We know that many of you have questions regarding SUNY Broome’s upcoming migration from the Blackboard Learning Management System to D2L’s Brightspace and we’ll do our best to answer them with the most up-to-date information that we have. Check back frequently as we plan to update this site as we learn more!
What is Brightspace? And why are we migrating?
Brightspace (by D2L) is the Learning Management System (LMS) that will be replacing Blackboard at SUNY Broome in the coming months. This migration of the LMS is part of a larger SUNY initiative to implement a common Digital Learning Environment (DLE) across SUNY. The DLE will consist of the LMS (Brightspace), several common tool integrations, a common technical architecture and data integration, and a common look and feel for faculty and students. The DLE will allow SUNY to take advantage of economies of scale, better share best practices and resources across campuses, assure strong technical, instructional design and academic supports, and provide a familiar platform for students, faculty and staff who learn and teach at multiple institutions.
SUNY chose D2L’s Brightspace Learning Management System to replace Blackboard when SUNY’s current system-wide Blackboard contract expires on December 21, 2022. This decision was made after an extensive RFP process conducted by a team of representatives from SUNY System Administration and more than 40 faculty and staff from 15 different SUNY campuses (including SUNY Broome). The process included an evaluation of submitted Reponses, a thorough review of functional requirements, and day-long presentations from the most highly rated vendors. Additional information regarding the RFP can be found on the SUNY DLE Website.
When will we be migrating to Brightspace?
When can I access Brightspace?
Rollout to the general campus population has begun! In order to access Brightspace, you will need to request a Brightspace account by completing the Brightspace Account Request Form. Once your account is created by SUNY, you will receive a confirmation email from the TRC that outlines your next steps.
When will I receive Brightspace training?
The SUNY Center for Professional Development (CPD) is providing the initial Brightspace Fundamentals training for faculty. Training opportunities for faculty will be announced to campus through regular email communication from the Teaching Resource Center. The CPD will be offering training in three modalities in order to accommodate faculty training preferences and comfort levels with technology:
- Self-paced Asynchronous Online
- Scaled Webinars (Large Groups)
- Remote Synchronous (Small Groups)
Regardless of modality, faculty must successfully complete a series of online assessments in order to earn a Brightspace Fundamentals Certificate and Badge from the SUNY Center for Professional Development. Your earned certificate or badge must be sent to the Teaching Resource Center email address (tch_ctr@sunybroome.edu) in order to be marked as completed for the training.
All faculty must complete the required training in order to receive their course shells in Brightspace at SUNY Broome.
Additional information regarding the training can be found on the SUNY DLE Website.
Will my course content come over from Blackboard?
If you submitted your request for migration prior to the deadline (December 11, 2022 at 11:59 pm), the good news is that the majority of standard course content and tool objects (like pages, files, assignments, discussion, quizzes, images, links, etc.) that currently reside in Blackboard will migrate quite easily to Brightspace! There are exceptions, however, involving content created with specialized Blackboard tools. The following types of Blackboard specific content are known to have issues with respect to migration to Brightspace:
- Learning Modules
- Lesson Plans
- Journals
- Blogs
- Wikis
In addition, integrations to third-party resources and certain assessment question types that are specific to Blackboard (e.g. Quiz Bowl, Hot Spot, Jumbled Sentence, etc.) will not migrate or will migrate in a format needing much reorganization or rebuild.
We will continue to add to this list should we encounter additional problematic content types.
Where can I find a condensed listing of specific steps that I must take to migrate from Blackboard to Brightspace?
Please see our “The Brightspace Migration Process Demystified” page for a listing of steps faculty must take in order to successfully migrate their courses from Blackboard to Brightspace. The page outlines how to request a Brightspace account, complete the required training, identify and request courses to be migrated, request 3rd party tool integrations (if needed), prepare your converted course in Brightspace, and import your converted and prepared course into your semester based shell when it is created.
