A message from Fiona Allan, Vice-President, Academic:
As staff and faculty work collaboratively and with D2L to prepare for the launch of Brightspace, Niagara College’s new learning management system (LMS) for January 2024, we wanted to provide an update on timing, training, and migration over the next few months.
System change timeline
This winter, all NC courses will be delivered in Brightspace. With our Blackboard license expiring in May 2024, the timing was selected to ensure the College had a semester with access to both Brightspace and Blackboard. This four-month period will allow us to ensure that all files, course sites, and relevant data have been successfully moved between platforms. Having access to Blackboard during this time will allow us to ensure the transition is as smooth as possible. This approach will also ensure that courses that span two semesters will not be negatively impacted by the end of our Blackboard contract.
Training timeline
Intensive training and support for faculty and staff will start during the mid-term break week, October 23 to 27.
Rather than offering typical programs during the mid-term break, the CAE’s efforts will be entirely focused on training and support for faculty as they transition.
Please register now for foundational break week training which will focus on:
- Creating and Curating Content in Brightspace
- Communication Tools in Brightspace
- Creating Assessments in Brightspace
- Evaluating and Grading in Brightspace
Staff are welcome to attend the intensive training if relevant to their roles (such as those who manage homerooms or practicum courses) but please note that this training will be geared to faculty.
During the break week, all faculty will have access to Brightspace where they will be able to become familiar with the system and its many benefits. During this time, they will also be able to access drop-in sessions with CAE staff. In addition, asynchronous just-in-time resources will be available to faculty and staff.
Training will continue and be expanded through November and December and available as we transition in Winter 2024.
Training throughout the Fall will be available in a variety of modalities including in-person, online synchronous, and asynchronous. Help resources and drop-ins will also be available to all faculty.
K16 course content migration services
NC is working with a third-party service provider to bulk-migrate courses from Blackboard into Brightspace. This migration approach will allow us to quickly move courses between the two systems, including course content and assessments. It will also offer us the opportunity to address some potential migration problems, ultimately reducing adjustments required when working with migrated course content.
Faculty will have access to migrated course content before Winter 2024.
For more information, visit our Brightspace FAQ or contact the CAE.
