Prepare Your Self-Migrated or New Reference Course for Teaching

Your OWL Brightspace course name will have a prefix (Ref) and suffix (OMP), example: “REF_{REQUESTED COURSE NAME}_OMP” 

1. Go to your OWL Sakai’s course Resources tool. 
2. Download the content you want to move to the OWL Brightspace course 
3. In Manage files, upload the content you downloaded.
4. You can upload files up to a maximum of 2 GB at a time. 

With the Sakai course Assignments tool open for reference, for every assignment you want to migrate from Sakai or build from scratch: 

1. Download any resources/attachments/images you will be using in the assignment and upload them to course’s Manage Files. 
2. On the OWL Brightspace Assignment tools page, select New Assignment. 
3. On the New Assignment page, enter (or Copy/Paste) the assignment Name, add the max point Grade (optional), and add a Due Date if necessary. 
4. Select each of the right-hand drop-down menus (Availability Dates & Conditions, Submission & Completion, and Evaluation & Feedback) to set the specific assignment parameters. 
5. Use the Instructions field to outline assignment purpose, methods and tasks, using the Brightspace Editor.  
6. Add text, attach resources, (i.e. videos, audio, docs and other media files from your computer or Course Files).  
7. Select the Insert Stuff icon or the link icon to reuse or upload new resources to the assignment. 
8. If there are URLs/links within the assignment that point to pages/content/resources within the Sakai OWL environment after a copy/paste action, these will have to manually be updated to point to their new Brightspace location. 
9. If your assignment had Rubrics attached to it, you will have to re-create the rubrics then re-add it to the assignment under Evaluation and Feedback. 
10. Turnitin features can be enabled from the Evaluation & Feedback section. 
11. Once all assignment details are reviewed, toggle the visibility indicator to make the assignment accessible to students on the chosen start date and time. Then select Save and Close to save the assignment. By default, assignments are invisible and must be made visible so that they become available on the start date/time to students. 
    

Note: We recommend creating the assessment questions directly in the Question library first before creating the quiz 

If you require help migrating complex quizzes and/or question pools, please submit a request with WTS Helpdesk. In the ticket include: 

• OWL Course Link 
• Quiz(zes) /Question Pools Title(s) to migrate 
• Brightspace Course link to migrate to 

Please note complex quizzes and question pools migrated by assistance might result in questions with missing content such as attachments and images due to incompatibility between Sakai and Brightspace, and they will have to be readded/reattached by the instructor once migrated to Brightspace. 

With the Sakai course Tests and Quizzes tool open for reference, for every quiz you want to migrate from Sakai or build from scratch: 

1. Download any resources/attachments/images you will be using in the quiz and upload them to course’s Manage Files. 
2. On the Brightspace Manage Quizzes page, select New Quiz. 
3. In the Quiz editor add the details of the assessment: 
4. Name: Title the quiz 
5. Grade: Determine if the assessment should be added to the Gradebook. The quiz total points will automatically reflect the number of points attributed to each question in the quiz and will update as you add questions. 
6. Select a Due date - All due dates are added to the course site calendar 
7. Add a Quiz description (Optional). The Quiz description is visible to students before they begin their assessment. Instructors may use this to add information about what the assessment covers, it’s breakdown of question types, it’s relation to learning outcomes, and can add best practices for taking online assessments.  
8. Set up Availability Dates and Conditions - Add start and end dates, as well as restrictions and special access. 
9. Set up Timing and Display - Configure the Time limit, and the display of the assessment. 
10. Set up Attempts and Completion - Outline the number of attempts that are permitted and determine what students experience upon test submission. 
11. Set up Evaluation and Feedback - Outline what kind of feedback students will receive and when they will receive it. 
12. In addition to Feedback Options, a custom view can be set for the release of quiz feedback. A custom message, the grade for evaluated questions, questions, answers, and learner’s responses can be displayed or hidden. To create a custom feedback view, go to the Quiz Name > Edit > Evaluation & Feedback Options > Customize Quiz Results Displays. 
13. Add Questions to the Quiz using any of the following: 
14. Select the Add Existing button to access questions from the course question library. We recommend creating the assessment questions directly in the Question library first then adding them to the Quiz 
15. Select Create New to build new questions on the test script, add question pools, and add sections. 
16. Verify that any URL links in the quiz and questions are working and open the right destinations.  
17. If there are URLs/links within the quiz and questions that point to pages/content/resources within the Sakai OWL environment after a copy/paste action, these will have to manually be updated to point to their new Brightspace location.  
18. Click on Save & Close to save the quiz and return to the Manage Quizzes page. 
19. Once all quiz details are reviewed, toggle the Visibility of the assessment by selecting the drop-down arrow next to the quiz name and selecting “Make Visible to Users”. Please note: Visibility overrides the assessment start date. Be sure that the assessment is set to Visible so that students can view the assessment on the Quiz page and access it. 

