Request Your SPARK Course - Overview

SPARK, the Learning Management System (LMS) for campus courses based on the Blackboard Vista Learning System, is being replaced by Moodle.

SPARK will no longer be used for teaching after Fall 2012, and is available for Fall 2012 courses by special request only.  SPARK courses can no longer be requested in SPIRE. To request a SPARK course for a Fall 2012 class, contact the Instructional Media Lab at (413) 545-2823 or instruct@oit.umass.edu.

To request a Moodle course, see Request Your Moodle Course - Overview.

Reuse a Previous SPARK Course

To move a course currently on SPARK  to Moodle or UMassOnline, see Back Up your SPARK course: Recommended Options.

Student Enrollment in Your SPARK Course

Students who are enrolled in your course in SPIRE will automatically be added to your SPARK roster. For more information see Student Access to SPARK Courses.

Add TAs, Co-Instructors and Guests

If you have people who are assisting with your course, be sure that they are appropriately associated with your course in SPIRE. Once they are associated with the course, they will appear automatically in SPARK. Once they are in SPARK, you may need to grant them permissions to perform certain functions.

• SPARK Access for Co-Instructors & Other Instructional Staff
• SPARK Access for Teaching Assistants (TAs)
• SPARK Access for Guests 
• Grant Teaching Assistant Permissions