features

Nachteile

Some features have a few got ya's such as not being able to manage due dates in discussions

Vorteile

It has gamification, and once the course has been set up, everything is like clockwork.

Nachteile

Just the setting up at the start of every semester, BUT, it is worth the time.

Vorteile

Bright space is easy to use. I can easily find where my work is and when it needs to be done.

Nachteile

Sometimes, things can get lost but this is usually a teacher error.

Vorteile

Very user friendly, easy to figure out on your own

Nachteile

Upgraded visual platform wasn't as user friendly as the previous version

Vorteile

I like this LMS because it gives us the necessary functions to manage online learning. I also really liked the user interface and being able to create content and grade intuitively.

Nachteile

Everything is going well except the analysis which usually gives some problems.

Vorteile

Easy for students to learn how to use and calendar feature is also really helpful for keeping track of upcoming deadlines and events.

Nachteile

The appearance isn't very sleek. Sometimes the layout can be confusing at times. everything can feels a bit scattered.

Vorteile

Very easy to navigate classes and learn without combatting technology

Nachteile

Seemed a little outdated for some other classes I have taken

Vorteile

Het fijne aan brightspace als studentenportal is dat het vele opties heeft om groepsgesprekken aan te maken. Waardoor studenten makkelijk in contact kunnen komen.

Nachteile

Op telefoon is brightspace niet fijn in gebruik, ik gebruik het via de app pulse. Echter kun je op deze app een stuk minder functies gebruiken. Ook wanneer je een melding krijgt en op deze klikt, laadt het vaak niet. Ook wordt je vaak automatisch afgemeld, waardoor je opnieuw in moet loggen wat veel tijd kost

Vorteile

I like how brightspace provides an area for all information to be put together in one place.

Nachteile

I find brightspace to be annoying sometimes mostly because of the way the website is set up. It could easily be improved to fix this.

Vorteile

Easy to use, I can view all coursework and courses and grades

Nachteile

Overall I like it all, nothing found that I haven't liked yet

Vorteile

One of the features I like most about Brightspace is the progress tracking. If a student is behind on an assignment or more than it highlights on their course.

Nachteile

At the time I was introduced to Brightspace, the previous learning environment stopped operations resulting in everyone having to adjust to Brightspace. One of the features I like the least about bright space is not being able to access Brightspace on mobile. It is difficult to view it on mobile and other classroom tools are able to view it on mobile

Vorteile

As a professor, I've used D2L Brightspace for many years and have found it to be an excellent tool for managing my courses. I love that I can easily post class content, syllabus, and grade assignments all in one place. It's also great for creating forums and discussions for students to engage with each other. One of my favorite features is creating folders for students to submit their assignments. It makes it easy to grade and provide feedback all in one place.

Nachteile

Some advanced features may require additional training or guidance.

Vorteile

I think because it is similar to other LMS systems, it does not take long to learn if you know others.

Nachteile

I had to often find user YouTube videos on how to do things. Users that struggled with finding answers themselves.

Vorteile

Gebruikersgemak en het overzicht dat je hebt op je mainpagina. Daarnaast de openheid in course binnen een organisatie

Nachteile

Erg vaak niet de mogelijkheid om te laden.

In Betracht gezogene Alternativen

Gründe für den Wechsel zu Brightspace

Vorteile

Brightspace is flawless. It makes seeing your grades, assignments, class resources, discussion forums, and online lectures accessible from anywhere. It is compatible with every device (laptop, desktop, phones). Brightspace help services are clearly stated and always available. Great customer service skills as well.

Nachteile

Brightspace is not the easiest when teachers do not know how to properly use it. A simple video how to guide for each feature would enhance all aspects of Brightspace.

Vorteile

What I like most about this product is the ease of navigating each feature of the product. There are quite a few features, all of them being outstanding and easy to use.

Nachteile

There seem to be quite a few bugs for us with this product. However, the product has been integrated going on two years, so there is bound to be some issues going forward.

In Betracht gezogene Alternativen

Warum Brightspace gewählt wurde

Zuvor genutzte Software

Gründe für den Wechsel zu Brightspace

Vorteile

It’s extremely customizable, but no matter how each course might be built, there is a feeling of familiarity. I love the assessments, open ended plugins to embed for my faculty, user support, and the student experience.

I really love the course builder. It’s an easy to use yet extremely effective tool.

Nachteile

I would say the fact that it is so customizable and open ended at first is daunting to faculty. However with proper training and support, my faculty have really excelled with the LMS.

Vorteile

Brightspace is very intuitive; users can jump into the LMS and figure out what they need to do with little to no instructions.
I like the power it gives admins to build in automation and customize how students work through the course. This is done via intelligent agents and release conditions.
Brightspace just looks great. Is the most aesthetically pleasing LMS on the market as far as I have seen.