With the Sakai course Rubrics tool open for reference, for every rubric you want to migrate from Sakai or build from scratch: 

1. On the Rubrics page, click New Rubric. 
2. On the Edit Rubric page, enter your rubric details: 
3. Name should contain a unique name that enables you to identify it in a list. 
4. In the top right corner of the screen Status indicates the availability of the rubric: Draft: A rubric that is being created or in progress. Published: A rubric that is visible to learners in your course. Archived: A rubric that is no longer visible but saved in Brightspace for you to view. 
5. Set up the Rubric Type, Score, and if you want to Reverse Level Order. 
6. Fill in the criteria and ratings along with their respective description and weights. 
7. Expand the rubric Options to edit students' visibility, rubrics description, and map to learning outcomes if applicable 
8. Verify that any URL links in the rubrics are working and open the right destinations.  
9. If there are URLs/links within the rubrics that point to pages/content/resources within the Sakai OWL environment after a copy/paste action, these will have to manually be updated to point to their new Brightspace location. 
10. If a rubric was linked to an assignment or discussion on Sakai, re-link it on the Brightspace side. 

 With the Sakai course Forums tool open for reference, for every forum you want to migrate from Sakai or build from scratch: 

1. Download any resources/attachments/images you will be using in the discussion and/or topics and upload them to course’s Manage Files.  
2. On the Discussions List page, from the New button drop-down menu, click New Forum. 
3. Add the Forum details, Title, Description and determine the advanced options. 
4. In the Options section, select any of the applicable check boxes to your forum. 
5. Verify that any URL links in the Discussion and Topics are working and open the right destinations.  
6. If there are URLs/links within the Discussions that point to pages/content/resources within the Sakai OWL environment after a copy/paste process, these will have to manually be updated to point to their new Brightspace location.  
7. On the Restrictions tab, set the parameters of the Forum space such as the Availability, Release Conditions, and Group and Section Restrictions (can only be done once Groups and Sections are created in the official course). 
8. Once done, you can either click Save and Add Topic OR Save and Close then add a topic later. 

For every topic you want to migrate from Sakai or build from scratch: 

1. On the Discussions List page, select the arrow on the forum and select Add Topic. 
2. In the New Topic, add the Topic details Title, parent Forum, Grade out of, and Description. 
3. Verify that any URL links in the Topic are working and open the right destinations.  
4. If there are URLs/links within the Topic that point to pages/content/resources within the Sakai OWL environment after a copy/paste process, these will have to manually be updated to point to their new Brightspace location.  
5. Set the topic parameter, such as the Availability Dates and Release Conditions, Post and Completion, and Evaluation and Feedback. 
6. By default, topics are Visible to students once saved. Toggle Visibility if you would like to have it hidden from students view. 
7. After configuring the Topic details, restrictions, assessment and learning objective Click Save and Close to return to the discussion tool main page. 

