Bournemouth University and the University of Suffolk

I highly recommend it to other academics if they wish to teach in a more holistic and inclusive style. The students love it as well.

lecturer, Bournemouth University

Challenge

To deliver a consistent, engaging, simplified experience

Bournemouth University and the University of Suffolk are seasoned Brightspace users, with 18 years’ experience of the platform between them. Nevertheless, they continue to assess their learning technology to ensure it delivers the best experience possible, and consistency is key.

NCE in Brightspace offers a simpler way to organise and view content, with colour-coded navigation and independent section expansion. It provides a more engaging path for students and helps them move between different content areas without losing their place. For instructors and designers, it streamlines course building and simplifies content authoring workflows.

Between them, Bournemouth and Suffolk had three expectations of making the switch: consistency, student engagement and simplification.

“Simplified navigation was a big thing,” says Tim Galling, technology enhanced learning development manager at Bournemouth University. “Before, staff could create never-ending layers of content which made it harder for students to navigate and harder for staff to manage.”

“But we also wanted to increase engagement with materials in the units,” adds Tracey Webb, Bournemouth University’s learning technology team manager.

Solution

Brightspace: New Content Experience

D2L describes changing to NCE in Brightspace as, “like flicking a switch.” There is no migration required and that appealed to the University of Suffolk.

“It’s a really good strategy,” says Wendy Lecluyse, associate dean for learning, teaching and student experience at the University of Suffolk. “It makes it easier because institutions can ‘own’ it, rather than ‘have it done to them’. As an institution, we can then manage the transition.”

Both Bournemouth and Suffolk scheduled workshops to help staff with the change but found that people didn’t really need them. Through a phased introduction, educators were happy to learn by doing; they explored the new design themselves and drew on peer support.

The improved design and colour coding made an immediate impact, as it helped staff and students see where they are within courses more easily. The University of Suffolk noticed users can now scroll the table of contents separately from the page content, which has helped with navigation, whilst Bournemouth University was pleased to see staff confidence using the platform increase.

Whilst both universities agree it is not good design practice to have too many folder levels, some users found reducing to three in NCE a challenge. D2L took this feedback on board and increased the number of levels. It also reinstated navigation buttons rapidly when staff missed them. “We do tell D2L when staff want things and they do go in and fix it,” says Mary Cornelius, head of educational development and innovation, University of Suffolk. “That’s really positive and shows the responsiveness of D2L to listen to its customer base and make changes from feedback that make a huge impact on the ground.”

Results

No going back from the New Content Experience

There has been no going back from NCE for Bournemouth or Suffolk universities. The feedback from staff and students has been overwhelmingly positive, and engagement indicators are good.

At the University of Suffolk, student satisfaction increased by 11% with the rollout of NCE and module layout templates. Most staff agreed that the NCE overall experience is better than Classic and 55% preferred the visual look and feel of the layout. A member of the School of Social Science and Humanities noted, “The user interface looks cleaner, and I understand from students this also views better on tablets/phones.”

In Bournemouth, students spent on average almost four hours more in units with NCE, compared to Classic, alongside another change the university made to encourage platform access. Over 90% of staff wanted to continue with NCE and 80% of students said they preferred it.

Simplicity and ease of use were important to both universities, and NCE excelled in this area. Three-quarters of University of Suffolk students said they found Brightspace easy to navigate and 79% reported consistency across their courses. Over 90% of Bournemouth staff found it intuitive to use, with one commenting, “It simplifies everything.” The same percentage liked the simplified approach to organising and viewing content and 100% found the colour coding visually appealing.

The colours were a hit across the board. One staff member with dyslexia remarked it is a huge help. For all users, it has made it clearer where they are in a course or module, and simpler to navigate back as they move around.

“It has helped make navigating information so much simpler for both staff and students. The colour coding is amazing.”

Staff member, Bournemouth University

Bournemouth University and the University of Suffolk switched from the Classic experience to NCE, hoping for a consistent, engaging and simple teaching and learning experience.

The new design has not disappointed—students and staff prefer it; especially those with dyslexia, as they find it easier to navigate and praise the clarity and visual appeal of the colour coding. This enthusiasm is reflected in the average four hours more that Bournemouth students spent in units after the university made changes, suggesting higher levels of engagement.

Change can be disruptive, but these universities were delighted to discover no migration is required, that implementation is in fact as easy as “flicking a switch”. This put Bournemouth and Suffolk Universities in control of how and when to change, and D2L supported them all the way.

To discuss your switch from Classic to NCE, reach out to your customer success manager to find out how easy the process can be.