Find answers to the most commonly asked questions about UB Learns
Powered by Brightspace.
Go to ublearns.buffalo.edu and click the Go to Brightspace link on the login page or the Help and Updates page inside Blackboard. Use your UBITName and password to log in.
Use the course selector (waffle icon) or the My Courses widget on the Brightspace homepage to access courses.
Courses are created in Brightspace and set to inactive when the course catalog for the semester is published (typically five months before the start of the semester). Instructors can begin developing courses right away. Student access to a course is controlled by the Active status and the Start and End Dates of the course, which the instructor can edit by going to Instructor Only > Course Admin > Course Offering Information in the course navbar.
HUB data in Brightspace is handled the same way as in Blackboard, so anyone added to the official course record will be enrolled automatically in the Brightspace course.
Yes, Course Combinations, also referred to as Combine Class Enrollments, are available in Brightspace. Course combinations are processed manually by the UB Learns support team and can take up to one business day to complete. To request a course combination, please accurately complete the Request UB Learns Course Combinations in Brightspace form. Inaccurate information may delay your combinations from being completed
Use the Request UB Learns Course Combinations in Brightspace form to combine courses (a link to the form is also available under Help for Instructors in the Brightspace navbar). Combinations are done manually by the UB Learns support team and can take up to one business day.
You can change the banner image in your course by moving your cursor over the image, clicking the ellipsis icon on the right-hand side and selecting Change Image. Brightspace recommends an image size of 2400 x 960 pixels for best results. You can upload images in JPG, JPEG, PNG or GIF formats.
You should crop and edit your banner image before uploading it to Brightspace.
For profile pictures, Brightspace recommends an image that is approximately 100 x 100 pixels. The maximum file size is 1 MB, and you can upload images in JPG, JPEG, PNG or GIF formats.
You should crop and edit your profile picture before uploading it to Brightspace.
Brightspace sends emails to a user's @buffalo.edu address.
We recommend that users take advantage of Brightspace's Pin feature to make it easier to find frequently accessed courses. Pinned courses will appear in the Pinned tab in the My Courses widget and at the top of the course selector list.
An instructor controls when a student can see a course in the My Courses widget and when a student can access a course by using both the Active status and the Start and End Dates.
HUB data in Brightspace is handled the same way as in Blackboard, so anyone added to the official course record will be enrolled automatically in the Brightspace course.
You can copy all the content or individual components between courses. You must be enrolled as an instructor, facilitator or teaching assistant in both courses.
See Copy Course Content Between Courses on our Adding Course Materials in Brightspace webpage for step-by-step instructions.
When copying content between courses, instructors can click Select Components, rather than Copy All Components, and choose specific items.
See Copy Course Components.
Using the Release Conditions and Special Access features in Brightspace, instructors can limit who has access to content.
You can add content to modules and sub-modules in Brightspace. When creating the structure for your course, make it as easy as possible for your students to navigate the course and find the content they need.
In general, content cannot be set to open in a new tab. Exceptions include links created using Create a Link and links created in the Brightspace Editor (available in module and topic descriptions as well as web pages created using Create a File).
Because Panopto is a third-party tool, all the functionality that was available in Blackboard is available in Brightspace. Continue to follow the same process to request automated classroom recordings.
Instructors cannot set any release conditions that ensure a student has watched all of a video, but they can create Brightspace activities (such as quizzes or assignments) or embed a quiz in the Panopto video that a student would need to complete after the video.
Brightspace does not have the option to send announcements by email, but users can set their Instant Notifications so they receive emails when new announcements are available or previously posted announcements are updated.
Please note that each user is responsible for setting Instant Notifications, so instructors should remind students to adjust their settings accordingly.
Brightspace Pulse is a mobile app for students and instructors that provides one easy view of course calendars, readings, assignments, evaluations, grades and announcement items. Pulse is available for both iOS and Android devices.
See Brightspace Pulse App.
The Attendance tool in Brightspace allows instructors to track and assign grades for attendance, view attendance results and track students with poor attendance.
See Attendance Tool.
Forums are containers that hold one or more topics. Students can create threads and posts in topics but not in forums. In the Discussions tool (Assessments > Discussions), instructors must make the forum and the thread visible before students can participate.
See Brightspace Discussions.
A student can resume a quiz depending on the timer or end date settings. Brightspace saves a student's answers during the quiz, so the student will not need to start over.
See Brightspace Quizzes.
Use Special Access to adjust access dates for specific students.
Instructors can copy question libraries between their courses. Additionally, instructors can export question libraries and share them with other instructors.
See Brightspace Question Library.
Add the first question and then create a section with "Shuffle questions in this section" checked for all the other questions.
See Brightspace Quizzes.
There are options for randomizing questions and multiple choice answers in quizzes.
See Brightspace Quizzes.
Because different options are available in the two systems, instructors need to check quiz settings in migrated content.
See Brightspace Quizzes.
Instructors can set a timer for the entire quiz, not individual questions.
See Brightspace Quizzes.
Access LockDown Browser by going to Assessments > Quizzes and clicking the LockDown Browser tab at the top of the page. Because LockDown Browser is a third-party tool, the settings are the same as in Blackboard.
See Brightspace and Respondus Assessment Tools.
In Blackboard, click the chevron next to the pool name, select Export and then import the zip file into Brightspace.
See Importing Pools from Blackboad into Brightspace.
In Quick Eval, grades and feedback must be published before studentts can see them.
See Brightspace Quick Eval.
You can drop lowest and highest grades by selecting "Distribute weight evenly across all items" or "Distribute points across all items" in Grade Category properties.
Like other course content, rubrics can be copied from one course to another.
See Brightspace Rubrics.
Yes, most publisher integrations currently available in Blackboard have been added to Brightspace.
See Brightspace Integrations.