Online

Your guide to online learning

Aside from our four campus locations, Dalhousie offers a variety of courses and programs online. Get an idea of what you can expect when learning online at Dal and access support and resources below.

Note: Online course delivery may vary by faculty, course, and instructor. If you have questions regarding a specific course, reach out to your department, instructor, or TA for clarity and confirmation.

Student using laptop with a Here We Code sticker.

Dalhousie's online platforms

Online courses rely heavily on technology. At Dal, there are a few online platforms that you will want to familiarize yourself with before starting your online courses.

Learn about the most popular online platforms below. If you have questions about these technologies or have trouble accessing them, contact IT support.

Contact support@dal.ca

Brightspace
Microsoft Teams
Dal Online
myDal
OpenDal

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.

Files such as the syllabus, readings, and assignment instructions.
Recorded lectures or class slides here.
Announcements (such as a moved deadline).
- You can choose to receive an email when Announcements are posted (as well as when other content is updated on the site) through your Notifications settings.
Discussion threads, which allow an open forum to ask questions, swap assignment deadlines, provide feedback, and more. Certain threads may enable anonymous posting.
- Within threads, you can comment on another person's post, which creates its own thread.
- Discussions can also be used to facilitate conversations outside of assignments.
Course assessment and grading, including quizzes and dropboxes for students to submit their work, and a Grades section, where you can find marks your professors have uploaded, along with class averages for each assignment.

Helpful Brightspace resources

Brightspace Student Guide Intro to Brightspace Video Tutorial

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.

Chats, either within teams, or as private conversations between individuals.
Discussion threads, via posts in a team channel
Document sharing and collaboration
- Files that are uploaded in a chat are added to a OneDrive repository under the Files tab. This way, you can easily access documents even if the chat has progressed far past the point when they were originally attached. Edits that are made to these files within Teams are automatically saved. Additionally, new tabs can be created to add programs such as Word or PowerPoint if you would like to work on a document together in real time.
Video meetings and conferencing
- Teams meeting links are accessible even if you do not have the Teams application downloaded.
- Up to 300 participants are allowed in a meeting, and there are no time limits.
- Meetings are also recordable.

Helpful Teams resources

Microsoft Teams Overview (login required) How you can use Teams (login required) Microsoft Teams video training

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.

Academic information, via the Web for Students tab.
- Add or drop classes, view your fees, see your final grades, and more.
Access your student records, including tax forms, your academic record, and confirmation of your enrolment.
Request an official transcript
Apply for student aid (such as bursaries) and view the status of every award you have applied for via the Student Awards and Financial Aid tab.

Dal Online becomes especially important as you progress through university. It is where you will declare your major(s) and/or minor(s). If you plan on taking courses from another university, you can use the Transfer Credit Equivalencies page to see if they will count as credits towards your degree. Also, Dal Online is where our Degree Audit Reporting System (DARS) lives. Once you declare your major, you can use DARS to see if you are on track to fulfill all of your degree requirements.

Helpful Dal Online resources

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.

The entire Microsoft 365 suite of tools, including Word, PowerPoint, and Excel.
- You can download these programs to your computer or use them in your web browser.
OneDrive, Microsoft 365's cloud system, for saving / backing up documents. This means that if your computer dies, your files will still be safe.

myDal hosts several other internal sites with useful information, such as Information Technology Services (ITS) and the Dalhousie + Microsoft 365 User Resource Centre (login required). Additionally, you can search myDal to find information on everything from academic advising to the Writing Centre.

Helpful myDal resources

Your email (login required) OneDrive (login required) Microsoft 365 (login required)

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.

Helpful OpenDal resources

Registration for online, non-credit courses Access student information for your non-credit learning Visit the Faculty of Open Learning

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.

OS: Mac OS X 10.15 or higher

RAM: 8 GB

CPU: Core i5

Storage: 256GB (SSD Recommended)

Internet Speed: 1Mbps upload, 5Mbps download of available bandwidth for group video calling. Faster would be even better for large video/lecture uploads

Web Browser: Firefox/Chrome - Safari in certain cases (VPN)

Resolution: 1024 x 768

Accessories: Webcam and microphone (if not built in to computer)

Note: If a Mac is going to use Bootcamp or Virtualization to run Windows, better specifications are recommended:

Bootcamp: 512GB storage
VM: 16GB RAM, 512GB storage

Aside from running Windows in a Mac environment, some software would benefit from having a better CPU or more RAM, or even a discrete GPU. (SolidWorks, for example.)

What to expect

Each faculty, class and instructor will do things differently. If you have questions about a specific class, it is important that you reach out to your instructor to get answers.

Commonly used terms

Get familiar with some of the commonly used terms in online learning.

Grading and student records

Information on grading at Dal and tips on how to access student records and transcripts.

Academic assessment

Learn about what it means to be in good academic standing and how it is assessed in your faculty.

Academic calendars

Academic calendars list all of the courses and programs offered at Dal. They include information on admission requirements, university regulations and degree requirements.

Academic timetable

The academic timetable lists all courses offered in a particular term.

Supports and resources

Regardless of where you are learning, rest assured that you always have access to services and resources to help you achieve your academic goals. Explore the support available to you remotely and reach out if you need to!

Male and female student stand in the library looking at an open laptop.

Student Success Centre

Set and meet your academic goals and schedule appointments to meet online with academic advisors.

Connect with the Bisset Student Success Centre Academic support for students on the Agricultural Campus Visit the Melda Murray Student Centre Access King’s Academic Services

Two students work on an engineering project as their professors look on. Behind them is a wall of colourful post it notes.