Brightspace Learning Environment

Assignments – The new assignment creation experience | Updated

The following features build on the announcement related to the new assignment creation experience released in the December 2020/20.20.12 Release Notes, the Assignments – Date picker change | Updated feature that was released in the November 2020/20.20.11 Release Notes, and the Learning Outcomes - Display of Outcome Hierarchy in Alignment picker and Outcomes Progress | New and the Learning Outcomes - Search Outcomes in the Alignment picker and Outcomes Progress | New features released in the April 2020/20.20.4 release:
 

• The new assignment creation experience defaults to On (Opt-in). Administrators can still override this value in the d2l.Tools.Dropbox.CreateExperienceOptIn (OrgUnit) configuration variable. 
• Previously, in the new assignment creation experience, the time for an assignment Start Date defaulted to 11:59pm. Now, the default time for an assignment Start Date is set to 12:00am. Due Date and End Date remain unchanged with default times set to 11:59pm.
• The learning outcomes hierarchy tree now appears in Assignments. You can collapse it to facilitate finding and using specific outcomes in any assessment activity or rubric where outcomes can be aligned. In addition, users can now search the outcomes list to find the best outcome to align with assignment activities in their courses and programs.   

Assignments - Multiple rubric support in consistent evaluation experience | Updated

This feature is a continuation of the Assignments - Consistent evaluation experience | New feature that was introduced in the December 2020/20.20.12 release.

If an assignment includes multiple rubrics, they are all visible to instructors using the Consistent evaluation experience. Instructors are also able to choose the default scoring rubric. Previously, the consistent evaluation experience would only display one rubric on the assignment evaluation screen.
For additional information on the Consistent evaluation experience, visit Brightspace Community.

Brightspace Portfolio – Improved learner navigation | New

As part of the ongoing initiative to provide a centralized navigation experience in Brightspace Portfolio, instructors can now more easily navigate between learners. When viewing a learner's portfolio, a new learner selector displays, allowing instructors to choose another learner from the class list. Instructors can also switch between the previous or next learner in the class list using new Previous and Next arrow buttons.

When viewing by Students in tile or list format on the main Portfolio page, instructors click a learner to view. This displays all evidence in the learner's portfolio.

To find specific evidence in the portfolio to review and evaluate, instructors can use existing evidence filters. In addition, instructors can now add additional evidence to the learner's portfolio on their behalf by clicking the new Add to Portfolio button.
After reviewing the learner's portfolio, instructors can choose another learner from the new learner selector, or switch between learners by clicking the new Previous and Next arrow buttons.


Figure: The new learner selector and Previous and Next arrow buttons in a learner's portfolio


Figure: The new Add to Portfolio button in a learner's portfolio
 

Brightspace Portfolio – Improved navigation to archived portfolios | New

As part of the ongoing initiative to provide a centralized navigation experience in Brightspace Portfolio, instructors can now access archived portfolios using a new portfolio selector when viewing a learner's portfolio. Instructors can use archived portfolios to demonstrate a learner's growth, reflect on past learning, and showcase their best work. Previously, archived portfolios were accessed through several clicks to a separate page.
When viewing by Students in tile or list format on the main Portfolio page, instructors click a learner to view. 
From the learner's portfolio, click the new portfolio selector, and then select Archived Portfolios. Other portfolio options include: Active Evidence and Delete Evidence.
From the archived portfolio page, select a year, and then an archived course. Evidence for the archived course displays.


Figure: The Archived Portfolios option from the new portfolio selector in a learner's portfolio


Figure: Evidence from a learner's archived portfolio
 

Brightspace Learning Environment – Supported browsers | Updated

Brightspace Learning Environment's browser version check now displays warnings for browsers earlier than the following versions:

• Google® Chrome™ 85 (released Aug 2020) 
• Apple® Safari® 13 (released in September 2019) 
• Mobile Apple Safari 12 (released in October 2018) 
• Mozilla® Firefox® 80 (released August 2020) 
• Chromium-based Microsoft® Edge 85 (released August 2020) 
• All versions of Microsoft Edge Legacy (in preparation for Microsoft’s end-of-support in March 2021)

You can access Brightspace Learning Environment with older versions of our supported browsers; however, D2L does not test Brightspace Learning Environment against these older versions. This means you may encounter unexpected user interface behavior and appearance or broken and unsupported functionality. In most cases, D2L does not fix software defects experienced in unsupported browser versions. For an optimal experience that offers better performance, accessibility, and security, D2L strongly recommends that all users access Brightspace Learning Environment with a supported browser.
 

