Brightspace and Distance Learning

The primary focus for development of Distance Learning (DL) courses is on those that are part of an approved, Distance Learning Program. Designed and built by Online Design Faculty, these courses receive priority attention from the CCI and adhere to the OSCQR (SUNY Online Course Quality Review) standards. Faculty seeking to design and develop an online course that is not a part of an approved Distance Learning Program can take the Online Design Faculty training and build their own course. For more information, please review the How do I put my course online? section below. 

Instructional Design is the systematic development of instruction that most effectively facilitates the transfer of knowledge, skills, and attitude to learners. Instructional Designers carefully consider how students learn and what materials and methods will help them achieve their academic goals. The principles of instructional design address the design, creation, and delivery of educational tools to any learning group. Instructional Design principles enhance learning at every level: a Brightspace course, a campus course, a lecture, or even a single assignment.

Whether you need general support to enhance your Brightspace course or are looking for detailed instructional design support to develop a fully online course, the CCI staff are here to support you. Forward your questions or schedule a one-on-one appointment by emailing online@potsdam.edu.

Brightspace is an LMS (Learning Management System) that allows users to deliver content and instruction through a private website. Faculty can create individual Brightspace courses for both their on-site classes and for their online courses. Among other things, Brightspace allows faculty to post lectures, videos, assignments, discussion forums, quizzes, and questionnaires.

Ready to login? Go to the Brightspace webpage. 

Online Design Faculty (ODFs) are trained to design effective and engaging courses online and build them in Brightspace with minimal assistance from Instructional Designers. Training will include ADA compliance, advanced Brightspace functionality, universal design for learning, and online pedagogy. Following the training, ODFs are expected to attend at least two professional development workshops on online learning each semester. ODFs also serve on OSCQR review committees. 

Getting Started with Online Instruction and Interaction, Student Engagement, and Teaching Presence in Online Courses are offered through the SUNY Center for Professional Development. The College will cover the cost — per Provost/VPAA and Business Affairs approval—for faculty developing courses that are program requirements, WAYS, General Education, or high-priority electives. Interested faculty can also self-pay and develop OSCQR-certifiable online courses on their own. 

The College will sponsor several faculty each fall and spring semester to go through the training. In recognition of the considerable training workload, faculty participating in the training will receive a course release to be taken in that semester. Faculty who are unable to take the course release must delay training until they are able.  The deliverable for the training is a complete online course that is ready to be OSCQR reviewed and certified.

Alternative Credentialing 

Faculty can request that their prior training and experience be considered in lieu of the Deque University and SUNY workshops/courses. The review and determination will be made by the dean of the school and the director of online learning and instruction. 

Who can design/build an online course?

In designing and building an online course, preference will be given to SUNY Potsdam faculty. Qualified full-time faculty teaching in a program and credentialed as Online Design Faculty will have right of first refusal to serve as Subject Matter Expert (SME) for a course. If there are no qualified full-time faculty—or if qualified full-time faculty decline to serve as SME—the division/department chairs in consultation with their dean can recruit adjuncts as SMEs or hire qualified non-College employees.  

To begin, you must meet these four criteria:   

1. Your course has been approved by the appropriate curricular approval process.  
2. Online development of your course has been approved by the dean and provost. Preference will be giving to courses that are part of an approved online or partially online program,  WAYS courses, or courses that carry a General Education attribute.
3. You are credentialed as an Online Design Faculty.

Only occasionally will Instructional Designers be tasked with Brightspace builds. Rather, the IDs will provide support on BSP functionality, offer ongoing faculty professional development around online teaching, and work 1:1 with faculty on pedagogical methods and course design.  

The responsibility of designing/building online courses will lie with faculty. Faculty participating in the Online Faculty Design Training will design/build a course in BSP as part of the completion of that training. Online Design Faculty will then be credentialed to design/build online courses (if they maintain their ODF status by completing the annual minimum online professional development activities). 

To ensure a consistent and predictable user experience across SUNY Potsdam, all online courses are required to use the campus’s Brightspace template. All courses will still go through the OSCQR review process before being offered online. The review committee will consist of the faculty designer, one instructional designer, and the Online Faculty Fellow. The ODF is responsible for making the changes required during the review process.  

Faculty should start the training and design process at least two semesters prior the first semester the course will run. 

Timeline for online course development

For Courses to be offered in Summer/Fall: 

For Courses to be offered in Winter/Spring

The timeline for courses built by the Instructional Designers based on material provided by a Subject Matter Expert will be negotiated on a case-by-base basis.  

Online courses must be reviewed and recertified every three years. The Subject Matter Expert will be paid a stipend to review course content and instructional methods, check for accessibility, and update as needed. The course will then be OSCQR reviewed by the SME, one instructional designer, and the Online Faculty Fellow.  

When a faculty member retains the ownership of the Intellectual Property, that faculty is responsible for reviewing course content and instructional methods, checking for accessibility, updating as needed, and participating in the OSCQR process. They continue to retain the Intellectual Property and receive no compensation.

The College will be flexible regarding ownership of the intellectual property in a course. Once the dean and director of online learning and instruction agree that a course should be offered online, the following criteria to determine IP ownership: 

After a course has been built, reviewed, and approved for online delivery, the Instructional Designer will archive a “Work for Hire” version of the BSP course that will remain untouched until recertified after three years. After recertification, the Work for Hire version will be updated, then updated again after six years. The Work for Hire version will be removed from the archive after nine years.  

A second “Course Template” version (currently called the “working shell”) of the BSP will also be created; that template will be duplicated each time the course is taught. The online program coordinator (or the dean’s designee) will have access to that template. It will be the responsibility of the online program coordinator (OPC) or dean’s designee to make changes to the template. The OPC or dean’s designee will be responsible for ensuring the course remains fully OSCQR-compliant. Change to the Course Template will be added to the Work for Hire version during recertification. 

To maintain accessibility and compliance, the instructors of record are not allowed to substantively change the live BSP course.

To ensure compliance and accessibility, verify routine and substantive interaction (RSI), and conduct course updates, the following will have access—when necessary to fulfill institutional and administrative duties—to any current or prior semester online courses: 

• instructional designer 
• online program coordinator 
• division/department chair 
• dean of the school, or designees
• provost, or designees