Fall 2024 Start-of-Term Reminders for Faculty

  Publish Your Course

Please remember to publish your course Links to an external site. to allow students access. A course will not be available to students until published. Additionally, you will not see the student enrollments in the “People” tab of your course until the course is published. Publishing a course site will also allow you to send Announcements to students directly from Bruin Learn.

  Sending Messages Before the Term

If you have not yet published your Bruin Learn course site but would like to send a message to students, please use the MyUCLA "Email to Students" feature. Instructions are in this help article: How can I send an email to my class and view the roster before publishing my course site? Links to an external site.

Note: Students who register after you send a message via MyUCLA Email will not receive the previous communication. We recommend creating a copy of your message using the Announcement tool Links to an external site. so that it will be archived in your course and available to students after publishing your Bruin Learn course site.

  Preparing Your Course

If you are new to Bruin Learn or need a refresher for setting up your course site, the Prepare your Bruin Learn Course Site Links to an external site. video playlist can help you get started.

  Cleaning up Your Dashboard 

Too many courses on your dashboard? We recommend marking courses as favorites. For instructions, please go to Managing Courses on your Bruin Learn Dashboard. Links to an external site.

  Cross-Listing

Need to have your Bruin Learn academic course sites cross-listed/combined? Please read How do I cross-list the academic courses I am teaching? Links to an external site.

  TA Sites

Need to create a TA Site for a course? Instructors and TAs, you can now do this from within Bruin Learn. Please follow the instructions at How do I create a TA Site in Bruin Learn? Links to an external site.

  Zoom

You can connect with students using Zoom as your synchronous tool. Pre-scheduling a zoom session using the Bruin Learn integration adds the event to the calendar associated with the course, which many students find helpful. 

How to Set Up Zoom Meetings in Bruin Learn Links to an external site.

How to Set Up Zoom Office Hours in Bruin Learn Links to an external site.

How to record and share a Zoom Lecture/Meeting (w/ captions and transcripts) Links to an external site.

  Zoom for UCLA Health Sciences 

Instructors who are in the UCLA Health and Health Sciences schools and are interested in scheduling Zoom meetings in Bruin Learn, should review the article: Using the Zoom + Bruin Learn Integration for Instructors with mednet.ucla.edu Accounts. Links to an external site.

Additional Resources

• Resources for Faculty
• Resources for Teaching Assistants

  Reminder to Submit Winter 2025 Course Reserves Requests 

Instructors: Remember to submit all Winter 2025 Course Reserves requests to UCLA Library by Monday, December 2, 2024. Please see the UCLA Library Leganto guide for further information on Course Reserves, step-by-step instructions on submitting reading lists, and contact information for further assistance.

Bruin Learn Office Hours

Virtual office hours are available Monday through Friday via Zoom, where a team of instructional designers and Bruin Learn Center of Excellence (CoE) staff can help answer your questions about Bruin Learn and Academic Technology Tools.

Canvas Technical Support

Canvas Technical Support is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.  Click the ‘Help’ link at the bottom of the left-hand blue Bruin Learn navigation menu to your left to find the support options available to you. If you do not see the Help menu, please log in to Bruin Learn, first. 

Issues that require additional work to resolve will be escalated to the Bruin Learn Support team.

Local Support

In addition to contacting support via the "Help" icon in Bruin Learn, students and instructors can get in touch with support staff in their Local Units. Visit the Bruin Learn Local Support Contacts page to find the contact information for your local support team, if available. 

Training Materials

Recorded Webinars

Self-Paced Training

Bruin Learn YouTube Channel Links to an external site.

Live Training 

Joining us and register for upcoming training events:

• Getting Started with Bruin Learn
• Create Engaging Social Annotation Reading Assignments using UCLA Store eBooks
• Is New Quizzes Right for You?
• iClicker Office Hours
• Assignments and Grading in Bruin Learn

Check the Training Events Page to learn more about new training topics.

Digital Spaces - General Assignment Classroom Audio Visual Support

For assistance with AV in general assignment classrooms, support is available Monday-Friday between 7:30am and 7:00pm in Campbell Hall B125.

For Quarter Loans and Equipment Requests:

• Spring and Summer Quarter loan microphones and adapters are due for return September 13, 2024.
• To renew your quarter loan microphone for Fall Quarter and confirm compatibility in your new assigned classroom, please contact the AVS Call Center at 310-206-6591 or email avs@ucla.edu.
• USB-C to VGA and USB-C to HDMI are available as quarter loans.
• Please contact your department or fill out and email this PDF Form Links to an external site. to AVS in order to reserve a Fall quarter loan microphone or adapter.

