October 2025 Updates

Brightspace Updates

Quizzes: Option to Hide Question Point Values

Keep learners focused on quiz questions, not counting points. A new option in the Timing & Display area of the Quizzes tool lets instructors hide question point values, offering greater control over how learners experience quizzes. This update helps:

• Avoid hints in multi-select and written response questions by preventing learners from guessing the number of expected answers based on points
• Encourage equal effort across all questions by hiding point values that might signal importance or bonus status.

Grades: Feedback and Comments Always in Student View

Feedback just got easier for students to find. The Comments and Assessments column, which was previously conditionally displayed, now always appears in Grades.

This helps to ensure that instructor comments and links to Rubrics, Assignments, and Quizzes are consistently visible to students — an improvement that enhances transparency and keeps learners better connected to the feedback loop.

Media Library: Expanded Tools for Better Organization

The Brightspace Media Library tool just got a major upgrade. Instructors can now upload and reuse a wider range of assets including images, documents, PDFs, and SCORM packages across their course sites.

Additional features make it easier to organize the contents of the Media Library. These include:

• A new Manage Versions menu to upload and manage new versions of your assets.
• The ability to create folders to better organize assets by type or subject.

Together, these enhancements create a more organized and versatile space for storing Brightspace media.

Updated Assignment Type Selection Interface

The assignment creation workflow now features a modernized drop-down menu for selecting between Individual or Group assignment types.

This replaces the previous radio button setup, streamlining the process and setting the stage for future enhancements to the Assignments tool. Stay tuned for exciting updates to come.

Clearer Annotation Options in Assignments

Instructors can now easily see which assignment types support Annotations. This tool is available only for assignments with File or File or Text submission types. Annotations are not supported for Text, Observed, or On Paper assignments.

A new info icon beside the Annotations checkbox (question mark icon) offers tool tip information, while grayed-out options indicate when Annotations are unavailable, such as for Text, Observed, or On Paper assignments.

This enhancement improves clarity and saves time when creating assignments.

Accessible Experience Improvements

The October Brightspace update enhances both keyboard navigation and tooltip visibility across Brightspace.

Users navigating with a keyboard can now press Space or Enter to activate a focused tab on pages like Content, Quizzes, and Terms and Conditions.

In addition, updated tooltip positioning ensures text wraps neatly and stays fully visible on screen, improving readability and overall usability.

These refinements align with W3 accessibility best practices.

Consistent Icons for External Tools

It’s the little details that make a big difference. Integrations that use LTI Advantage 1.3 links will now use the same brick symbol icon across Brightspace, creating a more consistent experience when identifying third-party tools.

This update helps instructors and administrators quickly recognize LTI links wherever they appear.