Frequently Asked Questions About Brightspace HDSB

Students cannot reset passwords independently through the Brightspace interface. Contact your school office with your student number and photo ID for verification. Office staff will either provide a temporary password or direct you to the IT department. The reset process typically completes within one school day. Parents needing password resets should call the school office during business hours (8:00 AM - 4:00 PM) with their child's name and student number. For immediate access needs during evenings or weekends, check if your school offers emergency IT contact numbers, though most password resets must wait until the next business day. Teachers and staff reset passwords through the HDSB MyPortal system using their board email address.

Course visibility depends on several factors controlled by teachers and administrators. Teachers must publish courses before students can access them, which often happens during the first week of a semester rather than immediately. If you're enrolled in a course but don't see it in Brightspace after three days, the course may not be published yet. Contact the teacher directly to ask when they plan to activate it. Additionally, course enrollment syncs from the student information system overnight, so courses added to your schedule today won't appear in Brightspace until the following day. For semester schools, second-semester courses won't display until teachers publish them closer to the semester start date. If a course you're definitely enrolled in remains invisible after one week, contact your school's guidance office to verify enrollment data synced correctly between systems.

Technical submission capability depends on how your teacher configured the assignment dropbox. Some teachers close dropboxes at the deadline, preventing any late submissions through the system. Others leave dropboxes open but mark submissions as late, applying whatever penalty their course outline specifies. If the dropbox is closed, you'll need to contact your teacher directly to discuss alternative submission methods or late work policies. HDSB policy gives individual teachers authority to set late assignment policies, so penalties vary by course and instructor. Some accept late work with percentage deductions, others accept it for reduced credit, and some don't accept late work at all except with documented medical or family emergencies. Always check your course outline for specific late work policies, and communicate with teachers before deadlines if you anticipate submission problems.

Parents receive separate login credentials that provide view-only access to their child's courses, grades, and assignment submissions. Schools distribute parent access codes during the first month of each academic year, typically through email or paper notices sent home. These credentials differ from student logins and don't allow parents to submit work or post in discussions. If you haven't received parent credentials by mid-September, contact your child's school office to request them. You'll need to provide your child's full name, student number, and verify your relationship to the student. Parent access shows all courses, submitted assignments, grades posted by teachers, and teacher comments. You cannot see assignment content before your child submits it or access quiz questions. The system updates in real-time, so grades appear to parents simultaneously with students. For families with multiple children at HDSB schools, you'll receive separate credentials for each child rather than a unified dashboard.

Brightspace accepts most common file formats including DOCX, PDF, PPTX, XLSX, TXT, RTF, JPG, PNG, GIF, MP4, MOV, and ZIP files. PDF is the most reliable format as it preserves formatting across different devices and operating systems. Microsoft Office formats (DOCX, PPTX, XLSX) work well but may display differently if the teacher uses different software versions. Individual assignments may restrict accepted formats based on the work type. For example, a photo assignment might only accept JPG or PNG, while an essay might require PDF or DOCX. Maximum file size is 500MB per file, though most assignments specify lower limits like 10-50MB. If you need to submit larger files like video projects, compress them using tools like HandBrake for videos or WinZip for multiple files. Some teachers provide alternative submission methods for large files, such as sharing through Google Drive or OneDrive and submitting the share link through Brightspace. Always check specific assignment instructions for format requirements before beginning your work.

Brightspace allows teachers to configure grade displays as points, percentages, or letter grades based on their preference and course requirements. If you see points, the teacher has chosen a points-based grading scheme where assignments are worth specific point values that sum to a total. For example, a course might have 500 total points, with individual assignments worth 20, 50, or 100 points each. Your overall grade calculates as earned points divided by total possible points. To see this as a percentage, divide your current points by total points available so far and multiply by 100. Many teachers prefer points because it clearly shows the weight of each assignment. Some courses display both points and percentages. If you find the points system confusing, ask your teacher to explain their grading scheme or provide a conversion chart. The final report card grade will always appear as a percentage or letter grade regardless of how Brightspace displays interim grades, as Ontario report cards follow provincial standards.