ASSESSING in BRIGHTSPACE
Resources to help you get started with assessing online
As an individual lecturer, use these resources to get started quickly with assessing online.
If you would like assistance with changing assessment practices at a module or programme-wide level, then please email LTA@tudublin.ie to arrange a consultancy.
Setting Assignments and delivering Feedback - including how to facilitate open book exams through Brightspace
The assignment tool in Brightspace allows you to create a dedicated space to which your students can upload and submit their work. You can annotate their individual submissions, provide an overall comment and grade. You can also provide audio/video feedback very easily.
Facilitating open book exams: use the assignment tool to make the exam paper available for download, and accept subsequent submissions. Dates and times can be set to control availability. The submitted documents can be downloaded for correction, or marked within Brightspace using either a Rubric or the Brightspace inline marking tools.
- Guide (printable): Creating assignments and giving feedback
Quizzes / MCQs / Objective Testing in Brightspace
Quizzes can be used for both summative and formative assessment - they are a great way of gauging your students' progress and can also help with engagement.
- Guide (Printable): Quizzes, MCQs and Objective Testing in Brightspace
Grading Discussions
You may be using discussion boards with your students to support student engagement or to facilitate peer-to-peer learning. These discussions and individual students' contributions to the discussions can be assessed within Brightspace.
- Guide (Printable): Assessing Discussions in Brightspace
Setting up your Brightspace Gradebook
The Brightspace gradebook is a powerful tool to manage assessment in your module. It is not essential to use the Gradebook to make feedback or grades available to your students (students can also access these directly through the assignment and quiz tool).
- Guide (Printable): Setting up your Brightspace gradebook.
- Guide (Video): Overview of Gradebook Note: This D2L video gives a good introduction to what can be a complex tool but please note that not all settings are relevant to TU Dublin.
Alternatives to In-Class Presentations
Brightspace and Bongo offer a range of tools to facilitate the delivery of group and individual presentations by students.
- Guide (printable): Facilitating individual presentations in Brightspace and Bongo
- Guide (printable): Facilitating Groupwork and Collaborative Learning in Brightspace and Bongo
- Guide (webinar recording): Facilitating individual presentations in Bongo and Brightspace (recording of a webinar given by Derek Dodd on 25 March 2020)
Grading with Rubrics
Rubrics are used as a means of grading assessments in a fair and transparent manner. TU Dublin lecturers who have switched to using Rubrics for assessment are extremely positive about their use.
- Guide (printable): Using Rubrics in Brightspace
Using Turnitin plagiarism checker in Brightspace
TurnItIn is an educational software suite that enables staff and students with the ability to check submitted assignments via Brightspace or Moodle for unclear referencing, citation issues, or potential instances of plagiarism.
Its purpose is to educate students on proper citation and referencing techniques. Additionally, TurnItIn is utilised by the TU Dublin to ensure the academic integrity of students' work.