Understanding the Brightspace learning platform is essential. Whether in your onboarding course or in your program classes, this will be your primary* tool for accessing content, completing assignments and tests, as well as viewing your grades throughout a course. This video will help you become familiar with the platform and how to navigate its main pages. *While almost all programs at Purdue University use Brightspace, some courses may require the use of an additional learning platform. 

Since you will be using Brightspace for most of your academic courses, it is a good idea to set up notifications so you can be automatically reminded of assignment due dates, instructor announcements, opening and closing tests and quizzes and other important course schedule items. We recommend keeping your own calendar or planner in addition to signing up for notifications. Some instructors may use the course syllabus in addition to Brightspace to make students aware of due dates and assignments.

The content area is where you will see the breakdown of your course, including all modules, sections, assignments and where they live within the course. It will update as you complete each portion of your courses here at Purdue University.

Under assignments, you will see all defined projects, homework, essays, research papers and other items you must complete and submit according to your instructor’s syllabus. This area will allow you to access your submissions, grades and any feedback provided, as well as details on upcoming assignments and their due dates. In addition, these assignments are also listed within their respective sections in your course.

Discussions are one of the main ways online students engage with their classmates and the course material. Usually requiring you to respond to a specific prompt and then to the postings of your peers, discussions are a great way to learn how to apply the material in your courses to specific scenarios and solicit feedback from your peers.

Quizzes are one of the many ways your knowledge will be assessed in your courses here at Purdue Online. Your instructor may use this section for smaller, regular assessments throughout your course as well as large-scale tests, mid-terms and final exams. Each quiz will be associated with specific sections of your course in the CONTENT tab, but an overview of all of them can be found in the “Quizzes” section of Brightspace.

When a quiz or test is submitted and graded, you will have the ability to view feedback from your instructor – including a breakdown of correct and incorrect test items and individualized feedback regarding your performance, methodology or other areas needing improvement. Instructor feedback is vital and allows you to see specifically how a quiz was graded and what factors were taken into account when doing so. It also helps you understand your professor's expectations.

Your instructor will also grade all your assignments using Brightspace. Most grades are on the traditional A-F scale, but your instructors will set a specific grading scale for each course and list it in the course syllabus. You will be able to view your grades for the course using the “Grades” section of Brightspace. This area offers a breakdown of your progress in the course and allows you to look ahead to future assignments and calculate what score you will need to achieve a specific cumulative score in the course.