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Set up digital materials for your Brightspace course

This Tech Guide is geared towards instructors who have adopted digital resources via Barnes & Noble. In order to ensure that your students have access to all adopted materials, the instructor will need to complete the necessary steps in Brightspace and potentially interact with their publisher representative.

Students may Opt-Out of the Ace-It Book Bundle Program

Instructors will need to ensure that they set up access to materials for both students who are in the program and those who have purchased their resources separately. 

All instructions given in this guide will include the best practice recommendation for providing both types of access.

Undergraduate students (based on standing) are eligible for the Ace-It Book Bundle program. 

Graduate students (based on standing) are NOT eligible for the Ace-It Book Bundle program

Definitions

e-Book Only Access

Adoption of an electronic book and no other digital resources from the publisher.  The entry in the BNC adoption portal will look similar to the image below with the EBOOK marker. 

Depicts EBOOK marker
Access Code Only

Adoption of web based services provided by the publisher (homework, practice, modeling, etc) WITHOUT the inclusion of the text book or content.  Text resources may be provided via the adoption of a hard copy book or instructor provided content. The entry in the BNC adoption portal will look similar to the image below with the ACCESS CARD marker.

Depicts ACCESS CARD marker
Courseware and Digital Bundles

Adoption of web based services (homework, practice, modeling, etc)provided by the publisher usually including the text book or content needed for the course. Courseware is distinguished from a digital bundle due to the fact that the content and the web based services are provided together via the same website. Digital Bundles will contain separate links for the ebook and the web based services. The entry in the BNC adoption portal will look similar to the image below with the ELECTRONIC PRODUCT marker.

Depicts ELECTRONIC PRODUCT marker

Are you using New Content Experience (NCE)?

It offers a cleaner, more intuitive layout that makes it easier to move through course materials. Content is organized into Units and Lessons with a streamlined Table of Contents, and creating or updating modules is faster with drag-and-drop uploads.

Which digital material will you be using?

Students who purchased their e-books from the Campus Bookstore (Barnes & Noble) or another vendor directly, will receive separate instructions for access at the time of purchase. To set up your Brightspace course so that students with the Ace-It Book Bundle will have access, please follow these instructions:

  1. In the Content tool, click +New Unit button.
Depicts step 1
  1. In the Unit Title* field, enter Course Materials.
  2. Follow the instructions below for the Student Instruction Template and paste the content into the Description box. (The spacing will appear odd, but don’t adjust it, once you save it, it will be fine).
  3. Make the unit visible.
  4. Click Save and Close button.
Depicts steps 2-5
  1. Click Add Existing button.
Depicts step 6
  1. Click the External Tool Activity button.
Depicts step 7
  1. For Course Materials select BNC Course Materials.
Depicts step 8
  1. Click on the Course Materials button.
Depicts step 9
  1. Click the three dot menu.
  2. Click Edit button.
Depicts steps 10-11
  1. In the Title field, rename the module to e-Book Access (Ace-It Book Bundle).
  2. Add additional information in the Description field if desired.
  3. Change the visibility from Hidden to Visible.
  4. Click Save and Close button.
Depicts steps 12-15

You and your students can see something similar to the image below after clicking on the e-Book Access link you created.

  1. To access the e-book, click Read Now.
Depicts step 16
Student Instruction Template

The following text can be used to provide students with instructions about what steps to take depending on if they remained Opted-in to the Ace-It Book Bundle or purchased their materials directly. Please place these instructions in your content just above the link(s) to the digital materials.

To use this template:

  • Copy and paste the instructions between the divider lines below into a new Google Doc.  
  • Click in a variable box and enter the desired text.
  • Click enter, all boxes with the same variable name will be updated .
  • Copy the updated text and paste it into your course.
  • (optional) If you need this information in another class, click into a variable box and repeat the step to change the displayed text.

We recommend that the final text be copied into the description of the Course Materials module you created so that the instructions are easily accessible.

------------------------

Welcome to classname we will be using bookname, in e-book format as our text book.

Please read the following instructions carefully.

If you did NOT opt out of the Ace-It Book Bundle Program then you will access bookname from this Brightspace course.

