Email | About sending emails via Brightspace

Brightspace allows you to communicate with your students via an integrated feature of email. You can directly send an email to an individual, to your whole Classlist or to a specific group of users in Brightspace, for example, based on their role in the course or even on the user's group enrollment.

To send an email via the Brightspace course page there are several ways how to do so:

This article will provide the information on:

If the start date of the course is in the future (the course has not started yet), an error message will pop-up when trying to send emails via the Classlist tool.

In that case you will need to use Email tool.

Comparison of emailing options in Brightspace

The table below presents the tools to send an email via Brightspace (via Email, via Classlist, via Groups, via Intelligent Agent) and the functionalities they offer:

Brightspace Email: via Email tool via Classlist via Groups via Intelligent Agent
Email Recipients
Email recipients added to the field
(by default)
choosable

(To / Cc / Bcc)
Bcc Bcc choosable

(To / Cc / Bcc)
Filter Email recipients:
by Role
X
X
X
✔️
Filter Email recipients:
by Group enrolment
✔️
(excludes roles higher than Student)
✔️
(excludes roles higher than Student)
✔️
(excludes roles higher than Student)
✔️
(excludes roles higher than Student)
Email Scheduling 
Schedule sending email
X
X
X
✔️
(Instructions)
Set email occurrence
X
X
X
✔️
(Instructions)
Email Attachments
Send attachment ✔️ ✔️ ✔️ ✔️
  • Attach audio/video file
(button Record)
✔️ ✔️ ✔️ ✔️
  • Attach file from Group Locker 
(button Existing Activities)
✔️ ✔️ ✔️ ✔️
  • Attach file from course Manage Files

(button Existing Activities)

✔️
✔️
✔️
✔️
Email Text editor
Customise email text
(format, colour, size)
✔️ ✔️ ✔️ ✔️
Use of Replace strings X
X
X
X
(only possible when Email Format is set to HTML)
Add a link to a file in the course Manage Files ✔️ ✔️ ✔️ ✔️
Add image ✔️ ✔️ ✔️ ✔️
Add Quicklink to course Content:
  • Announcements
  • Assignments
  • Calendar
  • Checklist
  • Content
  • Course File
  • Discussions
  • External Learning Tools
  • OneDrive
  • Quizzes
  • Rubrics
  • Self Assessments
  • Self-Enrollment Groups
  • Surveys
  • Cengage MindLinks
  • FeedbackFruits - Assignment Review / Discussion Assignment / Interactive Document / Interactive Presentation / Interactive Video / Peer Review
  • JoVE connection
  • MS Teams Meeting
  • Virtual Classroom
  • Announcements
  • Assignments
  • Calendar
  • Checklist
  • Content
  • Course File
  • Discussions
  • External Learning Tools
  • OneDrive
  • Quizzes
  • Rubrics
  • Self Assessments
  • Self-Enrollment Groups
  • Surveys
  • Cengage MindLinks
  • FeedbackFruits - Assignment Review / Discussion Assignment / Interactive Document / Interactive Presentation / Interactive Video / Peer Review
  • JoVE connection
  • MS Teams Meeting
  • Virtual Classroom
  • Announcements
  • Assignments
  • Calendar
  • Checklist
  • Content
  • Course File
  • Discussions
  • External Learning Tools
  • OneDrive
  • Quizzes
  • Rubrics
  • Self Assessments
  • Self-Enrollment Groups
  • Surveys
  • Cengage MindLinks
  • FeedbackFruits - Assignment Review / Discussion Assignment / Interactive Document / Interactive Presentation / Interactive Video / Peer Review
  • JoVE connection
  • MS Teams Meeting
  • Virtual Classroom
  • Announcements
  • Assignments
  • Calendar
  • Checklist
  • Content
  • Course File
  • Discussions
  • External Learning Tools
  • OneDrive
  • Quizzes
  • Rubrics
  • Self Assessments
  • Self-Enrollment Groups
  • Surveys
  • Cengage MindLinks
  • FeedbackFruits - Assignment Review / Discussion Assignment / Interactive Document / Interactive Presentation / Interactive Video / Peer Review
  • JoVE connection
  • MS Teams Meeting
  • Virtual Classroom
Email Priority level
Select priority
(Normal / Low / High)
✔️ ✔️ ✔️ X
Email Format
Choose email format
(Plain text / HTML)
X
(only as Plain text)
X
(only as Plain text)
X
(only as Plain text)
✔️

Sent Mail

When you send an email via Brightspace a copy is saved in the environment. The only difference is the location where the copy is stored on the course page.

Email sent via Classlist, Groups, Email tool

Classlist, Groups, Email tool option a copy of each outgoing message will be saved in the Sent Mail folder of the Brightspace course page from which you sent the mail.

To check the Sent Mail folder of your Brightspace course page:

  1. Click on Communication in the green navigation bar
  2. Click on Email to Compose a New Message
  3. Click on Sent Mail to check the e-mails that have been sent. A new page will open and a table with an overview of all sent mail via Brightspace using the above-listed options Classlist, Groups, Email tool will appear.
1.Click Communication in the green navigation bar2.Click the button Email on the page Compose New Message
3.Compose new message

Email sent via Intelligent Agent

To check emails sent via Intelligent Agent please view the article How to manage an intelligent agent - section View history.