Brightspace
Dalhousie's Learning Management System
Brightspace is Dalās main platform for online and blended courses, as well as support for in-person classes. Each course you take will show up on Brightspace as a module that is locked until the term begins.Ā
- Files such as the syllabus, readings, and assignment instructions.Ā
- Recorded lectures or class slides here.Ā
- Announcements (such as a moved deadline).Ā
- You can choose to receive an email when Announcements are posted (as well as when other content is updated on the site) through your Notifications settings.
- Discussion threads, which allow an open forum to ask questions, swap assignment deadlines, provide feedback, and more. Certain threads may enable anonymous posting.
- Within threads, you can comment on another person's post, which creates its own thread.Ā
- Discussions can also be used to facilitate conversations outside of assignments.Ā
- Course assessment and grading, including quizzes and dropboxes for students to submit their work, and a Grades section, where you can find marks your professors have uploaded, along with class averages for each assignment.
Microsoft Teams
Online chats, meetings, file-sharing, and conferences
Teams is a communication platform that uses a combination of messaging and video conferencing tools. It is part of Microsoft Office 365, so you will log in using your activated Dalhousie account (NetID and password). Different teams can be created within the application for different groups, such as courses or departments. These teams have their own channels that act as a shared workspace. For example, you may have a team for your course, and within that team is a channel for classroom video meetings and a channel for discussions.
- Chats, either within teams, or as private conversations between individuals.Ā
- Discussion threads, via posts in a team channel
- Document sharing and collaboration
- Files that are uploaded in a chat are added to a OneDrive repository under the Files tab. This way, you can easily access documents even if the chat has progressed far past the point when they were originally attached. Edits that are made to these files within Teams are automatically saved. Additionally, new tabs can be created to add programs such as Word or PowerPoint if you would like to work on a document together in real time.
- Video meetings and conferencingĀ
- Teams meeting links are accessible even if you do not have the Teams application downloaded.Ā
- Up to 300 participants are allowed in a meeting, and there are no time limits.
- Meetings are also recordable.Ā
Dal Online
Online administration
Dal Online is the home of all theĀ administrativeĀ components of your university career. If Dalhousie requires you to take action in some way, it will likely involve Dal Online. For example, Dal Online is where you can opt in or out of the DSU Health Plan.
- Academic information, via the Web for Students tab.Ā
- Add or drop classes, view your fees, see your final grades, and more.Ā
- Access your student records, including tax forms, your academic record, and confirmation of your enrolment.Ā
- Request an official transcript
- Apply for student aid (such as bursaries) and view the status of every award you have applied for via the Student Awards and Financial Aid tab.
Dal Online becomes especially important as you progress through university. It is where you will declare your major(s) and/or minor(s). If you plan on taking courses from another university, you can use the Transfer Credit Equivalencies page to see if they will count as credits towards your degree. Also, Dal Online is where our Degree Audit Reporting System (DARS) lives. Once you declare your major, you can use DARS to see if you are on track to fulfill all of your degree requirements.
myDal
Dal's internal website
myDal is Dalhousie's intranet. You log in through your activated Dalhousie account (NetID and password). The most important component of myDal is that it grants you access to your Dalhousie email. This is where all official Dalhousie communications are sent, so it is important to check it often. Like the other Microsoft 365 tools, you can open it through your web browser or download the Outlook application. As a bonus, you also have a calendar attached to your Dal account that can be used to schedule your learning.
- The entireĀ Microsoft 365Ā suite of tools, including Word, PowerPoint, and Excel.
- You can download these programs to your computer or use them in your web browser.
- OneDrive, Microsoft 365's cloud system, for saving / backing up documents. This means that if your computer dies, your files will still be safe.
myDal hosts several other internal sites with useful information, such asĀ Ā (ITS) and theĀ Ā (login required). Additionally, you can search myDal to find information on everything from academic advising to the Writing Centre.
OpenDal
Access your online non-credit coursesĀ
The Faculty of Open Learning has partnered with Extended Learning in the Faculty of Agriculture, Continuing Professional Education in the Faculty of Dentistry, and Health Sciences, Health Administration, and the College of Pharmacy in the Faculty of Health to bring you a learning management system that is built for non-credit learning. Built on the Brightspace platform you are familiar with, OpenDal offers almost immediate access to many courses and an experience targeted to you.
- Access to online, non-credit courses at pilipiliĀž»
- Features and functionality of the Brightspace platform
What you need to succeed
Online learning at Dal requires access to a computer or laptop and internet. Below are the minimum requirements needed to learn online at Dal.
OS: Windows 10
RAM: 8 GB
CPU: Core i5
Storage: 256GB (SSD Recommended)
Internet Speed: 1Mbps upload, 5Mbps download of available bandwidth for group video calling. Faster would be even better for large lectures.
Web: Firefox or ChromeĀ
Resolution: 1024 x 768
Accessories: Webcam and Microphone (if not built into computer)
OS: Mac OS X 10.15 or higher
RAM: 8 GB
CPU: Core i5
Storage: 256GB (SSD Recommended)
Internet Speed: 1Mbps upload, 5Mbps download of available bandwidth for group video calling. Faster would be even better for large video/lecture uploads
Web Browser: Firefox/Chrome - Safari in certain cases (VPN)
Resolution: 1024 x 768
Accessories: Webcam and microphone (if not built in to computer)
Note: If a Mac is going to use Bootcamp or Virtualization to run Windows, better specifications are recommended:
- Bootcamp: 512GB storage
- VM: 16GB RAM, 512GB storage
Aside from running Windows in a Mac environment, some software would benefit from having a better CPU or more RAM, or even a discrete GPU. (SolidWorks, for example.)
