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D2L Brightspace

D2L Brightspace

Overview

What is D2L Brightspace?

Brightspace is an academic and corporate learning management platform. It provides core e-learning features, as well as mobile accessibility and granular personalization and analytics insights.

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Recent Reviews

TrustRadius Insights

D2L Brightspace has proven to be a versatile and essential tool for a wide range of users. For instructors, it has been instrumental in …
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Love it!

9 out of 10
April 06, 2019
We use Brightspace for all of our classes. All students have access to Brightspace in order to access their classes, and many of the staff …
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D2L does the job

8 out of 10
March 12, 2018
D2L is being used by the entire state university system. It has been, as I understand it, since 2010. The decision was made by the system …
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My D2L Experience in Higher Ed

9 out of 10
September 30, 2015
There are 31 colleges within the MN State Colleges and Universities System (MnSCU). To improve access to higher education, Minnesota State …
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Popular Features

View all 11 features
  • Learning content (9)
    9.6
    96%
  • Assignments (10)
    2.1
    21%
  • Learning reporting & analytics (10)
    2.1
    21%
  • Course authoring (10)
    2.1
    21%

Reviewer Pros & Cons

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Pricing

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Unavailable

What is D2L Brightspace?

Brightspace is an academic and corporate learning management platform. It provides core e-learning features, as well as mobile accessibility and granular personalization and analytics insights.

Entry-level set up fee?

  • No setup fee

Offerings

  • Free Trial
  • Free/Freemium Version
  • Premium Consulting/Integration Services

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Product Demos

D2L Brightspace | Tips & Tricks | How to Use Virtual Classrooms to Increase Student Engagement

YouTube

D2L Brightspace | Tips & Tricks | Using Intelligent Agents to Automate a Welcome Message

YouTube

D2L Brightspace v10.4 Creating Dropbox Folders

YouTube

D2L Brightspace v10.4 Grading Discussion Topics

YouTube

D2L Brightspace v10.4 Creating Discussion Forums

YouTube

Demo of Shuffling Quiz Questions in Brightspace

YouTube
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Features

Learning Management

Features of LMS and LCMS systems, related to designing, administering, and consuming learning content in an educational, corporate, or on-the-job context.

5.9
Avg 8.2
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Product Details

What is D2L Brightspace?

Brightspace is a learning management platform used to drive better learning outcomes by offering every learner a personalized, digital experience. From the kindergarten classroom, to college campuses, to global corporations, Brightspace aims to help create inspired and engaging learning for all.

It's key capabilities and benefits include:

  • Mobile-first design - Brightspace works on any device – whether a laptop or hand-me-down smartphone or tablet.
  • Personalized learning - Release Conditions and Intelligent Agents in Brightspace offer a high level of granularity and control over individual learning paths.
  • Teaching tools for educators and instructors.
  • Automation of routine course management tasks. ​
  • Built-in analytics to improve decision-making. ​
  • Tools like gamification, videos, badges, and others to increase learner engagement.
  • Learning experience that meet all accessibility standards.
  • Support for in-the-moment feedback as well as automation of assessments.


D2L Brightspace Features

Learning Management Features

  • Supported: Course authoring
  • Supported: Course catalog or library
  • Supported: Player/Portal
  • Supported: Learning content
  • Supported: Mobile friendly
  • Supported: Progress tracking & certifications
  • Supported: Assignments
  • Supported: Learning administration
  • Supported: Learning reporting & analytics
  • Supported: eLearning
  • Supported: Assessments
  • Supported: Live online learning
  • Supported: In-person learning
  • Supported: Micro-learning
  • Supported: Video learning
  • Supported: SCORM-compliant
  • Supported: Social learning

Additional Features

  • Supported: Social Assessment

D2L Brightspace Screenshots

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D2L Brightspace Videos

D2L Brightspace 101: Building Better Learning Experiences
Establishing Student Engagement and Confidence with Brightspace Pulse
Virtual Classroom for Brightspace
D2L Brightspace for K-12 Learning

D2L Brightspace Technical Details

Deployment TypesSoftware as a Service (SaaS), Cloud, or Web-Based
Operating SystemsUnspecified
Mobile ApplicationApple iOS, Android, Mobile Web
Supported CountriesGlobal
Supported LanguagesEnglish, Arabic, Danish, German, Spanish, French, Japanese, Korean, Dutch, Portuguese, Swedish, Turkish, Chinese

Frequently Asked Questions

Brightspace is an academic and corporate learning management platform. It provides core e-learning features, as well as mobile accessibility and granular personalization and analytics insights.