Content - File and widget sandboxing to enhance content security | New 

To enhance the security of Content files and Widgets that execute scripts to create extra-rich HTML experiences (such as objects that can execute JavaScript), there is now a sandboxing feature that creates a secure iFrame around the HTML file. This will allow an HTML file to execute scripts (such as JavaScript) within the iFrame only but will prevent them from executing outside the iframe (against the domain). This enables some flexibility in creating rich content, but reassurance for the security- conscious that end user information remains secure in all situations, such as when learners in specific courses have a special role with permission to create content topics. 
To implement the ability to create sandboxing in Content Files and Widgets, there are new configuration variables, permissions, and workflows.  
There are 3 new configuration variables: 

• The Security.WidgetsApplySandbox configuration variable applies the sandbox attribute to any widget where Widget Is Sandboxed is selected in the Edit Widget Properties area.  For existing clients, this configuration variable is OFF by default. When the configuration variable is OFF, the permission and workflow to apply sandboxing is visible, but the actual sandbox attribute is not applied; scripts execute as they did previously. All new widgets have the Widget Is Sandboxed attribute set to OFF in the Edit Widget Properties dialog box. When the Security.WidgetsApplySandbox configuration variable is enabled, the sandbox attribute is applied as appropriate, and all new widgets have the Widget Is Sandboxed setting automatically turned on in the Edit Widget Properties area.

Note: When the Security.WidgetsApplySandbox configuration variable is on, users without the Manage Widget Security permission can no longer edit a widget that is not sandboxed.

Figure: The Widget Security area of the Widget Properties dialog box.
 

• The Security.ContentApplySandbox configuration variable applies the sandboxing attribute to HTML content files if you have selected the Enable Content Sandboxing option in the Course Offering Information area of an Organization Unit. 

Figure: The Enable Content Sandboxing checkbox on Course Offering Information settings. 
 

• The Security.ContentSandboxDefault configuration variable sets the default status of the Enable Content Sandboxing check box for all org units in Course Offering Information area that do not have specific overrides. This configuration variable enables administrators to specify that all courses should have sandboxed content, and specifically opt out certain org units, if applicable.

Widget and Course Content permissions for sandboxing appear in the Security permission category: 

• The new Manage Widget Security (organization level) permission enables the associated roles to apply and remove sandboxing to widgets. By default, this permission is OFF for all roles. Without this permission, users with create/edit widget permissions can see whether or not a widget is sandboxed, but cannot edit the setting. If a widget is not sandboxed, and the Security.WidgetsApplySandbox configuration variable is ON, a user without this permission cannot edit the widget, as it is not secure. 
• The new Manage Content Security (organization level) permission enables the associated roles to apply and remove sandboxing in any org unit. By default, this permission is OFF for all roles. Without this permission, users who can see the Course Offering Information area for an org unit can see whether the course is sandboxed, but cannot edit the setting.  
• The existing Has Access to the Manage Courses Tool permission is also required at the org unit type (such as course or department) for the roles to see the Enable Content Sandboxing setting in the Course Offering information. 

Note: If two or more courses share the same exact file path, sandboxing the path for one course automatically sandboxes the other courses as well. This might take several minutes to apply, depending on the number of courses in the path. 

In Manage Homepages > Widgets, un-sandboxed widgets have a warning icon.  


Figure: The float-over text on the icon indicates that the widget is not sandboxed. 
 

For additional information about the security vulnerability caused by un-sandboxed content, see Cross Site Scripting (XSS) on the OWASP community.  

For additional information about the sandboxing attribute, see HTML <iframe> sandbox Attribute. 

Course Export - Export file upload attribute for written response questions | New

Written Response quiz questions that allow for file upload can now be imported and exported from Brightspace Learning Environment. With the ability to import and export these questions users can share them with users from other instances of Brightspace. 
 

Data Hub - Attendance and Intelligent Agents Brightspace Data Sets | Removed

With this release, the following Brightspace Data Sets have been removed from Data Hub v5 and v6:

• Attendance Details
• Attendance Summary
• Intelligent Agent Runs

Attendance Details and Attendance Summary have been replaced by the following data sets:

• Attendance Registers
• Attendance Schemes
• Attendance Sessions
• Attendance User Sessions

Intelligent Agent Runs has been replaced by the following data sets:

• Intelligent Agent Objects
• Intelligent Agent Run Log
• Intelligent Agent Run Users

 The deprecated data sets were first announced in Brightspace Platform July 2020/20.20.7 Release Notes. The new data sets that replaced them were added in the same release.
 

Data Hub - Course Offering Enrollments ADS | New

To increase the value of the Data Hub offering, this release adds a new Advanced Data Set (ADS):

• Course Offering Enrollments returns the course offerings within which a user is enrolled, including both explicit and implicit enrollments.

For more information about explicit and implicit enrollments, please refer to this Community article: Data Hub - New Advanced Data Set: Course Offering Enrollments.
 

Data Hub - Survey Objects Brightspace Data Set | Updated

To increase the value of the Data Hub offering, this release adds a new column to an existing Brightspace Data Set:

• CategoryName added to Survey Objects data set.

Grades – Additional features for Mastery View in the grade book | Updated

To increase the value of the Mastery view of the Grade book, originally released in Brightspace Platform 20.20.12/December 2020, this release updates and adds the following new features:

• Three new calculation methods: Highest Level, Most Recent Level, and Decaying Average.
• A Publish All button for overall levels of achievement for all outcomes to all learners.
• A Search by Student Name field.
• A warning when the user attempts to change the default achievement scale.
• Removal of the Clear Default option in the Achievement Scale dialog.

