Brightspace Release Conditions Guide for Instructors

Introduction:

Whether you want to unlock content after a quiz, reveal assignments based on participation, or create custom learning sequences, release conditions offer flexibility and control over how and when students engage with your course materials.

This step-by-step guide will walk you through how to create and apply release conditions—a powerful tool that helps tailor learning pathways for your students.

Step-by-Step Instructions:

Release conditions allow you to create a custom learning path through the materials in your course. When you attach a release condition to an item, learners cannot see that item until they meet the associated condition. For example, you could attach a release condition to the second topic in your course’s content area that would hide that topic until learners viewed the topic before it. Or you could create a condition that required learners to view a content topic before gaining access to a quiz, or one that required them to post to a discussion topic before they could see a content module.

  1. 1. Log in to Brightspace and access your course.
  2. 2. In the navigation bar, click on Activities and the place where you want your release condition to be (we will use Discussions for this example)
  3. Activities >> Discussions
  4. 3. Locate the item (quiz, assignment, forum, survey etc.) you want to add a release condition to and select the drop-down arrow  beside the item. 
  5. 4. In the drop-down menu, select Edit. You will now be in the editor for the tool.
  6. Edit Topic
  7. 5. Navigate to Availability Dates & Conditions [a], and under release conditions [b], click on it to expand the mini-menu. 
  8. 6. Under Release Conditions, click on Add Release Condition [a] and Create New [b].
  9. Availability Dates & Conditions
  10. 7. A new Create a Release Condition window will appear. Select the condition type you want to apply for that specific item. (scroll down for desired condition options)
    • NOTE: Selecting the category title (Assignment, Awards, Content, Discussions, etc) will give you a "Select a valid Condition Type." Error
    • NOTE: Based on what was selected above, additional information may be required. For example, if you select a final grade score condition type to release an item dependent on a student’s grade, you will need to add specific grade parameters.
  11. create a release condition
  13. 8. Once all information has been entered, select Create. 
  14. 9. Once a release condition has been attached, a new menu that allows you to set how conditions must be met will become active. This menu is only relevant if you have more than one condition attached. If so, select one of the following options:
    • All conditions must be met.
    • Any condition must be met.
      • Selecting Any condition must be met means that a participant must satisfy only one of the conditions listed to access the restricted course material or activity.   
  15. To view this item, users must satisfy...
  16. 10. Select one of the Save options at the bottom of the screen to save your changes.
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Troubleshooting Tips:

  • • To see and use release conditions (faculty/staff)
    • You must have the required permissions in the associated tools applied to your role. These permissions can only be accessed by your organization administrator. Contact your administrator if you do not have the required permissions.
  • • Avoid Unnecessary Conditions
    • Each release condition associated with a tool takes additional time for Brightspace to process. Use as few conditions as possible to set up a path that minimizes the amount of time students spend waiting for the page to load.
  • • Avoid Contradictory Conditions
    • Contradictory conditions occur when two or more conditions cancel each other out on an associated  item. For example, the conditions “User must achieve greater than 49.9% on Grade Item 1” and “User must achieve less than 50% on Grade Item 1” are contradictory. Learners could not satisfy both conditions at the same time, they would not be able to see the item associated with these conditions.
  • • Avoid Impossible Conditions
    • Ensure that your conditions are not impossible for learners to satisfy. For example, a condition that learners must achieve greater than 100% on a grade item would be impossible (unless bonus marks are available for the item). If learners are unable to satisfy a condition, they are unable to access the content or tools to which the condition is attached.
  • • Avoid Circular Release Conditions
    • A circular release condition makes it impossible for learners to satisfy the set of conditions. For example, if you set the condition that learners must view a content topic before they can post to a discussion, and then set a condition that they must post to the discussion before they can access the content topic, you have a circular release condition. Learners can’t satisfy either condition and thus cannot gain access to the content.

Additional Resources:

FAQ Section:

  • • What are potential uses for release conditions?
    • Require students to visit a topic in the content tool before they can post to a discussion board
    • Require students to submit an assignment before they can take a quiz 
    • Restrict an announcement so that only students who failed a quiz or assignment can view it
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