Blackboard Learn by Anthology, Canvas, and Schoology Learning are common alternatives for D2L Brightspace.

Reviewers rate Course catalog or library highest, with a score of 10.

The most common users of D2L Brightspace are from Enterprises (1,001+ employees).
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Comparisons

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Reviews and Ratings

(77)

Community Insights

TrustRadius Insights are summaries of user sentiment data from TrustRadius reviews and, when necessary, 3rd-party data sources. Have feedback on this content? Let us know!

D2L Brightspace has proven to be a versatile and essential tool for a wide range of users. For instructors, it has been instrumental in facilitating online and face-to-face courses, eliminating the need for paper and allowing for the review and assessment of student coursework in a digital format. The platform has also served as a communication tool within educational institutions, enabling customized training, departmental collaboration, and the distribution of course materials. Moreover, it has supported faculty advancement portfolios, continuous learning in administrative departments, and the delivery of professional development training.

Additionally, D2L Brightspace has been widely utilized by students across various educational settings. It has provided a unique and personalized continuing educational tool, offering options for presenting and managing content to create efficient and engaging learning opportunities. The platform has served as a common repository for storing information, allowing students to access course materials, submit assignments, participate in discussions, and take quizzes online. With its user-friendly interface and flexibility in posting material and grading, D2L Brightspace has made online learning accessible and convenient for students.

Overall, D2L Brightspace's use cases span from supporting traditional classroom environments to facilitating distance learning and hybrid courses. Its integration with other technologies further enhances the learning experience by embedding tools like the Google Suite and Adobe Cloud. The customizable nature of D2L Brightspace enables instructors and institutions to tailor the platform to their specific needs and deliver classes in various formats – in-person, hybrid or fully online. Additionally, its mobile accessibility ensures that users can access course materials anytime and anywhere. With positive feedback from faculty regarding its functionality and ease of use, D2L Brightspace continues to serve as a reliable Learning Management System for universities, colleges, community colleges, and other educational organizations nationwide.

Seamless migration process: Several users have stated that the migration process from ANGEL to D2L Brightspace was smooth and hassle-free. This suggests that D2L Brightspace has effective tools and support in place to ensure a seamless transition, minimizing disruptions for educational institutions.

Flexible customization options: Many reviewers have appreciated the ability to customize widgets and change the layout of home pages in D2L Brightspace. This feature allows instructors to personalize their course pages and create a tailored learning experience for students. It highlights the software's flexibility and adaptability in catering to individual instructor preferences and instructional needs.

Commitment to user feedback: The user community has expressed appreciation for D2L Brightspace's collection and prioritization of new ideas. This showcases the software's dedication to incorporating user feedback and continuously improving its features based on customer input. The emphasis on user feedback demonstrates D2L Brightspace's commitment to meeting the evolving needs and expectations of its users.

Confusing and Non-Intuitive User Interface: Some users have found the user interface of D2L Brightspace to be confusing and not intuitive, requiring multiple steps to complete tasks.

Limited Customization Options: Several reviewers have mentioned that the customization options for page layouts and graphics in D2L Brightspace are limited. Users desired easier customization capabilities to personalize their courses.

Difficulties with Calendar Tool: The Calendar Tool in D2L Brightspace has been reported as difficult to navigate and manage by some users. They have expressed challenges in using this tool effectively for scheduling and keeping track of important dates.

Based on user reviews, there are three common recommendations for Brightspace. One important recommendation is to carefully consider the ease of use and quality of customer service. Users recommend thoroughly exploring all available options, asking questions, and taking into account potential future updates and improvements. Brightspace stands out for its highly intuitive interface and responsive customer service, making it an excellent choice for educational purposes.

Another key recommendation is to ensure proper setup and configuration of Brightspace during implementation in order to align with long-term goals. Users highly advise engaging a Technical Account Manager for comprehensive support and successful deployment. It is also recommended to compare costs and assess essential features when evaluating competing alternatives.

Users strongly advocate for utilizing the abundant resources and features offered by Brightspace. They recommend taking advantage of the available tutorials and other platform resources to enhance usage and instruction. While Brightspace is generally considered reliable, user-friendly, and intuitive, some users have noted that entering notes may not be as seamless as desired. It is also suggested to explore different areas within Brightspace to become familiar with its functionalities, and to enable direct communication between the messaging system and external email platforms for improved correspondence.

