Brightspace
Dalhousie's Learning Management System
Brightspace is Dal’s main platform for online and blended courses, as well as support for in-person classes. Each course you take will show up on Brightspace as a module that is locked until the term begins.
Microsoft Teams
Online chats, meetings, file-sharing, and conferences
Teams is a communication platform that uses a combination of messaging and video conferencing tools. It is part of Microsoft Office 365, so you will log in using your activated Dalhousie account (NetID and password). Different teams can be created within the application for different groups, such as courses or departments. These teams have their own channels that act as a shared workspace. For example, you may have a team for your course, and within that team is a channel for classroom video meetings and a channel for discussions.
Dal Online
Online administration
Dal Online is the home of all the administrative components of your university career. If Dalhousie requires you to take action in some way, it will likely involve Dal Online. For example, Dal Online is where you can opt in or out of the DSU Health Plan.
myDal
Dal's internal website
myDal is Dalhousie's intranet. You log in through your activated Dalhousie account (NetID and password). The most important component of myDal is that it grants you access to your Dalhousie email. This is where all official Dalhousie communications are sent, so it is important to check it often. Like the other Microsoft 365 tools, you can open it through your web browser or download the Outlook application. As a bonus, you also have a calendar attached to your Dal account that can be used to schedule your learning.
OpenDal
Access your online non-credit courses
The Faculty of Open Learning has partnered with Extended Learning in the Faculty of Agriculture, Continuing Professional Education in the Faculty of Dentistry, and Health Sciences, Health Administration, and the College of Pharmacy in the Faculty of Health to bring you a learning management system that is built for non-credit learning. Built on the Brightspace platform you are familiar with, OpenDal offers almost immediate access to many courses and an experience targeted to you.
What you need to succeed
Online learning at Dal requires access to a computer or laptop and internet. Below are the minimum requirements needed to learn online at Dal.