New Brightspace Monthly Newsletters

Every month, our IT team at WECDSB will be producing a Brightspace newsletter.  In this newsletter, you will find announcements for new ministry courses and highlights for some of the newer Brightspace features that you may not have used yet.  

The March newsletter has been published.  You can view it here: March 2021 Brightspace Newsletter

New Features Coming to Google Meet

 

New Features Coming to Google Meet

Google has announced some exciting new features coming to Google Meet.  Some are set to roll out in the next few months and some will roll out before the end of the year.

New features coming in the next few months

1.  End Meeting for Everyone

This new feature will be rolling out over the next 15 days.  The "End Meeting" button can be used by the host to end the meeting for all the participants. Once the end meeting button is pressed, all the participants will be removed from the Meet and will not be able to re-join.

2. Muting Controls

Google Meet has already released the mute all button.  Hosts can now mute all the participants in the Meet by clicking on this button.  Coming in the next few months, hosts will also be able to control when participants can un-mute themselves.

3.  Set up Breakout Rooms ahead of time 

  

 Teachers will be able to set up break-out rooms before the Meet starts.  This will be done through the Google Calendar.

New features coming later this year

1.  Multiple Hosts

 Any Google Meet that is not created through Classroom will have the ability to have multiple hosts.  This will make it easier to facilitate classes.    

2.  Google Meets Created through Classroom

    A new feature that is slated for later this year will be for Google Meets that are generated through Google Classroom.  For these Meets:

• only students and teachers in the class will be able to join the Meet
• all teachers in the class will have shared host controls of the Meet

3.  Emoji Reactions

    In addition to raising hands, students will be able to express themselves with emoji reactions.  The students will be able to select skin tones that best represent themselves for the emojis.  Teachers will have full control over what emojis can be used in the Meet. 

4.  Transcripts

    Teachers will be able to receive transcripts of their Google Meets.  These transcripts can be shared with students to review what was discussed in class or to maintain a record for future reference.

 

New Features Coming to Google Classroom

Google has just announced some exciting new features coming to Google Classroom!

1.  Rich Text Formatting

    

    Teachers and students will be able to customize their text in their Classroom posts.  Bold, italics, underline and bullets will soon be available. 

2. Originality Reports in new languages

    Originality reports will soon be available in new languages including English, Spanish, Portuguese, Norwegian, Swedish, French, Italian, Indonesian, Japanese, Finnish, German, Korean, Danish, Malay, and Hindi.

3.  Student Engagement Tracking

    

    Educators will be able to see statistics on how their students interact with Google Classroom including which students submitted assignments, or commented on a post on a given day.

4.  Offline Learning for Students

    

    Students will be able to start their work offline, review assignments, and write in Google Docs without an internet connection.

5. Improved pictures of homework for students    

    

    Students will be able to combine photos into a single document, rather than submitting individual files.  They will also be able to crop and rotate images and adjust the lighting on the images.  

Publishing slideshows with Google Slides

 Publishing slideshows with Google Slides

    If you are looking to share a slideshow and only want that person to be able to view the slideshow, you can use the publishing feature of Google Slides.  When a person views a published slide show, they will see it in the same format as if the slideshow were being presented to them. 

Below you will find two links to demonstrate the difference between sharing a slideshow and publishing a slideshow.

A slideshow that is shared

Published Slideshow

How to publish a slideshow:

1.  Under File, click on "Publish to the web"

2.  You can now modify the settings for how the slideshow is played.  You can also have the slideshow play automatically here.

3. By clicking on "Published content & settings" 

you can restrict access so it can only be seen by people in your organization.

4.  When ready, press "Start publishing".  You can now copy the URL that is made for the slideshow and share this link.  

New Features to the Google Meet Preview Window

 New Features to the Google Meet Preview Window

The Google Meet preview window has had some significant changes this week.  This post will take you through those changes.

1.  The "New Meeting" button. 

    This will give you three options: 

• "Create a meeting for later" will generate a URL that can be shared with your meeting participants.  When you are ready to join the Meet, simply paste the URL into your browser.
• "Start an instant meeting" will immediately start a Meet. You can then share the Meet URL or invite participants to the Meet through the 'add people' function.
• "Schedule in Google Calendar", allows you to schedule a Meet just as you would when using the Google Calendar. 

2. The code or nickname box

    With this box, you can either create a Meet using a nickname or enter a Meet that is using a nickname.

• to create a nicknamed Meet, type the nickname you would like to use into the box, and then click on Join.  Once you create the nicknamed Meet, simply share the nickname with your Meet participants. Be sure to create a nickname that is not easily replicated.  For example, if you nickname a Meet "meeting", you may find yourself with some unexpected guests in your Meet.     
• To enter a Meet that has been nicknamed, simply type the nickname that was created into this same box and click on Join.

3.  Checking your audio and video before you enter the Meet

    Before you enter a Meet, there is some new functionality on the preview screen.  

• First, you can select your microphone, speaker, and camera.
• After pressing the "Next" button, you will get the opportunity to record a short video of yourself using these input/output devices.  Then you can play the clip back to ensure that your settings are correct and all is working properly. 
• The results of this short test will then be displayed for you.

• You can click on each button for more information or change settings if needed.
• You will also have the opportunity to test again by clicking on the "Check agani: button

 

Chrome Spell Check

Did you know that not all web programs have spell check??  This includes Markbook and Google Sites.  However, you can enable spell check in your chrome browser and this will spell check anything that you type within Chrome.

Here is how to enable the Chrome Spell Check function:

1. Click on the "More Options" button in your chrome browser (3 does in the upper right corner)

2.  Click on "Settings"

3.  Click on "Advanced:

4. Make sure the Spell Check toggle is set to on.

    Click on the "Enhanced spell check" radio button

With the embedded chrome spell check turned on, any text that you type into any site will be checked for errors.

PD Opportunities for WECDSB Educators

 

The following sessions will be available for all WECDSB Eductors.  

Please note that these PD opportunities are optional.

Tuesday, November 24, 2020 at 1:00pm and 3:00pm 
Adding Curriculum Expectations to Brightspace Content

- In this session, you will learn how to import curriculum expectations into your Brightspace course.  Once imported, you have the ability to attach the expectations to course content.

Wednesday, December 2, 2020, at 1:00pm and 3:00pmm
Using Google to Check the Authenticity of Student Work

-In this session, you will learn all about the Google originality report and how to implement this within Google Classroom as well as Brightspace.  This is a brand new functionality within the Brightsapce environment.   Since Turnitin is no longer available, Google originality reports can be used to ensure authentic student work.

Wednesday, December 9, 2020, at 1:00pm and 3:00pm 
Using Weighted Rubrics in Google Classroom and Brightspace

-In this session, you will learn about weighted rubrics and how to implement them in Google Classroom and Brightspace.  Weighted rubrics will report a true mark to your students based on category weightings in your course.

Wednesday, December 16, 2020, at 1:00 and 3:00pm 
Assessment in Brightspace

-In this session, you will learn about creating quizzes in Brightspace.  Including how to create and use question banks.

Please visit the Continuity of Learning Website for Google Meet Links for this learning series.  Continuity of Learning Website