Comparison of Brightspace and Bb Tools

On this page, you will find which tools in Brightspace (BrS) correspond to which tools in Bb, and which tools and features in BrS behave differently from those in Bb.

Content Editor
Course Copy
Discussion Forums
Grades
Groups
Quizzes in BrS vs Tests in Bb
Student Class Progress in the Course

Content Editor

feature	brightspace	blackboard
Access to a Content Editor	In any Content module page, click Upload/Create > Create a File.	In any Content Area page, click Build Content > Item.
Accessibility Checker	Built-in	Built-in
Adding formatted text	Yes	Yes
Embedding images	Yes	Yes
Creating videos and audios	Yes - it is a built-in feature in Create a File content editor on a content page.	No - there is no built-in Bb tool to create video or audio unless a 3rd party tool is used.
Adding math expressions	Yes	Yes
Uploading files	Yes	Yes
Adding web links	Yes	Yes

Course Copy

feature	Brightspace	Blackboard
Which course to start the copy	Go to the empty course shell > Course Admin > Import/Export/Copy Components	Go to the course where the content resides
Select one specific or a few quizzes, assignments, discussions, content items, grade columns to copy	Yes	No

Discussion Forums

feature	Brightspace	blackboard
Access Discussions	On the top nav bar, click Discussions, or from a Content module page	On the course menu, click Discussion Board, or from a Content Area page
Forums	Forums in BrS are used to organize discussions. Students cannot post on a forum.	Forums in Bb are used for students to post their responses to discussion prompts.
Topics	Topics are under each of the forums and they are where students post their responses to discussion prompts.	There is no topics tool in Bb. We can also say that topics are forums in Bb.
An option that requires student posting their thread first before they can see peers' posts	Yes	Yes

Grades

feature	brightspace	blackboard
Access Grades	On the top nav bar, click Grades.	In the Course Management section, click Grade Center > Full Grade Center.
Quick access to submitted assignments, quizzes or discussion posts	Quick Eval	Needs Grading
Removing a grade column or item after removing a gradable assignment, quiz or discussion topic	The grade column or item in the grade book has to be removed manually.	The grade column or item in the grade center is removed automatically.

Groups

feature	brightspace	blackboard
Organization	Categories are used to organize groups. Different group activities such as group project, group discussions can be categorized in different categories.	No categories, flat organization
Group Discussions	Yes	Yes
Group Assignments	Yes	Yes
Group Journal	No	Yes
Group Blog	No	Yes
Group Wiki	No - however, OneDrive is integrated in Brightspace and can be used for groups to collaborate on a document.	Yes

Quizzes in BrS vs Tests in Bb

Both are used to assess student learning.

purpose or feature	Brightspace	blackboard
Access Quizzes	On the top Nav Bar, click Quizzes, or from a Content module page.	In the Course Management section, click Coruse Tools > Tests, Surveys and Pools > Tests, or from a Content Area page.
Collection of questions for repeated use.	Question Library	Pools
Create quizzes/tests from which different students get different questions	New Question Pool	Random Blocks
Edit a quiz/test question	Click on the question to edit	Click the down arrow next to the question and then select Edit
Remove a quiz/test question	Check the checkbox next to the question and then on the right above quiz questions click More Actions > Delete	Click the down arrow next to the question and then select Delete
Require students to take a quiz synchronously	Yes	No
Answer questions in video or audio	Yes in Written Response questions.	No

Student Class Progress in the Course

This is new in Brightspace that doesn't exist in Bb. The Class Progress provides information and a visual presentation about your student's progress in the course. You can access it from your course top nav bar.