D2L Brightspace Reviews & Product Details

I like the number of tools we have available for course creation. I also really appreciate the reporting section, which is very comprehensive and allows for easy checking of various data. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Some things are still a bit rigid. For example, I can't change the background color of a course. Another point is that it's also not possible to randomize all the questions in a quiz at once. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What I appreciate most about Brightspace is how well the platform lives up to its name. It creates a clean, welcoming, and visually appealing environment that feels like a true space for learning. The modern design provides an excellent foundation for showcasing an institution's brand while fostering meaningful connections between instructors and learners. I also value the variety of engagement tools available, which make it easy to create interactive learning experiences, encourage collaboration, and support different teaching and learning styles. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

One area that could be improved is the use of screen space when viewing Brightspace in a desktop browser. The large margins on either side of the page leave a significant amount of unused white space, reducing the available area for course content and creating unnecessary scrolling. Making better use of the full browser width—or providing an option for a wider content layout—would enhance the experience for both instructors designing courses and learners navigating course materials. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I have been using D2L Brightspace for more than three years in the field since I am a Technopedagogical Designer at my University, the Universidad Alberto Hurtado in Chile, as well as the super administrator of the platform institutionally. Among my duties, I am responsible for creating and configuring online courses for undergraduate and postgraduate programs, managing users and roles, setting up the gradebook, implementing rubrics, generating reports, training teachers, and providing support for online and blended programs at my university. One of the aspects I value most about Brightspace is its intuitive interface, which facilitates both course management and the experience for teachers and students. Tools such as course copying, modular content organization, and assessment configuration save a significant amount of time on tasks that need to be performed repeatedly, considering the number of courses we have at my university. The platform offers extensive integration capabilities with external tools through standards like LTI, allowing us to incorporate video conferencing solutions, interactive content via HP5 that we are exploring, web resources, and other educational applications without complex configuration processes. In terms of performance, the experience has been very positive. We have managed courses with a high number of simultaneous users, and the platform has remained stable even during periods of massive evaluations and high demand; it has never crashed on us. It is stable, which I also value. Another noteworthy aspect is the support and documentation provided by D2L. Both the training resources and technical assistance have been useful for implementing new functionalities and resolving specific advanced administration requirements, and the ASC system has also helped me provide support. Finally, the new AI-based capabilities show interesting potential to support content creation, although I have not fully used them except in trial versions; we are evaluating acquiring them. Last but not least, its cost is much lower than other LMS on the market with the same capabilities, which allows us to stay with them. In general terms, Brightspace has significantly contributed to improving course management, the experience of teachers and students, and the efficiency of processes associated with online education. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Something I believe could be improved is the reporting and data visualization through the Data Center. Currently, to obtain useful information, it is necessary to generate multiple reports and manually cross-reference different data sets in Excel format, which is how the data center delivers it to me. This increases the time required for academic tracking tasks, participation analysis, and institutional report generation. It would be valuable to have more consolidated reports and pre-designed visual panels that allow access to relevant information without the need for so many intermediate processes. I also believe that the user experience of the forums could be optimized. In particular, it would be useful to have a more visible and direct option to reply within a specific thread, similar to the experience offered by other modern discussion platforms, meaning a reply button without having to enter the thread itself. This would facilitate the tracking of conversations and improve interaction between teachers and students. Lastly, some navigation elements could be visually modernized. The top navigation bar and the visualization of units and content adequately fulfill their function, but a more modern and intuitive interface could enhance the user experience, especially for those using the platform for the first time or accessing it from mobile devices. None of these aspects prevent the effective use of the platform, but they represent opportunities for improvement that could increase administrative efficiency and the overall experience of teachers and students who ultimately, or at least for us, are the center of the process. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I really like using D2L Brightspace because it is simple to use and easy to find what I need. D2L Brightspace has a lot of things in one place like course materials, assignments, quizzes and grades. The way D2L Brightspace is set up is very organized which is great. I can use D2L Brightspace on my phone or computer which's very helpful. D2L Brightspace also helps me keep track of my progress and when things are due. This makes learning with D2L Brightspace easy for students and instructors. D2L Brightspace is very good, at helping us stay on top of things. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I think D2L Brightspace has a problems. For example it can be hard to find what you need when you first start using it. You have to click a lot of times to get to some things.. Sometimes the pages take a long time to load when you are working with a lot of course stuff. D2L Brightspace could also be better at letting you customize things and make reports. The customization options and reporting options, in D2L Brightspace need to be more flexible. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Brightspace is a very powerful and adaptable eLearning platform that allows Administrators the flexibility to be innovative about the use of its tools and provide a breadth of educational experience and support that maximises Learner engagement and success. It performs extremely well across a range of educational themes and departments and with recent AI tools makes the creation of educational content and processes much more accessible to designers. With careful consideration of the user experience it is possible to create very engaging and comprehensive educational experiences Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