With the Sakai course Announcements tool open for reference for every announcement you want to migrate from Sakai or build from scratch: 

1. Download any resources/attachments/images you will be using in the announcement and upload them to course’s Manage Files.  
2. From the Announcements menu, click New Announcement  
3. Enter a headline and content for the Announcements item.  
4. Verify that any URL links in the announcements are working and open the right destinations.  
5. If there are URLs/links within the announcements that point to pages/content/resources within the Sakai OWL environment after a copy/paste process, these will have to manually be updated to point to their new Brightspace location.  
6. Configure the Optional Settings for Availability, Attachments and Release Conditions. 
7. Once done, you can either Publish or Save as Draft. 

If you had any Checklists in your Lessons on Sakai, they will have to be recreated on Brightspace and relinked in their respective Lessons (Content).  

Checklists can be created via the Manage Course > Course Admin tool or via Content tool by selecting Create New and selecting Checklist. When or if you have existing Checklists you wish to re-use, then select the Add Existing option. 

Refer to the Checklists link for steps on how to create them.  

Note: OWL Brightspace uses the New Content Experience mode. 

Brightspace New Content Experience can only have 3 levels of content as compared to old OWL Lessons and Subpages which displays content in-line on a Lessons page.  

Instructors will have to clean-up and reorganize content in the Brightspace course to suit their preference. This can be either done via Content tool or the Course Builder tool.

With the Sakai course homepage Overview open for reference: 

1. Download any resources/attachments/images you will be using in the overview and upload them to course’s Manage Files. 
2. In Content, create a new unit called Overview. 
3. Copy and paste the content from Sakai Overview to the created Overview unit. Upload any resources/attachments/images as needed from your computer or Course Files. 
4. Verify that any URL links in the overview content are working and open the right destinations.  
5. If there are URLs/links that point to pages/content/assignments/quizzes/forums/resources within the Sakai OWL environment, these will have to manually be updated to point to their new Brightspace location. 
6. Once completed, Save your work. 

With the Sakai Syllabus tool open for reference:  

1. Download any resources/attachments/images you will be using in the Syllabus unit and upload them to course’s Manage Files. 
2. In Content, create a new unit called Syllabus. 
3. Copy and paste the content from Sakai Syllabus to the created Syllabus unit. Upload any resources/attachments/images as needed. Organize the Syllabus unit and resources and activities under it to your preference. 
4. Verify that any URL links in the syllabus content are working and open the right destinations.  
5. If there are URLs/links that point to pages/content/assignments/quizzes/forums/resources within the Sakai OWL environment, these will have to manually be updated to point to their new Brightspace location. 
6. Once completed, Save your work. 

With the Sakai Lessons tool open for reference, for every page and sub-page you want to migrate from Sakai or build from scratch: 

1. Download any resources/attachments/images you will be using in your lesson pages upload them to course’s Manage Files. 
2. In Content, create new units and lesson pages and activities as needed. 
3. Copy and paste text and content from Sakai to Brightspace. 
4. Upload any resources/attachments/images as needed. Organize your units, lessons pages, resources and activities  
5. Include links to course activities (assignments/discussion/quizzes/etc.) where applicable. 
6. Recreate Web Content internal and external links where applicable. 
7. Recreate your LTI links where applicable. 
8. Re-add SCORM content where applicable. 
9. Verify that any URL links are working and open the right destinations.  
10. If there are URLs/links that point to pages/content/assignments/quizzes/forums/resources within the Sakai OWL environment after the copy/paste process, these will have to manually be updated to point to their new Brightspace location. 
11. Organize and clean up Content to adapt to the new OWL Brightspace interface. 
12. Don’t forget to Save your work every time you add a Content item or activity. 

With the Sakai course Gradebook tool open for reference: 

1. Go to the Manage Grades tab. 
2. Verify that all created graded activities are found. 
3. Re-add and re-configure any other gradebook items that were not manually created on the OWL Sakai course. 

Refer to the Grades link for steps on how to create them.