Nachteile

The platform seems more geared toward traditional schooling systems rather than asynchronous models at times. For example, there is no easy way for students to add their own due dates to assessments; they can only be added for the entire course, which does not work when students are all pacing differently. Brightspace for Parents is also not as strong as I would have expected. There seems to be limited features and out parents are just not really interested in using it.

In Betracht gezogene Alternativen

Warum Brightspace gewählt wurde

Zuvor genutzte Software

Gründe für den Wechsel zu Brightspace

Vorteile

Brightspace makes it easy to contact students in a class. I like the 'classlist' feature that lists all the students in a class and their university-related contact email. This simplifies either bulk-emailing students (as an instructor) and finding students to study with (as a student). It is also a secure site to centrally access all the information necessary for all my courses.

Nachteile

Brightspace provides multiple places to find the same things. This is confusing, especially when some assignments are loaded in a given course module but not in the 'Assignments' tab, or vice versa. There are multiple levels of redundancy that are not kept consistent throughout the interface, so it is often confusing to locate materials.
Brightspace is also slow to load. Often, when moving between tabs when I am creating a quiz for the students I teach or grading material, the browser loads for 30-45 seconds before transitioning pages. This is frustrating.
After a class is officially 'over', the course pages are greyed out and prevent access (even when a school has not officially ended yet). This happens immediately after the final in a class, which prevents students from going in to do final grade calculations or download any materials. This is frustrating.
Brightspace has had many issues with plugins, such as Kaltura Media Gallery, which disable access or have perpetual loading or glitching. This leaves the software as unreliable.

In Betracht gezogene Alternativen

Warum Brightspace gewählt wurde

Zuvor genutzte Software

Gründe für den Wechsel zu Brightspace

Vorteile

What I liked most was the simple and effective organization. It was a software that was definitely created in mind to set students up to succeed. Firstly, the way the Chapters, sections, topics, and individual assignments were organized on the side was something that was consistent for each of the subjects I was studying. Then on the top bar, you were able to click on pages that would essentially "filter" the types of class material. You could see all the assessments in one place, all the assignments in one place, and your grades. On top of that, every single thing was linked back to the corresponding item. For example, if you couldn't recall what "assignment 2" was when looking at it in the gradebook, you were able to click it and redirect it to the original post. There was also notifications for when assignments were open and reminders for when exams and homework was due. As someone who has used canvas, blackboard, google classrooms, and a few other softwares for school, these functions were not common. There were also times where it would be extremely hard and confusing to navigate. However I never ran into that issue with D2L.

Nachteile

It is hard to find any qualms about D2L Brightspace, there is nothing negative I've noticed the entire time I have been using the software.

Vorteile

I know this is bad, but I can honestly say I haven’t found anything I like about the Brightspace program! The only good thing I can think of is the college has selected a bolt-on (Zoom) and it is important for live synchronous meetings. The recordings can be easily accessed from within the course tools.

Nachteile

Brightspace is not user friendly from an instructor’s perspective. Points have to be changed in multiple places. Constantly having to switch to the “student view” to see if instructions have loaded correctly or saved recent changes is not an efficient way to function or make course edits. You can’t add points when reading discussions, you have to go out to a separate page to enter points/grades. The list could go on and on.

Vorteile

I used D2L Brightspace throughout all of university. In terms of uploading any learning documents such as assignments, solutions, homework, PowerPoints, lecture videos, and more, it was always very easy to navigate and get what you need on your computer or on mobile. Navigation is very simple, and the user interface is easy to learn. The best feature was the notifications bell which I used the most to have consistent and clear updates for all of my courses.

Nachteile

I think there are some aspects of the user interface which could be redesigned to be more aesthetically pleasing. Some features and sections appear out of date and could use some visual improvements. The onus of including or excluding certain sections I believe is on the onus of the professor, but maybe there could be more clear instruction to them on how to best format course pages/sections.

Vorteile

Brightspace is very easy to navigate and customize. It looks very nice and many uses familiar with something like Wordpress will have a pretty easy time. It is also in many ways similar to other popular social media platforms for students, I imagine, they are pretty comfortable with a platforms like this. Managing grades, assignments and embedding external links is very organic. There are some great tutorials too form D2L. It's also similar enough to other platforms that if you are migrating from another system, this shouldn't have too much of a learning curve. I love how easy it is to build a template course and transition various components or modules to a new one.

Nachteile

My only con is purely subjective, but I have had issues with embedded links like videos. I find it very hard to remove items from the Grades section (the gradebook). I constantly have to view a tutorial because it is so roundabout to remove an item from that section.