It can take some time to become knowledgeable enough with all of the different tools Brightspace offers in order to make informed decisions about what might work best in certain places and for certain tasks. The range of possible roles and permissions across the platform can be overwhelming - it's best to focus on core established roles and make modifications and tweaks according to you own requirements later. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I like the flexibility D2L Brightspace provides with authoring courses, especially with its open HTML capabilities. It allows me to do a lot of HTML coding to create the pages I want, making them colorful and bright, which provides an intuitive experience for students, similar to what they might find on the web. I also appreciate the functionality of the platform's setup, as it enables me to create classes in a structured and meaningful way by adding audio and video, really whatever I need. The content builder for units and pages facilitates a nice linear way to design a class. Additionally, I would rate it a 10 out of 10 and say it's probably the best of all the LMSs I've used. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I think some of the click paths are a little bit onerous. Sometimes there's not an easy way to access content, except through many clicks. Also, maybe a little more flexibility with how you design the home pages could be beneficial. I think the template function doesn't really do much. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What I appreciate most about D2L Brightspace is its stability. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the system remained fully operational without any failures. The post-sales support is efficient, with a strong partnership to assist clients with their projects. Additionally, the integration with various applications is a great advantage, and I’m exploring the BI features to create data dashboards. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What I dislike is the efficiency of the new data set system, which has yet to be proven. This forces me to consider creating APIs or purchasing additional tools. Moreover, the absence of an integrated video system is an issue, as it requires the client to contract a separate service. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I really like the clear layout of the courses. Courses look fresh, clean, and easy to use for both staff and students. The added bonus that really adds to the experience is tools like QuickEval, Class Progress and Intelligent Agents. These tools make Brightspace stand out from the crowd when it comes to other VLE's and provide our staff with the tools that can help them stage academic interventions. These tools allow our staff to quickly pinpoint students progress and intervene using automated emails. I also like how it integrates with existing tools we use (Turnitin, SCORM, Respondus, YuJa Panorama, Microsoft Teams). The integrations are easy to manage and create a seamless experiences for our staff and learners. Finally I would have to argue that the support from D2L is unmatched, any issues we have faced have been resolved swiftly and the active community sites help with day-to-day queries. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

There are some areas where I personally feel like Brightspace is lacking data analytics. One example would be when an announcement is posted in a course it would be great to see how many students have read the announcement (this is a feature available in Blackboard). While the impact is minimal it was a well used feature in our previous VLE, allowing staff to track engagement with their learners. I have no major dislikes with the VLE - performance is good, it runs well and quickly, my dislikes are minor "niggles" where I wish you could change the background colour, or have more options for release conditions. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Ease of use and performance stand out, along with the AI features and API integrations. I also appreciate the support teams available over chat, as well as our direct teams. The customizations are helpful too, especially since they’re role-based. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

With the API-specific rules, if a user doesn’t have permission to access certain materials, those items can’t be pulled through the API. In stricter situations, it would be helpful if users could retrieve data even when it falls outside their role permissions. Creating an API role dashboard could make that possible and give us a clearer way to manage access. Also, we’re not fans of the discussion boards; that area feels clunky and is hard for students to navigate. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The possibility of using HTML to customize learning environments is a very positive point, as it allows adapting the experience to the needs of each context. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I think the platform could be more flexible regarding some updates. For example, it would be interesting to allow changing the background. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.