Request Help widget in D2L Brightspace

Overview

As of August 2020, the Request Help widget became available within D2L Brightspace.  The Minnesota State Learning Technologies team have created this widget to provide quick access to helpful knowledge articles, easy access to contact support, and other Brightspace-related tools or resources.  The widget uses the Microsoft 365 tool ‘Power Apps’ to connect to support resources.

Instructions for Use

The Request Help widget is conditionally released by your local D2L Campus Site Admin.  If you are not logged in to Microsoft 365, you will need to sign in.

When you log in to the widget for the first time, you may be prompted to authorize the connection to your Microsoft 365 account.

Note: If you are not logged in to Microsoft 365, the widget may automatically scroll the page to focus on the widget.  Ensuring that you are signed in to Microsoft 365 will prevent the page from jumping.

Searching Knowledge Articles

Upon loading, the widget will help you search for knowledge articles that match your search terms.  Recently edited articles will be shown first.  The knowledge articles are based on the audience: admin, instructor, or learner.  To view articles for a different audience, select the dropdown menu.

Contacting Support

When you need to contact support, follow the steps below.

1. Click the Get Help button in the lower right.
   
2. Contact information for your local campus support, as well as the Minnesota State support team, will be shown.Click on the action you’d like to take: Send a message, phone number, or visit website.
   
3. If you select Send a message or the right chevron, you will be prompted for additional information.Enter your question or request.  Your name and email address will be populated automatically.
   
4. Click Submit to send your request.

The widget collects some information – your username, email address, browser/device – that is helpful for troubleshooting issues you may be experiencing.  When you click submit in the widget, a message will be sent to the support contact you’ve selected.

Additional Information

If you choose to contact a support team through the widget, please note:

• The email address field is pre-filled with your D2L Brightspace account email.  However, you can replace it with your preferred email address.
• If you have an attachment or images you want to add, you can do one of the following:
  • Option 1: Wait until you receive an email confirmation of your request, and then reply to the email with additional information and/or attachments, or
  • Option 2: Upload the image/attachment into OneDrive and paste in the ‘Share’ link before clicking Submit.

Widget Not Working

If the widget is not working, you may be encountering one of the following scenarios:

• You are not signed in to Microsoft 365.  Click ‘Sign In’.
• Third-party cookies are not allowed within your browser.
• You have not been granted access to the Microsoft 365 Power App.  (It is currently available to Staff and Employees only.)

Features and Tools

The Request Help widget allows you to perform other actions than find help.

Development Course Request

If your school has enabled this functionality, instructors will be able to request a ‘Development Course’ that can be used for building a new course or trying new tools/features.  To request a course, follow the steps below.

1. Within the Request Help widget, click the Menu icon.
   
2. Click Dev Course Request.
   
3. Click the plus (+) icon to submit a new request.
4. Enter a course name.  You can find the result just below the input field.
5. Choose if you want Sample Materials copied into the course upon creation.If you school has no sample materials in place, or you choose ‘No’, the course will be empty.
   
6. Click Submit.
   Note: The ability to create a dev course is limited to current faculty.
7. Your course will be created within minutes (depending on volume).  You will receive an email upon completion.
   
   Alternatively, you can check the status on the Dev Course Request page:
   

Enrollment Request

If your school has enabled and configured this feature, instructors will be able to enroll an individual into their Brightspace course.  There are some conditions:

• You must launch the ‘Request Help’ widget from the course you are enrolling the person into.
• A user account for the person must already exist within your Brightspace site.If it does not, you will receive an error and will need to make the request to your D2L Brightspace support team.
• Your school determines what roles are available (if any) to enroll.

To request an enrollment, follow the steps below.

1. Within the Request Help widget, click the Menu icon.
   
2. Click Enrollment Request.
   
3. Click the plus (+) icon to submit a new request.
   
4. Search for a Person to Enroll.
   Note: This searches all Minnesota State students and employees.For the enrollment to be successful, that person will need an account within the current D2L Brightspace site.If they do not have an account, you will receive an error via email, and you’ll need to work with your campus Brightspace Support to create the account.
   
5. Choose the Role for the person to have.
6. Click Submit.
7. Your request will be processed within minutes (depending on volume).  You will receive an email upon completion or error.
   
   Alternatively, you can check the status on the Enrollment Request page: