By: James Calidonna
SUNY Cortland, among other State universities, has switched from Blackboard to Brigthtspace, a new learning platform. But is Brightspace the answer?
First off, what is Brightspace? Brightspace is a digital learning environment for students of all ages. Suny Cortland transitioned to this new platform in the Fall of ‘22 and introduced it for the spring semester of 2023 students.
At first, many students did not take kindly to the switch. Students began to feel as if the switch was unnecessary and was not needed. But I think here at Cortland we did not need anything more than this.
I fall under the category of support for Brightspace. There are many resources and advantages Brightspace has to offer that other learning platforms like Blackboard just simply cannot provide in their space.
Not every class here at Cortland currently has Brightspace to offer yet. This spring semester was a test of sorts as not all courses made the switch from Blackboard. The test was deemed to be successful as all courses will make the switch to Brightspace by the summer and the fall semester.
But many believe this switch is unwarranted. Many do not want to leave the old platform. There are students across campus who feel as if the switch to Brightspace is pointless. They feel as if we already have a learning platform and think the switch is unnecessary. I think these students are unable to see what Brightspace has to offer.
This whole movement from BlackBoard to Brightspace was the result of a larger SUNY initiative to implement a common digital learning environment (DLE) across all SUNY’s.
Brightspace has an app! Brightspace has developed an app for your phone that allows you to check on your courses on the go. This app is available to students with IOS and Android.
Another feature available is the ability to pin and unpin courses. This will help with access to your frequently visited courses. All these tools will help you progress academically within the new platform.
Not only does this platform have resources infinitely better than that of Blackboard, this platform provides training to all faculty. SUNY Cortland instructional designers provide introductory training to all faculty within the Brightspace environment.
First time online instructors normally take anywhere from 6-10 hours to complete the course. According to SUNY Cortland, more experienced Brightspace users will only take 1-3 hours.
Now our new learning platform has an app for your phone, can pin and unpin courses, and your instructor has to take a training course. What is there not to love?
According to the Digital Learning Environment page on MyRedDragon, Brightspace’s main goals are to provide a platform to better share practices and resources around campus and assure strong technical, instructional design, and academic support.
Most importantly, Brightspace looks to provide a familiar platform for students to use. I’d say this is a pretty big improvement from Blackboard. I know some have their doubts, but I think we are in good hands.