For Classroom Information and Scheduling Classroom Technical Demonstrations:

• Technical demonstration appointments are scheduled before the quarter begins or after Week 1.
• For more information on the technology available in a specific classroom and to request a demo contact us at avs@ucla.edu.

For any additional inquiries,  feel free to email us or call our call center at 310-206-6591.

Fall Enhancements

Bruin Learn / Canvas Enhancement – Add Signature to Inbox Messages

New Features:

• The Inbox/Conversations tool allows instructors and students to add a plain text signature that will automatically be added to any new messages they compose.
• Streamlines communication and enhances the effectiveness and professional appearance of inbox messages.

Bruin Learn / Canvas Enhancement – Add Auto Responses to Inbox Messages

New Features:

• The Inbox/Conversations tool now includes an option for users to set an auto-response for messages.
• Streamlines communication and enhances the effectiveness and professional appeal of inbox messages.

Bruin Learn / Canvas Enhancement – Module and Assignment Differentiation

New Features:

• Instructors can assign entire modules or individual module items to specific students or sections from the Modules page.
• Allows instructors and course designers to create a more dynamic and adaptive learning environment.

Bruin Learn / Canvas Enhancement – “Assign to” Setting in Pages

New Features:

• Instructors can assign Pages to students and set availability dates in Pages.
• Instructors can assign Pages to Mastery Paths.
• Improves the ability to differentiate instruction by allowing the creation of diverging tracks or branches within a single course.

Bruin Learn / Canvas Enhancement – “Assign to” Interface Update

New Features:

• The "Assign To" section in Assignments and Discussions are now accessible via the "Manage Assign To" link.
• Provides more space to view student and section names without truncation and introduces a Clear function that allows settings to be removed with one click for easy re-entry.
• Ensures a consistent design and user experience across other areas in a course site where the "Assign To" option is available, such as in Modules.

Bruin Learn / Canvas Enhancement - Message Students Who Have Submitted Links to an external site.

New Features:

• Allows instructors to message students who have submitted an assignment.
• Instructors can choose to message all students who submitted on time, students with graded on-time assignments, and students with ungraded on-time assignments.
• For students who have not submitted, the "Message Students Who" feature in the Gradebook now includes a checkbox that allows instructors to exclude excused students from the message.

Bruin Learn / Canvas Enhancement - Disallow Threaded Replies in Discussions

New Features:

• Instructors can disable threaded replies in Discussions. 
• Allows instructors to restrict discussions to initial responses only, when needed.
• When this setting is enabled, students can respond to the discussion prompt, but others cannot reply to their responses.
• Instructors may see an alert on their Discussions Index Page with a button to make all of their discussions threaded (i.e. students can respond to one another as opposed to just responding to the discussion prompt). This will be available through October 2024. More information about this feature is available in the Temporary button to uncheck the Disallow Threaded Replies option in all Discussions Links to an external site.blog post.

Bruin Learn / Canvas Enhancement - Teaching Assistant (TA) Sites

New Features:

• A new Instructor Hub LTI is being developed for Bruin Learn. The initial version will include Teaching Assistant (TA) Sites, which will migrate this functionality from the current MyUCLA web app.
• Allows TAs to create their own sites independently, without needing the instructor of record.
• TAs, the instructor of record, and sub-account admins can create a companion TA site directly from the main curricular course site on demand.

For information on Fall enhancements, please visit the Center of Excellence News & Updates Page.

Peerceptiv Now Available in Bruin Learn

Peerceptiv is now available in Bruin Learn, offering peer review and team member evaluation tools for enhancing collaboration and learning. Learn more by signing up for training or contact Bruin Learn Support for assistance setting up assignments.

Bruin One Access

Starting Fall 2024, UCLA's Bruin One Access program offers undergraduate students all their required textbooks, courseware, and coursepacks for a flat rate of $129 per quarter. This campus-wide initiative aims to improve student outcomes, lower costs, and promote sustainability. Visit the Bruin One Access website Links to an external site. for more information.

New Quizzes Resources Hub

The Bruin Learn team has developed the New Quizzes Resource Hub to help instructors and staff learn how to use New Quizzes, a tool for delivering online exams in Bruin Learn. Office hours and live training sessions will be added to the site as they are scheduled.

Bruin Learn Center of Excellence (CoE) Website

Visit the Bruin Learn Center of Excellence (CoE) website for the latest information, tools, services, FAQs, and ways to contact the Bruin Learn CoE.

One of the key features of the new website is the Academic Technology Tools Dashboard which identifies a comprehensive list of educational technology products which are integrated into Bruin Learn or have been requested.