Course Content

If you have various course materials, including lecture slides and additional reading materials that you would either like to create or deliver to your students exclusively, we recommend using D2L Brightspace.

Brightspace D2L is Toronto Metropolitan University's official learning management system that includes a collection of tools that facilitate the online authoring and delivery of learning materials, quizzes, assignments, communications and grading. Brightspace D2L can be used to provide fully online courses, supplemental course materials, work spaces for research, professional development courses and much more.

 Learn more about content creation in Brightspace D2L.

Sometimes certain concepts can be difficult to grasp. Using multiple means of representation, such as providing students with alternative formats of the same concept, can help them understand these concepts much better. One popular method is narrating a set of slides with images using screen recording software and uploading it to Brightspace and/or Ryecast.

 Learn how to record your screen using QuickTime on Apple computers. (external link) 

 If using a Windows computer, you can check out free tools like iSpring Free Cam (external link)  and OfficeMix (external link) , or a paid solutions such as SnagIt (external link)  and Camtasia. (external link) 

Blogging assignments are great for increasing collaboration and discussion amongst students. You can give marks on their individual assignments, but also on the comments and feedback they provide to their peers’ writing. Using the Wordpress Blog platform, you have the option of creating one blog with all students in the course as authors, or alternatively each student can have their own blog. Regardless of which option, the instructor can setup a page to aggregate and collect every student posting. Unlike Brightspace D2L’s discussion forum tool, the WordPress blog platform allows for students to easily include images and videos with some design choices.

 Learn more about the WordPress Blogging Platform.

 Learn more about the Brightspace Discussion Forum.

Do you have a list of readings or journals that you would like to be able to provide students directly within a D2L course shell? The One-stop Course Readings Service ensures that high-demand course readings are available to the maximum number of students over the duration of the courses, while also ensuring copyright-compliance

 Learn more about the Library’s OneStop Reading e-Reserve service.

Recording your lectures allows students who are unable to attend class to have an opportunity to catch up and not worry about missing important content. Additionally, it provides all students (even those who were in attendance) an opportunity to review the lecture as needed and serves as a great way of delivering explanations of difficult concepts.

 Learn more about recording videos or livestreaming with Stream.

eCampusOntario and Toronto Metropolitan University are currently spearheading an open publishing infrastructure project designed to enhance and expand eCampusOntario's planned Open Textbook Library and provide world-class open educational materials.

The Toronto Metropolitan University WordPress blogging platform can also be used to deliver resources or course content that are open and available to anyone.

 Learn more about the WordPress Blogging Platform.

 Learn more about the Open Publishing Infrastructure project.

 Explore eCampusOntario open learning projects from previous years.