  • Click on the Course Materials link below
  • You will be taken to a page that displays a “Read Now” link for bookname
  • Click “Read Now”, it will open in a new window

If you opted out of the Ace-It Book Bundle Program and purchased bookname from the campus bookstore or another vendor, please follow the instructions you received at the time of purchase.

------------------------

Troubleshooting

The BNC Portal, when accessed from Brightspace, does not display the resource(s) adopted

When following the Course Materials: BNC Course Materials link in Brightspace, no “card” appears for the resource that was adopted.  Instead the message “1 Course, 0 Materials” is shown.

Depicts Brightspace's Course Materials page with no resources adopted

To get assistance resolving this issue, please contact the campus bookstore manager:

Sean Gorman

[email protected]

(317) 788-3228

To set up your Brightspace course so that students with the Ace-It Book Bundle will have access, please follow these instructions:

  1. In the Content tool, click +New Unit
Depicts step 1
  1. In the Unit Title field, enter Course Materials.
  2. Follow the instructions below for the Student Instruction Template and paste the content into the Description box. (The spacing will appear odd, but don’t adjust it, once you save it, it will be fine).
  3. Make the unit visible.
  4. Click the Save and Close button.
Depicts steps 2-5
  1. Click Add Existing button.
Depicts step 5
  1. Choose External Tool Activity button.
Depicts step 7
  1. Under Course Materials select BNC Course Materials.
Depicts step 8
  1. Click on the Course Materials link.
Depicts step 9
  1. Click the three dot menu.
  2. Click Edit.
Depicts steps 10-11
  1. Rename the module to Courseware Access (with Ace-It Book Bundle)
  2. Add additional information in the Description, if desired 
  3. Change the visibility from Hidden to Visible.
  4. Click Save and Close button.
Depicts steps 12-15

The publisher tool for the courseware MUST be connected to the course even if all students are in the Ace-It Book Bundle program.

  1. Click on the Course Materials unit link.
  2. Click Add Existing button.  You will need to choose the product specific to the resource you adopted.  
  • Most products will be found under External Tool Activity
  • For more information on setting up specific products please see the tech guide on External Learning Tools or consult your publisher's support.
Depicts steps 16-17
  1. Click on the tool you added.
  2. Click the three dot menu.
  3. Click Edit.
Depicts steps 18-19
  1. Change the title to Courseware Access (without Ace-It Book Bundle)
  2. Add any additional information that would be helpful in the description
  3. On the Display and Completion drop-down menu, make sure the radio button is highlighted for Embed on the page
  4. Change the visibility from Hidden to Visible.
  5. Click Save and Close button.
Depicts steps 21-25

The content should look similar to the image below for the students. This illustrates what students using the “Ace-It” link will see.

Depicts what students see for course materials with "launch courseware" button at the bottom

This illustates what students using the “without Ace-It” link will see (Pearson used as an example).

Depicts what students see without Ace-It Book Bundle with "Open Pearson" button at bottom
Student Instruction Template

The following text can be used to provide students with instructions about what steps to take depending on if they remained Opted-in to the Ace-It Book Bundle or purchased their materials directly. Please place these instructions in your content just above the link(s) to the digital materials.

To use this template:

  • Copy and paste the instructions between the divider lines below into a new Google Doc.  
  • Click in a variable box and enter the desired text
  • Click enter, all boxes with the same variable name will be updated 
  • Modify the text as needed to match your needs
  • Copy the updated text and paste it into your course
  • (optional) If you need this information in another class, click into a variable box and repeat the step to change the displayed text

We recommend that the final text be copied into the description of the Course Materials module you created so that the instructions are easily accessible.

Welcome to classname we will be using productname courseware for the textbook and homework.

Please read the following instructions carefully.

If you did NOT opt out of the Ace-It Book Bundle Program then you will access productname from this Brightspace course.

  • Click on the “Courseware Access (with Ace-It Book Bundle) on the left
  • You will be shown a page that displays a “Launch Courseware” link for productname
  • Click “Launch Courseware”, it will open in a new window

If you opted out of the Ace-It Book Bundle Program and purchased productname from another vendor, do the following.