Quizzes - Multi-select questions workflow on by default | Updated

As an update to the Quizzes – Improved workflow for creating multi-select questions | New feature released in December 2020/20.20.12, the new d2l.Tools.Quizzes.NewMultiSelectExperience configuration variable is now turned on by default.
This configuration variable controls the availability of the new multi-select question experience only. If you do not want the multi-select question experience to appear by default, you can turn off the configuration variable manually. 
Note: The new d2l.Tools.Quizzes.NewMultiSelectExperience configuration variable will be removed in the March 2021/20.21.3 release, making the new multi-select question experience on by default for all organizations at that time.  

Quizzes - Retake Incorrect questions only permission setting | Updated

Building on the Quizzes – Improvements to the ability to retake incorrect questions in quizzes | New feature released in December 2020/20.20.12, the role permission Edit Quiz Properties permission now controls the availability of the Retake Incorrect Questions Only setting on the Assessment tab. This change ensures that only instructors with the Edit Quiz Properties permission can set the retake incorrect questions only setting on a quiz. 

SCORM - Configuration variable for New SCORM solution | New

A new configuration variable for New SCORM solution content allows administrators to control the default submission of zero to Grades when the success status of grade items is unknown. The new configuration variable d2l.Tools.ContentService.AlwaysSubmitZeroGrade is Off by default, where a grade of zero is only submitted if the success status is specifically set to “failed”. When the configuration variable is set to On, a grade of zero is submitted to the gradebook regardless of the success status. 

Turning on this configuration variable overrides the SCORM package design to ensure non-successful SCORM scores appear in the gradebook. Previously, scores of 0 would only be sent when the SCORM object success was set to Failure.  Note that turning on the d2l.Tools.ContentService.AlwaysSubmitZeroGrade configuration variable will only apply for any future attempts per user per SCORM object.

This configuration variable can be set at the Org level if you want all SCORM content in all org units to have a grade of zero submitted without the explicit failed status; alternatively, you can set the configuration variable for specific Org Units as required.
 

Integrations

Bongo™ - Updated icons | New

This feature updates the default icons for Virtual Classroom and Video Assignments across Brightspace Learning Environment. The large and small icon variants are both included in this update. Icons are automatically updated for clients using the default icon sets. If your organization is using custom icons they are not affected.


Figure: New Video Assignments icons visible across Brightspace Learning Environment

Figure: New Virtual Classroom icons visible across Brightspace Learning Environment

LTI® 1.1 - Course Section code included in launch | New

This feature adds an option to send the Course Section Code in the LTI 1.1 launch, if it is required by the tool. The lis_course_section_sourcedid is already sent, but it is always the lis_course_offering_sourcedid because the launch occurs in the context of a course offering, not in a section. 
There are tools that require the section information from the platform to show section-specific information. Tools that look to determine when a course has been cross-listed can now identify a change in course offering parents.
 

ReadSpeaker® - Integration enhancements | Updated

ReadSpeaker functionality is now available to instructors and learners in Assignments and Quizzes. ReadSpeaker converts text to speech, making text-based Assignments and Quizzes available to a wider audience. The ReadSpeaker icon is visible when viewing assignment instructions, evaluating assignments, taking or previewing a quiz, and evaluating quizzes. 

ReadSpeaker in Quizzes and Assignments is available immediately to clients who upgraded their script version of ReadSpeaker using the configuration variable d2l.3rdParty.ReadSpeaker.ScriptLocation in January. To identify if your organization has moved to the latest version review the value of the ScriptLocation variable. If your variable has no overrides, or is using a default instance value of /d2l/im/d2lreader/rs_v2.5.3_rev1551/ReadSpeaker.js?pids=embhl, then you are using an old version of the ReadSpeaker script. If you are using a URL path in an override that looks similar to the following paths then you are already on the latest version:

• https://f1-na.readspeaker.com/script/0000/webReader/webReader.js?pids=wr&dload=D2L  
• //cdn1.readspeaker.com/script/0000/webReaderForEducation/brightspace/v3.3/webReader.js   

If your organization has not already upgraded, contact your ReadSpeaker account manager or support for guidance on updating your variable. The current default path for script paths are: 

• https://cdn1.readspeaker.com/script/[CUSTOMERID]/webReaderForEducation/brightspace/v3.3/webReader.js?pids=wr&dload=BrightSpace 

Note: CustomerId is your ReadSpeakercustomer ID
 
This feature also resolves issues withReadSpeaker interfering with SCORM content hosted in Brightspace Learning Environment.

This feature implements PIE item D3192.

Zoom© - Partnership with D2L | New

D2L has formed a partnership with Zoom to better integrate their meeting tool into Brightspace Learning Environment. A Zoom LTI integration is available that allows users to schedule, join, and manage zoom meetings directly from Brightspace. Administrators configure LTI credentials in Brightspace after they configure and deploy the LTI integration in the Zoom Apps marketplace. The Zoom LTI link can then be added to course navigation.