Course Design and Set-Up | How to use Discover tool in Brightspace

The Discover tool in Brightspace allows every Brightspace user to enrol themselves automatically as a Student in selected courses that are “flagged” as discoverable. This can be useful in specific situations, such as a general information page that is available to all students that are searching for it.

This manual will show:

For all centrally scheduled courses, student enrollments are automatically processed to Brightspace. Therefore, it is not possible to make these courses discoverable.

The Discover tool is accessible from the green navigation bar on the Brightspace home page. When a course is “flagged” as discoverable it is visible in the list of courses and all users can enrol themselves as a student in that course. Still, other ways of enrollment (manually via Classlist or automatically processed by the link with the student course registration) are possible in those courses. However, the original enrollment source is not visible in the Classlist.

Brightspace pages can only be used with Discover when meeting the following requirements:

  • It is not a regular course according to the study guide
  • Students do not get credits for the course
  • There is no communication/interaction in the course where teachers need to moderate or interact (like a discussion board, assignments, quizzes with open questions, etc)
  • There is no time frame or period
  • There are no groups (sections) in the course and teachers/coordinators do not need to administer students in the course
  • There is no gradebook in the course
  • There is a course description

How to make your course Discoverable (open for self-enrollment)

First, you must make sure your course has a Course Description. To do this, navigate to your course, in the green navigation bar,

  1. Click on Course Tools
  2. Click on Course Admin
Course > in the green navigation bar click on > Course Tools > in the drop-down menu click on Course Admin

3. Click on Course Offering Information

Course Administration - Site Setup section - click Course Offering Information

4. Tick the selectbox on Active

Only courses set on Active will be visible in the Discover tool

Course Offering page - fill the field Course Offering name, and check if the selectbox in section Active is clicked

5. Add course Description

6. Click on Save

Add course description and save

After you have added your course description, please send an email to [email protected] with your request to make the course Discoverable. Add the course code and course name. You will get contacted when the course has been made Discoverable

You now know how to use the Discover tool in Brightspace!

Want to know more about setup of a course in Brightspace?

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