The Center of Academic Innovation has created several Brightspace course templates and plug-in content packages to help you build and optimize your courses.
How to Import Course Packages
- Course packages can be found under the downloads sections of this webpage. Click on the link of the course package you want to download it to your computer.
- Log into Brightspace and navigate to the course shell where you would like to use the course package.
- Once in your course, click the Content link on the Navbar.
- Click Table of Contents.
- Click the Import Course button.
- The Import Course Package pop-up will appear. Click the Upload button.
- Select the .zip file on your computer for the course package you want to import.
- Once the package has finished uploading, click the Import All Components button.
Jumpstart Course Templates
To cut down on all the pointing-and-clicking when creating a new course, the Center for Academic Innovation provides a Jumpstart Course Template Packages with pre-made empty weekly modules, placeholders for assignments, discussions and quizzes, and more! Simply import the package into your course, rename the existing items, remove the things you don’t need, and add your syllabus, readings, assessment instructions, etc.
Please read the descriptions below to select the correct course template package. Also note that some programs have their own program-specific course template that they would like their instructors to use, so please check with your department to see if they already have a course template that you should use.
How to select the correct package:
The Jumpstart Course Template Packages are labeled by the number of weekly modules they contain, and whether they do or do not contain a gradebook.
Packages with a gradebook have been set up with the following grading scheme:
| Category | Value |
| Discussions | 30% |
| Quizzes | 30% |
| Assignments | 40% |
| Total | 100% |
Each week has been set up with a blank assignment, discussion topic, and quiz that are all linked to the gradebook. Choose a course package with a gradebook if you will be using a similar grading scheme.
If your course will use a vastly different grading scheme, we recommend using a template without a gradebook. It is often easier to create a gradebook from scratch then to try to modify one that significantly different. After importing a course template package without a gradebook, we recommended setting up your gradebook first, before adding assessments and content to your course.
To learn more about creating or modifying your gradebook, please refer to the “Set up the Grades tool (Gradebook)” page on our Brightspace Guide for Faculty, or make an appointment with a Learning Designer or Online Learning Support Specialist at caihelp@maine.edu.
Downloads:
Course Surveys
In addition to our Mid-Course Assessment (MCA) survey, the Center for Academic Innovation offers other surveys for getting timely, actionable feedback from your students on your course. These can be particularly useful for 7-week courses that are too short to participate in the MCA.
How to select the correct package:
Each package will import a survey that you can assign to your class. There are six topics available so you can choose just the topics you want feedback on, or all topics. Topics include:
- Syllabus
- Instruction
- Engagement
- Artificial Intelligence (AI)
- Open-Ended Questions
- Demographics
For questions about the MCA and using these survey course packages, contact Cody Hatcher at ryan.hatcher@maine.edu.
Downloads:
Student AI Literacy Module
In the age of AI, teaching our students digital literacy is more important than ever. That’s why we created a practical guide to help students understand what artificial intelligence is, it’s limitations and ethical concerns, and how and when they should use it to aid in their learning. Faculty can provide students a link to our Generative AI Guide for Students webpage, or import the Generative AI Literacy module using the course package below, which also includes optional reflection question assignements.
