Dr. Awneet Sivia is associate vice president of teaching and learning and associate professor in the Faculty of Education, Community, and Human Development at UFV.
The upcoming transition from Blackboard to Brightspace is a significant change for students and faculty at UFV. Set to launch in the fall of 2025, many are wondering how this new system will impact coursework, teaching and grading methods, and overall user experience. The Cascade spoke with Dr. Awneet Sivia to discuss the implications of this shift, its potential challenges, and the benefits Brightspace offers.
What are the main reasons behind the university’s decision to switch from Blackboard to Brightspace?
Our current contract with Blackboard, the current Learning Management System (LMS), was ending … So we knew that a change was forthcoming regardless of whether we stayed with the same company or not, and that prompted us to find a better system that is more up-to-date, meets the needs of learners with respect to accessibility, and meets the requirements of faculty to have more flexibility in the ways that they design their programs and courses … The second reason is we had an opportunity to look for a product that was more user-friendly [and] contemporary in design. We have other requirements for our post-secondary institutions, such as accessibility legislation, considerations around equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI), Indigenization, and certainly a change in the way that we need to assess — particularly in the face of generative AI that has come into effect … Brightspace met all of those requirements, and in some cases exceeded.
How will Brightspace improve the online learning experience compared to Blackboard? What resources will be available to help students and faculty adjust to Brightspace?
We have how-to videos that are being created by the Teaching and Learning team, ask anything, and drop-in sessions every Friday afternoon and every Monday afternoon for any questions … We have the Brightspace Community, which [connects] Brightspace users from across Canada … We also have training that was provided to the pilot faculty back in the fall for the winter. So now 13 faculty are well versed and well trained in using Brightspace in their courses.
How is student and faculty feedback being considered in the implementation process?
During the winter 2025 semester, faculty have been surveyed at midpoint. They will also be surveyed at the end of the course on their usage. We are also doing a student survey at the end of the course on how they benefitted, or what challenges they found with the new LMS … We’re providing opportunities to have a focus group discussion or meeting online with a learning designer and an IT specialist to gather feedback. We’ve even offered to go into the classes and ask if they have any immediate verbal feedback that they can give us … I’ve created a project called ‘Student Project Leader Perspectives on Brightspace,’ and I’ve hired a student leader from the supported learning groups (SLG) program. This student leader has interviewed 28 students from under-represented groups, Indigenous students, students who are openly comfortable identifying that they have accessibility issues and are registered with Centre for Accessibility Services (CAS) — especially those students — to see what would be their dream LMS.
Are there any new features in Brightspace that faculty are particularly excited about?
One of the benefits of the new LMS with respect to grading and assignments, is that students can very easily upload video assignments, recorded assignments, visual assignments, and alternative forms of assessment that are a little bit more tricky to do in Blackboard. And as a compliment to that, instructors can also now give video feedback, audio feedback, or directly write on PDFs or submissions. It’s just made that whole feedback mechanism much easier and more personalized.
Is there anything else you would want to say to the students who are going to adjust to Bright Space?
I would say to students that faculty [are] overwhelmingly excited about Brightspace, and that bodes well for student learning experience. Students can expect faculty to be happy with their LMS and as a result be engaged and excited to create meaningful teaching and learning opportunities for students … feel reassured that this is a good choice and faculty are on board overwhelmingly, [and are] looking forward to using Brightspace in their courses.
Interviews have been edited for length and clarity.
Hello, I’m Gauri Sethi, a passionate staff writer at the Cascade responsible for writing content that resonates with the masses. Currently, I am pursuing business administration, but deep down, I am a person who loves expressing herself through writing.