Overall, Brightspace is regarded as an outstanding learning management system (LMS) that offers great control and customization options for instructors. Users highly recommend it for effectively organizing students' classwork and facilitating video conferences. However, it is advised to carefully evaluate the pros and cons of implementing Brightspace, considering the additional time commitments it may require for professors.

Attribute Ratings

Reviews

(1-25 of 45)
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Ai Ashe | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • Students and instructors can get confused with the interface. There might be a slight learning curve
  • Not everything is intuitive. Therefore some instructors are slow to adopt.
  • Grading features may have a slight learning curve for instructors new to LMS.
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
  • Brightspace has allowed our department to provide more courses online as well as in person since more can be managed by an instructor or team.
  • Brightspace has led to some negative comments during our annual meetings as some staff prefer free options or paid options with different interfaces.
  • Brightspace has allowed our instructors to understand how much work individual learners have interacted with, where they may have quit or encountered difficulties, and has even allowed us to understand why some have received non-complete grades.
  • Brightspace's assignment drop boxes have enabled our department to easily run originality checks and have timestamps to understand when assignments were completed.
Joshua Melder | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • Brightspace offers tailored learning outcomes for employees to further their organization knowledge.
  • There are significant analytical benefits that enable administrators to view engagement data and cultivate organizationally-specific content.
  • Brightspace enables a consistent and single-source of truth channel for learning but still does not fit all levels of employees.
Ho'omana Nathan Horton | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • Brightspace provides a unified platform for student interaction.
  • It provides a unified place for students to submit and keep track of assignments.
  • It provides a clear place for students to keep track of their grades throughout the semester.
Amanda Carpenter | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • It has helped with our Virtual Campus, which is our fastest growing campus.
  • It has helped us to offer more blended courses.
  • It's been helpful to ensure all employees participate in HR training.
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
  • We are part of a state system, but we have been out twice in the past 10 years for RFP and chosen D2L both times.
  • D2L listens to users and provides videos and training through through D2L Community site.
  • D2L has an annual International Fusion User Conference to showcase ideas and new products.
  • D2L also helps sponsor regional Ignite Conferences and MN will hold its 2nd in April 2014.
Frances Wright Breland | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 7 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • This is not something I can specifically speak to system-wide. However I think when teachers are willing to use the analytics provided by the system, it has the power to help them provide earlier interventions in the learning process. It is my observation that earlier interventions for learners who are struggling also improves learning outcomes.
September 23, 2015

D2L is not all BS

David Lloyd | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 5 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • Just having a Learning Management System in place has had a major positive impact on our university. And although there are downsides to Desire2Learn, it is widely used and therefore there are a large number of people with whom to collaborate with on its use.
  • Once set-up correctly, Desire2Learn has a lot to offer including course consistency, flexible institution branding as well as it can save a large amount of money on print costs. Sharing syllabi and other documents online can cut the cost of printing for both faculty and students.
  • Desire2Learn works with several third party vendors, and although some of the integrations could be improved, this adds functionality.
Steven Mitchell | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
  • I feel that Desire2Learn has improved the overall efficiency of online learning at this university. When it is used properly it is a good tool for learning.
  • I think it has increased the efficiency of the customer service personnel also. It is easier to correct and to explain over the phone and in person to person chats.
  • It is fairly easy for the students to learn as incoming students.
April 29, 2015

Desire2Learn Review

Score 1 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
  • Software is costly
  • Users like the delivery platform and find it easy to use.
  • Improves employee efficiency and reduces repetition
Michelle Fisher | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 7 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
  • Neutral: D2L has helped us develop brand new online graduate programs. The programs have been successful but I don't believe this is due to D2L - I believe any decent LMS would result in the same outcome.
  • Negative: Our conversion from Blackboard to D2L in 2010 has unfortunately resulted in some faculty members decreasing their use of LMS tools. In the three years since the conversion, I have been able to gradually build up use but we are still lagging. I believe any transition would result in a dip/drop but D2L can be fairly difficult to pick up for faculty so I believe we experienced a bigger and longer drop because of this.
  • Positive: We have been able to use D2L for our accreditation assessments in some of our programs thanks to the statistics available in the assessment area.
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