Teaching in Brightspace

TEACHING in BRIGHTSPACE

Resources to help you get started with teaching online

As an individual lecturer, use these resources to get started quickly with online teaching.

You can find a wide range of Brightspace staff guides via our Bitesized Brightspace Staff Guides page.

How to deliver a webinar

Webinars allow you to teach your students in a live online environment where you can present a lecture/PowerPoint, and where your students can interact with you and their classmates. A webinar is the best online alternative to a traditional lecture. A webinar/virtual classroom tool (Bongo) is available to all TU Dublin staff via Brightspace.

General advice:

Video: Conducting an effective live webinar. (Log in 'via Organisation' and use your TU Dublin credentials to gain access to the full video)
Checklist: BS 3 Checklist How to prepare for and facilitate a webinar
Checklist: Checklist Considerations when recording webinars virtual classes

Bongo/Brightspace-specific advice and instructionsBs3: Useful Bongo knowledge base Articles

Guide (printable): Using Bongo to host live classroom sessions
Guide (video): Practical instructions for using the webinar tool, Bongo, in Brightspace
Advanced and troubleshooting:Bs3: Useful Bongo knowledge base Articles
Useful slides: BS 3 Interface Tour slides for students and there is also an introduction to Bongo for students on the via the
Bitesized Brightspace User Guides page.
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Pre-recording your lecture using Bongo

There a number of different ways of pre-recording your lecture, and then making that recording available to your students via Brightpace (And of course you can always deliver a live webinar as outlined above and then make that recording available subsequently - the instructions below specifically cover making the recording without any students in attendance).

Guide (printable): Bs3: Using Bongo to create a pre-recorded lecture
Guide (printable): Bs0: Adding a voiceover to your PowerPoint Slides
Guide (webinar recording): Deliver a webinar using the Bongo virtual classroom tool, AND pre-record your lectures

Screencasting

Screencasting software allows a lecturer to create a recording (video and audio) of any activity performed on a computer screen. You could, for example, prepare a short video guiding your students around your Brightspace module; demonstrate a particular piece of software; or explain a particularly difficult concept using powerpoint.

ScreenPal (previously known as Screencast-O-Matic) is a screen recorder that captures all movement on your screen making it easy for you to create content for online delivery or to pre-record lectures, and TU Dublin has purchased licences. Bs0: How to log into and use Screenpal to find out how to create your ScreenPal account and use this straightforward software.

General guides to screencasting:

Guide (printable): Bs0: Creating Screencasts to Deliver Content Online
Tips (printable): Bs0: Tips and Hints for creating screencasts

Communicating effectively online with your students

You communicate with your face-to-face (f2f) students on a constant basis, it comes naturally. However, when working online with your students you need different strategies.

Guide (printable): Communicating effectively online with your students

Facilitating your students to work together online

Bongo, the webinar/virtual classroom tool available in Brightspace, also offers a very useful set of groupwork tools. The Bongo group project tools can be used to allow your students to: