Intended Audience: Mentors
About
The Activity Heatmap Dashboard is an interactive tool designed to help mentors monitor student engagement across Michigan Virtual courses. This dashboard provides a visual summary of when students are most active and what types of course activities they are engaging with. By analyzing the heatmap, mentors can better understand student participation patterns and identify opportunities for timely support.
The dashboard includes interactive filters and cards that allow mentors to customize the view by term, course, or student, making it easier to focus on specific performance data.
Instruction
Login to the SLP
- Access the Student Learning Portal (SLP) and select the MySLP tab.
- Tap Go to Courses, then choose "Michigan Virtual (Brightspace)" from the list.
Open the Activity Heatmap Dashboard
- Tap the Data Reports button.
- Open the left menu, expand "Mentor Dashboards" and then select Activity Heatmap.
Filtering the Activity Heatmap
Mentors can apply filters to narrow the data by term, course, and student:
- Filter by Term: Open the drop-down labeled "HM - M - Term Filter". Check the box next to the desired term and click "Apply." The dashboard will update to reflect only the selected term.
- Filter by Course: Open the "HM - M - Course Filter" drop-down. Select a course by checking the appropriate box and click "Apply." The dashboard will update to show activity from the chosen course.
- Filter by Student: Use the "HM - M - Student Filter" list. Check the box next to a student's name to view data specific to that student. The dashboard will refresh with targeted activity data.
Filtered results appear in two main cards: "HM - M - Most Active Learners" and "HM - M - Student Activity Heatmap"
Interacting with the Dashboard Cards
- Most Active Learners Card: Use the scrollbar to explore activity counts by student and course.
- Student Activity Heatmap Card: Shows activity by date for selected filters. Tap a number within a date square to view a list of activities for that day. The "Most Active Course Items - Instructors" card will display the detailed list.
Helpful Tips for Understanding Detailed Activity
- Last Visited Content: Displays the most recent visit to an item. While Brightspace only logs the most recent timestamp, an approximate total visit count is provided in the Activity Details column.
- Graded Items (Quizzes, Assignments, Discussion Boards): The current grade for any graded item appears in the Activity Details column. This value reflects the current score in the gradebook and updates automatically if the grade changes.
- External Tools: Due to system limitations, current grades for activities completed through external tools cannot be displayed.
- Chronological Order: Activity is listed in chronological order to reflect the student’s journey through the course.
Card Options and Actions
Each dashboard card includes a Card Options menu, accessed by hovering over the card and selecting the wrench icon in the top-right corner. Available actions include:
- Details: Opens the card in a separate view with insights such as averages, outliers, and more.
- Schedule as Report: Allows the mentor to set up automated delivery of the report on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis.
- Edit Scheduled Report: Modifies existing scheduled reports.
- Send Now: Sends the current report view immediately to selected recipients.
- Send / Export: Offers options to email or download the data.
- Add to Favorites: Saves the card to the mentor’s Favorites page for quick access.
- Alert Me: Sets up real-time data alerts to be delivered via email.