Moodle to D2L Brightspace
Moving a Moodle course to D2L Brightspace
Brightspace gives you two routes. Its Import Components tool can bring course material in, and some institutions import Moodle backups this way, though D2L lists Moodle among formats converted with separate tools and says to discuss it with them. Or the course can arrive as one SCORM package, added in Content.
Want to edit the course inside Brightspace? Ask about the import first. Want the course exactly as it was, tracked as one item? Use a SCORM package.
The two routes
Brightspace’s course import
Brings content in as Brightspace’s own quizzes, assignments and discussions, which you can then edit. Institutions that import Moodle backups this way describe the result as imperfect, so check it. Learner submissions and posts never come across.
A SCORM package in Content
In a content module: Upload/Create, New SCORM Object, and upload the zip. You can create a grade item for it as you add it.
The course plays exactly as you previewed it.
What to know about SCORM in Brightspace
- The score is what reaches the gradebook. A course that reports completion but no score adds nothing to it. A converted course sends a score only when it has a quiz that counts; otherwise its completion shows on the content topic.
- Two SCORM players. Brightspace has a newer player, used for SCORM objects added in Content, and an older one D2L no longer supports. Uploading through Content uses the newer one, where your site has it switched on.
- Short paths. Brightspace’s import refuses packages with file paths over 128 characters. A converted course’s file names are kept short for exactly this.
- Permissions. Adding SCORM objects needs Content Service permissions that an administrator sets.
- Size. A D2L moderator gave 2 GB per SCORM object in 2023; check your own site for a large course.
What a converted course sends D2L Brightspace
One package, one course. It reports one status for the whole course, one score out of 100 when the course has a quiz that counts, and where the learner stopped. It reports progress on every page change, and again when the learner closes it. A course with no quiz sends no score rather than a misleading zero.
Whatever route you take, test before you rely on it: upload one course, take it as a learner, and check that completion and the score arrive the way you expect.
Platform details checked against D2L’s own documentation, September 2026. Menus move; if yours looks different, the names above are the ones to search for.