GauchoSpace is the learning management system for UCSB courses and projects. Instructors and TAs use GauchoSpace to create sites for their courses every quarter. GauchoSpace is built using Moodle, an open source learning platform that is built by a large and active community of developers and programmers.
For courses enrolled through GOLD, GauchoSpace sites are synced with enrollment data and are automatically populated with the roster of students upon creation of the site. Course sites are used to add interactive activities, such as assignments and quizzes, as well as resources like syllabi, lecture notes, and other files. GauchoSpace sites are also used to communicate with students using multiple messaging tools. To view examples of resources and activities that can be added to your GauchoSpace site, visit our Showcase Sites.
GauchoSpace can be accessed from this link: gauchospace.ucsb.edu. You will use your UCSBnetID and password to log in to GauchoSpace.
Once you log in, you will see a list of the courses in which you are enrolled, as an instructor, teaching assistant or student. Use the dropdown at the bottom of the screen to limit what is displayed to only the current quarter's courses.
Note: If you are new to using GauchoSpace as an Instructor, or are a returning instructor who has not used GauchoSpace for several quarters, it may be helpful to enroll yourself in our GauchoSpace Online Orientation site.
Building a GauchoSpace Course Site
The following is a list of pages that will help you start building your GauchoSpace course site:
- Create your GauchoSpace Course Site
- Manage the start date and change the layout of your course
- Add Resources (tools that instructors can add to provide information to their students):
- Adding Activities (tools that provide assessments of student work, facilitate online discussions and feedback from students):
- Setup your Gradebook
- Check to see how your GauchoSpace site looks as a student.
- Make your site visible to students
The UCSBnetID is a unique username that is used across many UCSB services. In order to use GauchoSpace as an instructor, you need to have an active UCSBnetID and password. You should be able to activate your UCSBnetID at this UCSB Identity and Directory Services help page. If you do not have an active UCSBnetID, you will need to get your department to either create one for you, or reactivate your old UCSBnetID; see this GauchoSpace help page.
Why a Site Might not be Appearing: If you are looking to create a new course site and you do not see it in your list of My courses and it is not available to be made from the Course Site Creator, it is likely that one of these problems has occurred:
- You are not the official Instructor of Record. Solution: Ask your department to assign you as instructor of record in GOLD.
- The site you are looking for is older and is not on the current server. Solution: Older sites can be found on the archived servers.
Sites from the last two years can be imported by the Instructor or an Editing TA. Note: If you want to make changes to an archived site in preparation for a future quarter, please request a Project Site.
- Uploading a profile picture: How do I upload a profile picture of myself and who can see it?
- Changing your name: Name change settings are handled outside of GauchoSpace, How do I edit my GauchoSpace profile?
- Updating your email: Instructors can change their email address by updating their email in Identity.
- Zoom-an easy-to-use video and audio conferencing platform that allows for online meetings with screen-sharing and annotation capabilities.
- GauchoCast-a service supported for uploading lecture videos. Instructors can add a GauchoCast block to their course site to link videos for student viewing.
- i>Clicker for in-class polling, instructors can set up i>Clicker to integrate with their gradebook.
- WeBWork- a math assignment tool. In order to set-up WeBWorK for your GauchoSpace site, please submit a help ticket indicating the course you would like to link to WeBWorK and any historical problem sets that you may need to access.
There are multiple options for getting help with GauchoSpace:
- Submit a Help Ticket: This is the best way to get immediate, technical help. When you submit a help ticket please be thorough in your explanation of the issue you have. We will answer your help ticket within 8 hours during normal UCSB business hours.
- Zoom Consultation with Faculty Resource Center Staff: Take advantage of the Collaborate Drop-in Hours from 10am to 4pm, Monday to Friday, write to help@collaborate.ucsb.edu to schedule a GauchoSpace consult via Zoom.
- Best Pedagogical Uses: If you're seeking pedagogical help in using GauchoSpace please contact the Office of Instructional Development.