  • Click on the "Courseware Access (without Ace-ItBook Bundle) link on the left
  • Insert the specific registration instructions provided by the publisher for students who are not part of the Ace-It Book Bundle
Troubleshooting

The BNC Portal, when accessed from Brightspace, does not display the resource(s) adopted.

When following the Course Materials: BNC Course Materials link in Brightspace, no “card” appears for the resource that was adopted.  Instead the message “1 Course, 0 Materials” is shown.

Depicts Course Materials page with 1 course and 0 materials listed

To get assistance resolving this issue, please contact the campus bookstore manager:

Sean Gorman

[email protected]

(317) 788-3228

Students cannot access courseware by clicking on the Launch Courseware button in the BNC portal

Verify if your publisher requires the use of an External Learning Tool in addition to the BNC Course Materials link. 

A list of adopted products are available from the “Connect external resources to my Brightspace course” Tech Guide.

When I access the publisher course through Brightspace, it does not look the same as when I access the publisher course directly

This may indicate that you have more than one site for this class.

To fix this issue, contact your publisher rep or technical support for your publisher. Information about common publishers can be located at the bottom of the “Connect external resources to my Brightspace course” Tech Guide

Which digital material will you be using?

Students who purchased their e-books from the Campus Bookstore (Barnes & Noble) or another vendor directly, will receive separate instructions for access at the time of purchase. To set up your Brightspace course so that students with the Ace-It Book Bundle will have access, please follow these instructions:

  1. In the Content tool, click the Add a module box and enter Course Materials click enter.
Depicts step 1
  1. Click Add a description and follow the instructions below for the Student Instruction Template to paste in the content. (The spacing will appear odd, but don’t adjust it, once you save it, it will be fine)
Depicts step 2
  1. Click Update 
  2. Click Add a sub-module at the bottom of the page
  3. Enter e-Book Access (Ace-It Book Bundle and click enter.
Depicts steps 3-4
  1. Click Existing Activities 
  2. From the list, choose External Learning Tool
Depicts steps 6-7
  1. In the Add Activity box, choose Course Materials : BNC Course Materials
Depicts step 8

Your content module will look similar to below for your students

Depicts Course Materials page with e-Book Access

You and your students will see something similar to the image below after clicking on the e-Book Access link you created.

  1. To access the e-book, click Read Now
Depicts step 9

To set up your Brightspace course so that students with the Ace-It Book Bundle will have access, please follow these instructions:

  1. In the Content tool, click the Add a module box and enter Course Materials, then click the enter button.
Depicts step 1
  1. Click Add a description and follow the instructions below for the Student Instruction Template to paste in the content. (The spacing will appear odd, but don’t adjust it, once you save it, it will be fine)
Depicts step 2
  1. Click Update.
  2. Click Add a sub-module at the bottom of the page.
  3. Enter Courseware Access (with Ace-It Book Bundle) and click enter.
Depicts steps 3-5
  1. Click the Existing Activities drop down.
  2. From the list, choose External Learning Tool.
Depicts steps 6-7
  1. In the Add Activity box, choose Course Materials BNC Course Materials.
Depicts step 8

The publisher tool for the courseware MUST be connected to the course even if all students are in the Ace-It Book Bundle program.

  1. Click Add a sub-module at the bottom of the page.
  2. Enter Courseware Access (without Ace-It Book Bundle) and click the enter key.
Depicts steps 9-10
  1. Click Existing Activities. You will need to choose the product specific to the resource you adopted. 
  • Most products will be found under External Learning Tools
  • For more information on setting up specific products please see the tech guide on External Learning Tools or consult your publisher's support.
Depicts step 11

Your content module should look similar to below for your students.

Depicts what students see with courseware access in Ace-It Book Bundle and Access Pearson without Ace-it Book Bundle

This illustrates what students using the “Ace-It” link will see.

Depicts students view with "Launch Courseware" button at bottom

This illustrates what students using the “without Ace-It” link will see (Pearson used as the example).

Depicts what students see with "Open Pearson" button at bottom
Congratulations, you are done!