Using Brightspace

How do I find my courses?

1. Login to brightspace.brocku.ca/.

2. Click on the waffle icon or grid (labeled Select a course…) near the top right on the page. The drop-down menu [1] will list all course sites with which you have membership.

3. You can use the pin icon on the right [2] to keep your current courses at the top of this list. They will appear at the top after pinning upon refreshing the page.

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The course list button with two pinned sites.

Alternatively, on the homepage, scroll down to the My Courses widget on the right hand side below the Land Acknowledgement. The widget provides additional information on the site status and can be broken down by duration [1].

This area also has a pin icon [2] to keep current or desired courses at the top of this list. The pin icon appears when hovering the mouse over the course.

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The My Courses widget.

Why can’t I find a course?  

As of February 2024, students have access to all of their current and past course sites unless they have been rendered inactive by the site owner/instructor.

There are still reasons that you may not be able to find a course on Brightspace:

• The instructor may have not yet made the course available to the class.

• You are not properly registered or are waiting approval. Check your enrollments in my.brocku.ca.

• The course closed after the end of the semester and was set to be invisible by the instructor. This means none of the class can access it any longer. Contact your instructor if you wish to ask permission to access the course again.

• The course may not be on Brightspace at all. It could be offered on a different platform, or take place entirely in-person. This is up to the instructor’s discretion.

If the semester has started and you are definitely registered on my.brocku.ca but still cannot find or access your course, contact your instructor or course coordinator.

Can I access course sites from previous semesters?

Yes. They are accessible from the same locations as current course sites.

Anything that has officially ended will be labelled with “This course ended. The instructor(s) may restrict your access at any point.” on the course home page.

An instructor may elect to hide the past site content. In that situation, you won’t see the course anymore and will have to reach out to them to regain access.

What do I do if I have duplicate courses in Brightspace? 

Double check the name of the course and its course code--you might be looking at different sections of the same course for different years. If you think you have access to a course that you don't want or need, contact edtech@brocku.ca.

How do I self-enroll in a course? Where is "Discover"?

Certain non-academic sites are configured for self-enrollment. These can be found in the Discover tab of the Brightspace home page.

1. Go to brightspace.brocku.ca/d2l/home and click Discover near the top-center in the red navbar.

2. Browse or search for the course into which you wish to self-enroll.

3. Click on the course, then select Enroll in Course or Open Course.

How do I pin my classes to the top of the course list?  

Click on the waffle icon or grid (labeled Select a course…) near the top-right on the page. The dropdown menu [1] will list all course sites with which you have membership.

You can use the pin icon on the right [2] to keep your current courses at the top of this list.

How do I navigate a Brightspace site?  

The NavBar is the red ribbon across the top of a Brightspace page. All of your course tools are accessible here. If the tool you are looking for is not listed, click Course Tools to see a drop-down menu with additional tools.

How do I access lecture materials, lessons, and readings?  

The Content tool found in the red navigation bar is where lesson content, documents, and other resources will be found. Content can be made up of text pages, embedded video, downloadable PDFs, linked readings, or even external or third party links.

Contact your TA or instructor if you believe something is missing or not appearing as it should.

Can I view my class progress?  

The Class Progress tool in a course navigation bar or the Progress tool in the main Brightspace page’s navigation bar will provide some insight into your progress through a course.